Free Custom «The Size of Beauty» Essay Paper

Abstract

Body size and beauty are among the controversial issues which have continued to affect the society almost throughout human history. What is beauty and what is the ideal size of a beautiful woman? These and many other questions have received massive coverage and debate with no concrete decision being reached. Although beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, there still exist arguments revolving some physical elements which define beauty among women. As a result, many people imitate such lifestyle in order to meet societal factors. With this image mindset, women clothing has received immense attention with regard to beauty and body size. This has led to the manipulation of several outfits in order to flatter women who are always concerned with their mirror image, shape and size (Wykes and Gunter 5). It is in this regard that this research analysis explores the concept of ideal body in relation to beauty. To achieve this, the research answers the question of How clothing retailers flatter women with vanity sizes together with societal role in the standardization of women's clothing sizes and the consequences of these changes.

 

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Introduction

According to psychologists, the manner in which the brain views the body size is quite essential in affecting an individual’s perception over his or herself. Body image is therefore described with reference to the physical appearance, what is seen through mirrors and the way in which picture their body sizes, shapes and image in the mind. These thoughts and concerns are common among young women and girls who spent a lot of their time thinking about body image and beauty. In fact research indicates that some victims of these feelings and image obsessions adopt behaviors and lifestyle patterns which end up ruining their health in the name of looking for beauty. One of the most dangerous behaviors adopted by women during the journey of ideal image and beauty seeking process is abnormal eating disorder. This psychological disorder which basically encompasses poor eating habits and practices has been found to be more prevalent among young women who get influenced by certain personalities with main focus put on celebrities. These conditions have never been accepted. Psychologists argue that negative perception towards oneself may lead to complicated mental disorder hence affecting the life of an individual (Chittenden and Warren). Negative attitude towards personal image also erodes personal esteem in comparison to other people. It is automatic that a mind which is dissatisfied with the appearance of the body will always consider others in relation to beauty, body size, shape, weight and height. Due to these thoughts, anxiety among related to beauty and body image has been found to be very high in women.

As mentioned above, the perception of women towards their body sizes and weight has gone a step a head in dictating the kind of outfit they use. This has led to the emergence of several fashions of clothes aimed at satisfying the psychological perception of the body. Manufacturers and other textile dealers therefore consider fashion and trend in the society before the production of women outfits (Kinley 318). As a result, this industry continues to experience the challenge of manufacturing women clothing attires which suits their perceived attitude and taste. Consequently, some retailers have gone a head to flatter women with vanity sizes by stocking larger sized clothes in order to mislead women who end up thinking that they usually use small-sized clothes. How has this been received by the society? It is pretty clear that many people have not found it relevant arguing that it contributes to most women getting obsessed with their body sizes and image. It is also worth noting that the role played by the media industry cannot be underscored. As a key society tool, media has had far reaching effect in the society especially with regard to the human behavior and attitudes. There are millions of people throughout the world who have adopted unacceptable behavior due to the impact effect of media consumption. Although it continues to play its informative role, it obeys the fact that a coin has two faces and that at one point the society has been shortchanged and misled via the media. Body images and clothing  sizes widely featured by display media channels like television and movies influence many people with regard to dress code perception over individual’s body.

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Research problem

There is a lot of concern among women over their body sizes and image. This has caught the attention of manufactures and clothing retailers who have chosen to flatter women using vanity sizes which impact negatively to the society. In this regard, the research establishes how clothing retailers flatter women with vanity sizes and the society’s role in the determination of the standard clothing size for women.

Research questions

To fully explore the concept of ideal image, size and beauty, the research answers the following questions.

• What is the perception of women towards body image?
• How do clothing retailers flatter women with vanity sizes?
• How does the society influence the standardization of women's clothing sizes?
• What are the consequences of these changes in the size of women clothing?

Clothing and body size

Body image is of the most perceived topics by human beings. With regard to gender comparisons women are more concerned with their body images and sizes. Why is so? Isn’t there any other reason of causing women to accepting who and what they are? These are some of the questions covered by authors and experts who have spent time and resources in finding out the truth behind clothing sizes in women. On the other hand, beauty and attractiveness has is key in the life of a woman. However, the society has also significantly contributed towards the acceptance of these two elements. It is believed that beautiful and attractive women receive favor in many ways. First, children do understand that attractive people are usually favored by their teachers and colleagues. As a result, many children grow with the purpose of becoming beautiful in order to meet the standards which have been set by the society (Kinley 317). There are other societal institutions in which beauty and physical attractiveness play a major role. For instance, people believe that attractive ladies are likely to succeed in a job interview with a lot of ease. By interviewers allowing the image, beauty and overall physical appearance to favor an applicant, many young women get carried away with the  desire  of reshaping and resizing themselves in order to become like certain individuals who seem excel because of their size and image.  

Additionally, the challenges of being a woman do not end at being attractive. Many shoppers get deceived ploy of vanity sizing in which clothing retailers mainly stock large size large size clothes in order to deceive their customers who end up thinking that they do purchase fitting and smaller sizes. This trend has been noted in a number of retail shops not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world (Martin and Lehu 60). These sizes vary from store to store depending on the kind of customers who frequently visit them. To achieve the target of deceiving customers, these retailers maintain standard size labels on the clothes even after making large-size adjustments. This has been the greatest dilemma among women who find it difficult in understanding their sizes due to non standard sizes. The absence of legislation that regulates the textile industry regarding the size of clothes gives retailers the opportunity the chance to make their customized sizes.

The question which many people have failed to understand is the main reason behind adjusting of clothes. Why can retailers retain the standard sizes for it to be easier for ladies to make their selections? Some people argue that the reason behind this is to attract customers. However, women are finding it hard to understand their clothing sizes because each retailer has customized measurements which suit specific individuals. As a result, a woman has to move from shop to shop looking for a fitting outfit yet all these varying clothes have the same standard size. Consequently, women find themselves wearing different sizes of clothes at different retail shops. This shopping flattery has not been welcomed by majority of women who are finding it hard to understand their clothing sizes (Blisstree Staff). They also find shopping of clothes to be a nightmare and frustrating since they have to move from shop to shop trying out different outfit sizes. This phenomenon also puts a lot of pressure on women causing them to spend most of their time thinking about their body size and shape. Such thoughts put women at risk of getting obsessed with some figures leading adoption of weight losing or gaining practices when there was no need for such a decision.

Conclusion

It very important to understand that we are what we wear. In other words, one can easily tell the personality of a new by simply considering the clothing outfit. As a result correct clothing size is quite essential in portraying what we really are to the world. Retailers need not to focus on resizing standard clothes (Deckert 7). It does not help much when standard women clothes are adjusted to cause confusion and shopping animosity for women when they truly understand their clothing sizes. Moreover, media should focus on informative coverage information other than painting some sizes and images as more favorable than others. Body size and image is too natural that many people who have tried changing it have found themselves in great trouble like skin complications and mental disorders among others. It is quite essential for people to have in built self esteem in order to conquer a multitude of challenges which aim at reddening our identity.