Let Me Start By Saying...
We are all beautiful. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise and that's the truth. Unfortunately, due to the social construct we live in, we don't entirely believe this and that's not by choice. Ever since we've been introduced to media, the industry has ingrained an "ideal" look for the man or woman where men have to be men— strong, muscular, burly; And women have to be gorgeous— skinny, toned, attractive.
"No matter what we do,
No matter what we say,
We're the song inside the tune
Believe it or not, it's in our nature to think this way. We are exposed to so many glorified ads in magazines, television, movies, etc., that display these "beautiful" people and trigger a process of social comparison, where someone tries to evaluate their actual self and compare it to these models/actors/actresses/symbols and think that that is their ideal self. Frighteningly, it doesn't just pertain to the measurement of wealth in beauty either; it can be the degree of social wealth, financial wealth or of relationships, too.
Don't Worry, Be Happy
A perfect example on the effects of social comparison is in the movie, 'The Joneses.' The Joneses family take this form of advertising to quite an extreme, but the impact of their status to others is represented perfectly on how the beauty industry influences our self-esteem. If you've yet to see this film, I'd give it a try and see how you feel about the power of the industry's influence has on you.
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