Human Experiences and Processes For Appearing Attractive To Others - Essay Example

Human experiences and processes for appearing attractive to others Introduction The world is made up of peopleof diverse cultural and ethnical backgrounds. This shows that people are different. However, they all have to live together. This involves the creation of a range of cultural norms and lifestyles that define man’s way of life. In other words, there are certain ways of living or behaving in a society. Men and women experience different lifestyles and grooming changes in order to feel accepted by the community as well as appealing to others. Those who fail to appease their counterparts experience isolation from the rest of the society. Hence, this paper assesses the various processes that women and men experience in order to use different kinds of grooming aids. Grooming describes the conditioning of oneself to a life and appearance that is appeasing to the majority of the people around (Friedland, 24). Nowadays, this is primarily determined by upcoming trends in fashion and lifestyle. Those who prescribe these changes are celebrities and the elite, particularly in developing countries. For instance, the youth tend to imitate music superstar’s style of clothing and lifestyle as well as communication style. If a teenager does not keep up to date with these changes, he or she feels left out in the society. Furthermore, people are attracted to others depending on their grooming and culture. This is probably why conservative people tend to keep to themselves and have difficulties opening up to new people in their lives (Friedland, 39). Convention describes a tradition or custom within a society. This dictates the normal way of conduct or presentation within members of the society. For instance, in Islam, women have to cover their bodies and hair when around people, even their relatives. This is in accordance with their faith that sees women as sacred and divine beings with the ability to motivate others to sin when they see their beauty. Remember it is the woman’s body that defines her beauty. Thus, women who fail to adhere to such laws as perceived bad and suspects for immorality. Islam men tend to keep away from such women and they end up staying single or married to men of other religions with no such regulations. On the other hand, in developing nations, clothing that reveals too much skin is termed immoral. Similarly, this also concerns women. It is nevertheless different from developed nations like the U.S where it’s a norm for women to show much skin as possible or wear tight clothing when in public, regardless of their age. In fact, teenagers who cover up their bodies or wear loose clothing as perceived as lacking self esteem. If they want to impress their opposite sex, being sexy is important. On the other hand, men experience minor limitations in terms of appearance. As long as a man keeps his wardrobe up to date, he will fall in place when in public (Kane, 76). Consequently, women have to use accessories such as makeup, artificial hair, synthetic nails, and plastic surgery among other makeovers in order to appear as part of the society. However, established acts such as tattoos involve both men and women. A belief system involves a set of beliefs that are mutually supported. These can be classified as philosophical, ideological, religious, or a combination of these. Philosophers argue that belief systems draw persons in and keep them in captivity such that they become willing slaves (Converse, 207). For instance, the Islamic society believes that it is decent and spiritual for women to cover up their bodies and hair. Conversely, women believe that shaving pubic and leg hair increases their sexual attractiveness. They feel that they have to keep such a life in order for men to respect and love them. Such beliefs govern the acceptance of a female in the society (Kane, 45). When it comes to men, many believe that sexual attraction goes hand in hand with one’s physical appearance. In other words, a man’s muscular tone defines his sexual attraction. Such men are perceived as having high self esteem and confidence. This is also connected to a man’s financial position. Research shows that the majority of women are attracted to economically strong men whereas men tend to look at a woman’s appearance rather than their financial status (Converse, 211). Actually, a rich woman tends to scare off potential men. Such beliefs are now regarded as modern social norms. Hence, children are brought up with such assumptions and requirements as part of their society. Consequently, one’s financial position is also defined by current economic necessities in the world. Since men govern their families, their wives and children depend on them. By the way of life becoming more and more expensive as years progress, they pressure falls onto men to maintain their financial status. Hence, women tend to shun away from poor men. They label them as economically unstable. Women on the other hand, have to keep their appearance. According to Kane (43), this is determined by their income. Hence, current perceptions are that rich women are more attractive when compared to those of a lower economic status. This is mainly due to the accessories that they can afford to use. For instance, make-up quality increases with price. Thus, richer women have the ability to make themselves look more attractive than those who depend on their natural beauty. This is also similar in men where one’s financial status determines his ability to keep up with emerging trends in fashion and lifestyle. Consumerism involves the purchase of products and services in greater amounts. It is an economic and social order that determines the ability of a man or woman to keep up to date with acceptable norms in the society. However, such factors have led to intellectual oppression among men and women who fail to keep up with the social norms and cultural codes stated above. In fact, this intellectual oppression plays a significant role in their seclusion from the rest of the society. It leads to stress and low self esteem that makes them keep to themselves. As a result, people feel less attracted to them regardless of the social norms and cultural codes in their community. Consequently, such men and women also tend to shy away from colleagues with better status in the society. Conclusion This paper shows that there are different factors that determine one’s place in the society. Usually, these factors are determined by the majority of the population. Hence, the oppressed have no say in the formation of such norms. These factors describe human nature. Hence, it is up for people to maintain their lifestyle by ensuring that they keep up with new trends and lifestyle changes. References Converse. P. E. The nature of belief systems in mass publics, 1964, retrieved from, accessed on February 28, 2013 Friedland, Roger, and Roger Moor. Matters of culture: cultural sociology in practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University press. 2004. Print. Kane, Melissa J. Contemporary issues in parenting. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2005. Print. Read More