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Why is society so concerned with appearance.

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
:shocking: I dont see why use excessive fake tan or sunbeds which would increase risk of skin cancer be used. what happened to natural beauty.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I work at a health spa and so far as I can see, rich people didn't think they had enough natural beauty so decided to try and augment it.

    Plus there is the media always pushing this product or that product at people to "make the years fall away"
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Because nobody makes any money if people are happy with how they look. You make money by selling unattainable perfection: you would be happy and rich if only you had less blubber/fewer wrinkles/less pasty skin/more diamanté baubles on your labia.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    There us more to a person than apperance ... i get your point that those with money feel the need to alter apperance. But its nt wealth based nowadays the middleclass in society have the need to look better. Money seems to be not the motivating factor.for need to be.perfect. Jealousy is abundant in our society... people want to be like other people...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think there is becoming a definate swing towards self expression through outward appearance rather than going for unobtainable beauty, but natural beauty is seen as boring - its something everyone has to a lesser or greater extent.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yes, agree about the drivers being money.

    As the saying goes: "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", however, much of the media depend on advertising for their existence, and so billions of £'s and $'s are spent on influencing the "eye's of the beholders" - much of the looking being done by way of mirrors.

    Also, some recent research done on the power of advertising found that telling people that everyone is chasing and using your product is actually far more effective for increasing sales than telling the public how good it is.

    Some people are very competitive and so may strive to: "look the best of the bunch", but a more common and powerful human attribute, particularly among young people, is that they want to be accepted as "one of the crowd" and accepted as "normal".

    Advertisers play on this, and press home the message that: "if you want to keep up with your neighbours and peers, then buy our products.

    Looking 'cool' means being accepted as: "one of the guys".

    Research done by social psychologists has shown that most people measure how they are doing by comparing themselves with their neighbours, and people in the social group that they identify most with - known as their: "reference group".

    So not being able to afford a super-car is far less likely to worry the average person than if they can't afford a car in a similar class as the other people living in their street.

    A lot of us will poo poo the idea that we are influenced by advertising - how could anyone be so shallow and naive? :angel:

    But the fact is that billions of £'s and $'s are spent on advertising every year, and producers wouldn't be able to do that if advertising didn't sell their goods.

    The growth of the Internet is now being driven by advertising - there is only one reason why peeps would pay many millions of $'s for a social website, and that's because it brings the power to influence people by way of the adverts it can carry.

    Perhaps even more worrying is the fact that the media can now influence who will be selected for some of the most powerful political roles in the world.

    Hmmm,

    Jed
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It has nothing to do with how wealthy the purchaser is. My point is that satisfied and happy people don't spend millions on pointless shit they don't need. There's no profit in making people content, the profit is in inventing a problem then selling the miracle cure. Pubic waxing an excellent example.
  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    Good question, gonna move this over to P&D :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I saw an interesting blog post on this subject today
    http://www.fleetstreetfox.com/2012/06/how-does-this-look.html

    It mentions details about a mother who has been putting her daughter into beauty pageants since the age of 10 months or so, and the daughter is now three, and exploring the ins and outs of is her mothers actions harming or building up her self esteem.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's all because of the media. They show pictures of fantastically wealthy women who have been airbrushed within an inch of their lives looking all sexy and cellulite free (same goes for the men and those perfect abs) and they are portraying it as normal and natural. If anyone saw the pic Russell Brand took of Katy Perry without any makeup on, yes she's pretty, but nothing special.

    I have a bit of a beer gut, and I'm somehow abnormal and unfit? Fuck off. I'm not getting a 6-pack unless it's of beer.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Not entirely sure I buy into the whole ' the media makes people feel ugly and want to buy fake tan etc' line.

    The media and advertisers only make money if they provide something that people want to begin with ( why buy something you don';t want after all) so it suggests that people were concerned about their appearances before adverts etc started telling them they needed to look a certain way.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The media and advertisers only make money if they provide something that people want to begin with

    Tell that to the consumers of Apple's products.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Also manufacturers of mouthwash. They basically invented halitosis to sell that shit.

    Do I need a new computer at home, fuck no. But Dell are doing their big alienware with a solid state drive and now I want to clear my credit card just to buy one. Furthermore, I didn't want a smart phone, but I own one.

    What the media sells is fear. Fear that you won't fit in, that you're missing out, that you won't be happy without it. It's horseshit.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Fiend_85 wrote: »
    Also manufacturers of mouthwash. They basically invented halitosis to sell that shit.

    Do I need a new computer at home, fuck no. But Dell are doing their big alienware with a solid state drive and now I want to clear my credit card just to buy one. Furthermore, I didn't want a smart phone, but I own one.

    What the media sells is fear. Fear that you won't fit in, that you're missing out, that you won't be happy without it. It's horseshit.


    Yes, very true.

    The idea that market forces, e.g. 'supply and demand', is some kind of objective economic phenomenon that finds it's own level in relation to consumer need and demand is a complete myth. In the majority of cases the people who provide the supply also create (or at the very least pump up) the demand.

    The most powerful of all marketing messages being: “You must have our product(s) because everyone else is buying them!” Nine times out of ten, it has nothing to do with need, and everything to do with: “keeping up with the Jones!”

    These days, so many media companies are dependent on advertising for funding that they will pump out any amount of BS just to survive.

    Marketing companies continually link acquisition to happiness, but research shows that the effects on happiness by acquiring something like a new car lasts for about three weeks. That assumes of course that the thing doesn’t break down in first couple of weeks, or that the wheels don’t fall off.

    Jed
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The media and advertisers only make money if they provide something that people want to begin with

    Naive. And wrong. But mostly naive.

    The way to make money is to invent a problem then invent the solution to that problem. See pubic waxing, vaginal hygiene wipes, mouthwash as examples. Or alternatively you bullshit your way into creating demand, see Apple as an example.

    Supply and demand are not fixed things. The way to sell your product is to manufacture demand. You do ghat through advertising. That is why it's so insidious and so damaging; also why it's so effective.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Being concerned with a appearance is a natural human trait.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Pegasus17 wrote: »
    :shocking: I dont see why use excessive fake tan or sunbeds which would increase risk of skin cancer be used. what happened to natural beauty.
    I have a question...

    I do wholeheartedly agree with what AR is saying about money generated from making people feel insecure about their looks, but who is anyone to decide what beauty is, or whether or not 'natural beauty' is somehow superior or better? Or even that different?

    We like what we like after all...

    But of course, we are influenced by media and advertising, in to thinking certain physical traits are superior, or more desirable... Like how we're influenced to link money and success together, monogomy to be virtuous, individualism ect
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Naive. And wrong. But mostly naive.

    Well he's partly right of course.
    The desire to fit socially or increase their social status wasn't invented by the media and advertisers, it goes back a long way before magazines, billboards and tv - all they do is take advantage of this instinct and manipluate so that we think it's their products that we need to up our social standing.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Skive wrote: »
    Well he's partly right of course.
    The desire to fit socially or increase their social status wasn't invented by the media and advertisers, it goes back a long way before magazines, billboards and tv - all they do is take advantage of this instinct and manipluate so that we think it's their products that we need to up our social standing.

    Exactly. You can't invent things for people to care about, you can only try and make your product fit a pre-existing insecurity. Hence why it's far more difficult to sell products based around appearance to men. They've tried to introduce make-up for men, and have failed miserably. Men's products are generally advertised as "improving your performance." Gillette apparently makes you better at tennis, football and golf, or more able to focus at work. For women, the exact same product gives you nice smooth legs. Both products are about appearance, but only with the women's product is appearance seen as an end in itself.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Exactly. You can't invent things for people to care about, you can only try and make your product fit a pre-existing insecurity.

    I don't buy this at all. You only need to draw novel comparison to do so.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    People have been altering their appearance to fit in long before the printing press and tv - I've yet to see adverts for lip plates, neck rings and penis sheaths.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    read this the other week and found it really uplifting http://www.dressaday.com/2006/10/20/you-dont-have-to-be-pretty/
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why can't people be free to be concerned with whatever they please without the scrutiny of someone who doesn't share the same concern?

    You can call me superficial, vain, arrogant or whatever insult you feel necessary. But I'm concerned with my appearance. Have you ever heard the expression, "look good, feel good"? Well, there's a measure of truth to it. Obviously, what's inside is most important, but can anyone tell me that they wouldn't feel a little happier looking in the mirror if some insecurity of theirs was removed?

    For me, it's not so much about "fitting in", as much as being the best me I can be. When I look in the mirror, I want to have a Johnny Bravo-esque conversation with the guy standing on the other end of the mirror. And moreover, I love my girlfriend. My girlfriend deserves me at my best. So I give her me at my best.

    I work out, groom, eat healthy, dress nice and keep myself all around looking suave. Because I know, ultimately, how you look does influence your day. For example: Say you're dressed to nines and looking like the man. You're hanging out at the club and BLAM! Double D Debbie and her friends start checking you out. You already feel better about your day. And then you sit down with your buddies when BLAM! Some Keira Knightley lookin' broad plops right next to you and starts giving you play in front of all your buddies.

    Your day has been made better. And because of that, you feel better. Which effects the inside in a positive way.

    I never really felt pressured by the media to have the latest product or anything like that. If I see something and it looks appealing to me, I want it. No fear involved. I wanted a copy of "Son Of A Witch" by Gregory Maguire, so I went out and got it. Not because I was afraid of being ostracized; because I read "Wicked" by the same author, enjoyed it and wanted to read the sequel to see what happens to one of the more endearing characters.

    There are plenty of instances of white elephants and just unappealing products that people simply don't want. I don't think the fact that products are advertised means that there's not a legit demand for the product. It just means the demand is created when the nature of the product is brought to the attention of the consumers.

    As for the examples cited by Arctic Roll:
    1. I don't think a problem was created. Something more visually appealing to some (and more sanitary in some regards) and waxing evolved as an efficient way of coming about that look.
    2. They're more efficient for that use than wipeys (flushing and chemical composition) and more efficient than toilet paper. I don't have a whole lot of experience with them, myself, but I speak from second hand accounts as I'm sure you do too.
    3. Not sure about you, but when I'm talking to someone and their breath stinks, I want to vacate the premises. The smell mimicks that of shit because of bacteria in your mouth. Mouth wash reduces the amount of bacteria in your mouth.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    3. Not sure about you, but when I'm talking to someone and their breath stinks, I want to vacate the premises. The smell mimicks that of shit because of bacteria in your mouth. Mouth wash reduces the amount of bacteria in your mouth.

    You're supposed to have bacteria in your mouth. If you want to get rid of the smell, mints are just as effective, and yet they don't claim to kill bacteria.

    Anyway, as for the rest of your post, I agree. Everyone feels good if they feel attractive in public. And I specifically say "in public" because this idea that you dress up "for yourself" is a bit of a myth. Isn't it curious that almost all people will put more effort into their appearance if they're going to be seen by other people than if they're only going to be seen by their partner (the one person other than themselves that you'd think they'd actually be putting the effort in for). Put yourself on a desert island, and you'd stop dressing up pretty quickly, because it's the attention of other people that validates your effort, not the self-satisfaction of a well-constructed ensemble.

    Incidentally, the people who insist that they don't care about their appearance, and sneer at "fashion victims" are often the people who care about what other people think of their appearance the most. Take my dad for example. There are strict instructions when buying him a clothes-related gift, that basically rule anything out that's too loud. Basically, he'd refuse to wear anything that draws too much attention to himself, and as such, he clearly cares about what others think far more than he would admit. My step-dad on the other hand will pretty much wear whatever you buy him (with a slight preference for funny t-shirts), because he genuinely doesn't give a shit. When I was in school I used to follow in the footsteps of my dad. I never used to use any product in my hair for example and would always get the same haircut. If you knew me, you would've just thought that I didn't care about my appearance. The reality, of course, is that I simply didn't want to take the risk and it not be well received by others. Nowadays, of course, I have no issue in admitting that I put some effort in (not a massive amount, admittedly) and I do so purely because I care what others think.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah, you're right. What I mean, though, is not that it purges bacteria. But rather, manages it. Not all oral bacteria is beneficial to us (at least in excess.) Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli in excess, for example, have a strong link with tooth decay.
    Those who care for their teeth and have a relatively clean mouth have 1,000 to 100,000 bacteria living on each tooth surface. Those that do not have a clean mouth have between 100 million and 1 billion bacteria on each tooth.

    I'm not saying everyone ought to use mouth wash (I, for example, don't use it), but I don't believe it's an out and out sham either. It can certainly be beneficial to some.
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