Sociology 2202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Honigman, Plastic Surgery, Physical Attractiveness
17 Apr 2017
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Passages in red are citations from specific authors: It seems likely that more people are obsessed with achieving an ideal of physical perfection than ever before, and that popular culture has had a great deal to do with this shift. Popular culture is regularly blamed for people being overly concerned with their appearance, for people pursuing risky weight-loss programmes, and for people becoming unhappy because they do not come up to their own expectations of physical attractiveness. Advertising, films and television programmes are said to be responsible for these attitudes, by saturating us with images of unrealizable perfection, and by saturating us also with narratives in which happiness is tied to attractiveness. Our society has become obsessed with image and appearance . We are wearing more makeup, going to the gym more often, buying clothes that are increasingly stylish and flattering, and even spending more time and effort styling and colouring our hair.
