Insights Into Teens: Episode 153 ”Teens and Beauty Standards”

[INTRO THEME]
[INTRODUCTIONS]
Insights Into Teens: Episode 153 “Teens and Beauty Standards”
My fashionable and confident co-host Madison Whalen

Summary

Beauty is subjective and perceptive.

Every day many people look into the mirror, thinking that they’d change so many things if they really could.
They use beauty products to hide what they naturally have and what they don’t like.
But when they try to fit into someone else’s definition of beauty, do they truly understand what beauty really is?

On this episode of Insights Into Teens we’ll explore what beauty is, how it differs from culture to culture and the impact it has on us both physically and psychologically

[SHOW PLUGS]

But first I’d like to invite the listening and viewing audience to subscribe to the podcast.
You can find audio versions listed under Insights Into Teens, you can also find video and audio versions listed under Insights Into Things.

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[TRANSITION]

[SEGMENT 1]

What is beauty?

https://thebeautyholic.com/psychological-effects-of-beauty-standards/#What_Is_Beauty
https://bit.ly/3Sp6BU1

Beauty, as the society normalizes it, is having flawless skin, perfect body, and living up to the beauty standards we see in the movies, magazines of beauty pageants.

But the truth is the concept of beauty can be different for different people, culture, and society.
It basically depends on one’s own perception.

Other major psychological effects of beauty standards are that we try to fit into someone else’s definition rather than realizing our own worth.

The most important thing is that beauty comes from within.
It should not be a forced concept that the outside world puts on you.

There is no single definition of beauty.

Every color is beautiful, every body type is gorgeous, and every face is beautiful.
Every human being on this Earth is unique, and hence everyone is beautiful.
You should have a beautiful heart and soul to truly define beauty.
A beautiful face alone doesn’t cut it.

Forced Beauty Standards

The images of ideal beauty are bombarding us every day.

With this, we forget the fact that beauty standards are arbitrary, and they vary from one culture to another.
These variations often decide the roles of men and women in society.

For example, for fertile women, broad hips and ample breasts are considered to be beautiful.

In Fiji, women with large and chubby bodies are deemed to be attractive.
So what is considered overweight in the US is desirable and wanted somewhere else.
Therefore beauty standards totally depend on the place you come from.

Beauty industries, however, implant a different type of beauty standards in our mind.

A large part of the industry is based on the insecurities we have about our face, skin, and body.
This industry feeds on our insecurities and benefits the most from the dissatisfaction with ourselves.
It is a shame that these industries spend millions of dollars in promoting something practically impossible to achieve, creating several psychological impacts.

The fashion industry, on the other hand, manufactured products that define the”perfect” body.

Push up bras, bustiers, pantyhose, stockings, and corsets all are designed to get that ideal body.
The fashion industry, however, is changing according to the changing beauty standards.
But how does fashion have to do anything with how we feel about our bodies?

Fashion advertising and fashion in itself can very much shape how we feel about our bodies.

This is because most of the fashion products are meant to suit the tall and skinny supermodels making it one of the most prevalent psychological effects of beauty standards.
This is something that no average woman can achieve in her daily life.

The beauty standards revealed in the pages of fashion magazines and TV are nearly impossible to achieve.

While some say, these models look anorexic, while others find them really attractive.

[AD1: SSE]

[SEGMENT 2]

Beauty and Psychology

Oftentimes, due to the media, our brains perceive the psychological effects of beauty standards.

Media plays a huge role in the perceptions of these ideas.
This is because it is the media where we get the ideas of perfect beauty and body from.

From social media, television, fashion magazines, billboards, and so much more, we carry the idea of desirability and appearance.

It is because of the media alone that we have body shaming issues, plastic surgeries, and eating disorders.
The media industry, however, takes this criticism unrealistically.
Still, it is because of them that our attitude towards our own self and others is changed by the perception of beauty standards.

Physiological Effects of Beauty Standards

The advertisements every day come with a visual assault, and women are the most targeted audience of this constant barrage.

These messages in beauty advertisements often have negative effects on women.

Several studies have found that these advertisements are harmful to a woman’s mood, body, expectations, self-esteem, health, eating habits, and so much more.

The idea of beauty is circulated across so many media platforms that women carry these ideals as their own, and they start to feel disappointed in their own skin.
These unrealistic ideals can be damaging and harmful for their own self.

The concept of ideal feminine beauty is mostly created by society and often depicts physical attractiveness that every woman should possess to be desirable and attractive.

These principles are largely based on hetero-normative ideas and often discriminate against women based on social orientation.

Women these days are trying to comply with these beauty ideals and standards, which are leading to several psychological disorders.

Studies have shown that such ideals can often lead to psychological issues such as depression, reduced self-esteem, eating disorders, and so much more.
Girls from a very early age are subjected to these images of perfection and their exposure extends to adulthood.

The ideal feminine beauty is considered to be a faultless, flawless, impossibly-proportioned woman upon whom all the other women should base themselves to be desirable and attractive.

This ideal, however, is not entirely theoretical.
Still, beauty advertisers are cashing in the demand to perfect to market their beauty products.

So when do we know that beauty is the beast?

When the perceptions of beauty interfere with your healthy well being, and all it is giving you is stress and depression, then you should know that this beauty is not worth it.
It is always recommended to be true to yourself and that nothing is more important than your mental and physical health.
[AD2: ENTERTAINMENT]

[SEGMENT 3]

6 ways to deal with beauty standards

When it comes to psychological disorders, the world still lives in the Stone Age.

This is why people with mental disorders find it difficult to come out in public.
It is even more difficult when you are really sick on the inside but show the world that you are doing just fine.
Honestly, there is nothing to be ashamed of mental illness.

This is because the world that we live in and the pressure of perception it puts on us, it is just normal to have insecurities.

Here we are sharing some ways by which you can keep a healthy perspective:

Know what you’re good at:

Do not be depressed with your limitations; instead, focus on your strong points.

You might have an absolute perception of beauty, but that does not mean that you have to copy someone from head to toe.
You can definitely take inspiration and be your own kind of beautiful.
So instead of sulking into your depressed state of mind, get up and do what you are good at.
If you still don’t know how to deal with your depression, then there are online therapy sessions you can go for or can see a psychologist.

Accept yourself wholly:

A lot of us find it really difficult to accept our own selves, but most of the time, it is because we want to fit onto someone else’s expectations.

So it is essential to find someone who will accept you for who you are.
People have high expectations, but in this whole wide world, you will definitely find a person who will love you for who you are.
There are several dating sites and apps these days that work like online therapy for people who are trying to find their perfect match.

Stand up for yourself:

Believe in yourself and be confident.

Don’t ever let someone bring you down or mistreat you.
People can be mean and miserable, but you should know that if you do not stand up for yourself, then no one else will.
So never allow anyone to tell you that you are not good enough.

Seek professional help:

Another way to deal with psychological disorders is to get treatment.

For your sake, never ever step back in admitting that you need help.
People who are not able to share their problems often meet fatal consequences.
So if you know you are sick, go get help.
If you are too hesitant to visit a psychologist in person, then you can also opt for online therapy.

Stop self-sabotaging:

Never push people away.

When someone is trying to cheer you up, let them be by your side.
Being alone is the worst possible thing you can do when you are trying to deal with psychological issues.
Be close to people who like you for what you are and not what you look like.
Also, there are several stories on the internet just like yours.
Read and watch them instead of some plastic beauty conception.
Doing well will work as online therapy to make you love yourself.

Stop trying to be like someone else:

Another crucial thing you need to do is to stop comparing yourself with others.

Everyone is their own kind of beautiful.
So if you are trying to be like someone else, you need to stop it right away.
Frankly speaking, it is just going to make you feel lower.
To see and do things that will make you love yourself.
There is numerous content on the internet on self-love, so you can use them as your personal online therapy sessions to feel good about yourself.

The media and beauty advertisements only portray an unattainable and overly sexualized version of beauty.

You should not be harrowing yourself with these ideas and notions in order to look or feel beautiful.
Spending your energy and time analyzing perfectionist beauty ideals does more bad than good.
Therefore, just love yourself and stay healthy.

[TRANSITION]

[CLOSE]

Closing thoughts shoutouts

[OUTRO AND CREDITS]

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00:00:01:17 – 00:00:41:05
Michelle
Insightful podcasts by informative host insights into Things, a podcast network. Welcome to Insights Into Teams, a podcast series exploring the issues and challenges of today’s youth. Your hosts are Joseph and Madison, as well as a father and daughter team making their way through the challenges.

00:00:41:05 – 00:00:50:16
Michelle
Of the teenage years.

00:00:51:15 – 00:01:06:16
Joseph
Welcome to Insights Into Teens. This is episode 153 Teens and Beauty Standards. I’m your host, Joseph Whelan, and my fashionable and confident co-host, Madison Wale.

00:01:06:23 – 00:01:09:27
Madison
Hi, everyone. Don’t know if fashion is the best way to describe me, but.

00:01:09:27 – 00:01:14:19
Joseph
You’re a mickey Mouse as fashionable. How do you get more fashionable than Mickey Mouse?

00:01:14:22 – 00:01:15:11
Madison
I don’t know.

00:01:16:12 – 00:01:17:07
Joseph
How are you doing today?

00:01:18:01 – 00:01:19:15
Madison
I’m doing all right. How about you?

00:01:19:16 – 00:01:26:18
Joseph
I’m not doing okay. Besides it being exceedingly hot this week. Anything else exciting going on?

00:01:28:06 – 00:01:32:21
Madison
I’m going to be starting mini band camp next week. And then band camp.

00:01:33:08 – 00:01:38:16
Joseph
That’s after we have a mini beforehand and then we have Bandcamp that once had just a warm up.

00:01:39:00 – 00:01:42:04
Madison
Yeah, it’s basically get three extra hours for two days.

00:01:42:11 – 00:01:46:21
Joseph
That sounds exciting. Yeah. What’s the weather supposed to be like during that?

00:01:47:07 – 00:01:51:04
Madison
I don’t know. And I don’t know if I want to know.

00:01:51:27 – 00:01:53:20
Joseph
Well, hopefully it won’t be too hot.

00:01:53:27 – 00:01:54:25
Madison
I hope so.

00:01:56:03 – 00:01:58:01
Joseph
That’s not what we’re talking about today, though, is it?

00:01:58:06 – 00:01:58:16
Madison
No.

00:01:59:04 – 00:02:28:08
Joseph
Because we’ve already talked about it. Today we’re talking about teens and beauty standards. Beauty is subjective and perceptive. Every day many people look in the mirror thinking they’d change so many things if they really could. They used beauty products to hide what they naturally have and what they don’t like. But when they try to fit into someone else’s definition of beauty, do they truly understand what beauty really is?

00:02:29:09 – 00:02:59:18
Joseph
Well, this episode of Insights into Teens will explore what beauty is, how it differs from culture to culture, and the impact it has on both psychologic and physiological effects on teens. Before we do that, though, I do want to take a moment to invite our listening and viewing audience to subscribe to the podcast. You can find audio and video versions of this podcast listed as insights and the things you can find.

00:02:59:18 – 00:03:19:19
Joseph
Just audio versions listed as insights in the teens. And you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, or any place you can find a podcast. I would also invite our audience to writing, Give us your feedback. We’re always looking for show notes. Wow. Now we make those show suggestions we’re looking for.

00:03:19:20 – 00:03:21:11
Madison
Yeah, but if you want to read the show now.

00:03:21:12 – 00:03:59:04
Joseph
You’re welcome, Maria. You’re welcome. Because that’s a lot of work. Right, and shown us. You’re welcome to write those for us if you want. Yeah, but if you do, you can email them in the comments that insights into things dot com. You can find us on Twitter at twitter.com slash insights on underscore things you can find us on Facebook at Facebook dot com, slash insights into things podcast or you can find that and much more on our official website at WW W dot insights in the things dot com and I think we’re just about ready to get going shall we get into it, Michelle?

00:03:59:06 – 00:04:02:07
Joseph
All right, here we go.

00:04:06:18 – 00:04:27:24
Joseph
So the research comes this week from the beauty holic dot com. Sounds like a very appropriate source for this topic. Mm hmm. They say beauty is the art society. Beauty? Well, okay, hang on. Starting over, we do a read through today.

00:04:27:26 – 00:04:28:11
Madison
Yeah.

00:04:28:24 – 00:04:55:04
Joseph
We really need to start doing that more often. Probably beauty as the society normalizes it is having flawless skin, perfect body, and living up to the beauty standards that we see in the movies magazine scenes or beauty pageants. But the truth is, the concept of beauty can be different for different people, culture and society. It basically depends on one’s own perception.

00:04:55:15 – 00:04:57:22
Joseph
And as we all know, perception is reality.

00:04:58:01 – 00:04:58:10
Madison
Yep.

00:04:59:12 – 00:05:22:03
Joseph
Other major psychological ill effects of beauty standards are that we try to fit in to someone else’s definition rather than realizing our own worth. The most important thing is that beauty comes from within. It should not be a forced concept that the outside world puts on. And the other thing to remember is there’s no single definition of beauty.

00:05:22:24 – 00:05:50:18
Joseph
Every color is beautiful. Every body type is gorgeous, and every face is beautiful. Every human being on this earth is unique, and hence everyone is beautiful. You should have to be. You should have to be having a rough day today. Yeah. You should have a beautiful heart and soul to truly define beauty. A beautiful face alone doesn’t cut it.

00:05:50:19 – 00:05:55:09
Joseph
Now, let’s see if you do any better than I did today. Hopefully, I can’t imagine this growing up any more than I did.

00:05:56:07 – 00:06:21:27
Madison
So then there’s forced beauty standards. The images of ideal beauty are bombarding us every day. With this, we forget the fact that beauty standards are arbitrary and they vary from one culture to another. These variations often decide the roles of men and women in society. For example, for fertile women, broad hips and ample breasts are considered to be beautiful.

00:06:22:12 – 00:06:49:16
Madison
In Fiji, women with large and showy bodies are deemed to be attractive. So what is considered overweight in the U.S. is desirable and wanted somewhere else. Therefore, beauty standards totally depend on the place you come from. Beauty industry is, however, implant a different type of beauty standard in our mind. A large part of the industry is based on the insecurities we have about our face, skin and body.

00:06:50:06 – 00:07:21:06
Madison
This industry feeds on our insecurities and benefits the most from the dissatisfaction with ourselves. It is shame that these industries spend millions of dollars in promoting something practically impossible to achieve, creating several psychological impacts. The fashion industry, on the other hand, manufactured products that define the perfect body. Push up bras busters, pantyhose, stockings and corsets are all designed to get that ideal body.

00:07:21:28 – 00:07:50:03
Madison
The fashion industry, however, is changing according to the changing beauty standards. But how does fashion have to do with how we feel about our bodies? Fashion, advertising and fashion in itself can very much shape how we feel about our bodies. This is because most of the fashion products are meant to suit the tall and skinny supermodels, making it one of the most prevalent psychological effects of beauty standards.

00:07:50:03 – 00:08:11:25
Madison
Prevalent psychological effects of beauty standards. This is something that no average woman can achieve in her daily life, or even that in the average man, especially from where you come in. The beauty standards revealed in the pages of fashion magazines and TV are nearly impossible to achieve. While some say these models look.

00:08:12:18 – 00:08:13:23
Joseph
At a anorexic.

00:08:13:25 – 00:08:17:03
Madison
Anorexic, while others find them really attractive.

00:08:17:25 – 00:08:51:08
Joseph
So I guess my first question is, what do you think tends to drive? And we’re talking right now just about, let’s say, Western culture. What do you think drives what beauty is? Is it fashion? Is it health? Is it society? Is it the beauty industry itself? Or do you do you think that the beauty industry and the fashion industry are catering to what the beauty standard is?

00:08:51:08 – 00:08:55:19
Joseph
Do you think they’re defining it or are they catering to it?

00:08:56:03 – 00:09:39:21
Madison
I feel like they are more catering to it. They’re not technically. Occasionally there will be like fashion trends that, you know, fashion industries will jump upon, but defining like what would be like fashionably attractive. I think they also kind of stem from based on the society, the societal aspects of what they deem to be attractive. So the fashion industry can have its own versions of, oh, well, we deem this fashion trend, like this fashion trend is now popular and thus they use that.

00:09:39:21 – 00:09:45:10
Madison
But most of the time the more catering to the beauty standards rather than genuinely creating them themselves.

00:09:45:24 – 00:10:11:09
Joseph
How do you think pop culture plays into it? You have a lot of things that tend to be influenced by pop culture. Fashion itself, you know, what kind of clothes you wear, what it looks like. But pop culture also can influence hairstyles, makeup trends, stuff like that. Do you think that pop culture has an equal influence as everything else on beauty standards of today?

00:10:11:12 – 00:10:14:14
Madison
And when we talk about pop culture, like movies, TV shows and whatnot.

00:10:14:15 – 00:10:15:04
Joseph
Exactly.

00:10:15:28 – 00:10:50:00
Madison
Yeah, definitely. In fact, I know that there are a lot of actors specifically like a lot of actors are traditionally attractive and seeing certain body types being most body types that are seemingly attractive for attractive celebrities with movies and TV shows. Yeah, they would definitely influence beauty standards. Of course, they can start new fashion and such as well as new and do their own versions of it.

00:10:50:00 – 00:11:25:02
Madison
But when you see like certain actors with certain body types being portrayed, it definitely helps to further the beauty standards that society brings. And in fact, the industry itself, like it definitely has its own problem with hiring older or less attractive, quote unquote, less attractive women. And yeah, a lot of the times the actors necessarily reflect the societal beauty standards and can help to further it.

00:11:25:20 – 00:11:53:26
Joseph
So that’s a good point that you bring up there about the let’s call it gender inequality when it comes to fashion and beauty. Obviously, it happens in the entertainment industry where we see that even from an AIDS discrimination standpoint as well. How do you think it affects teens? Are teens in high school held to a different standard of beauty based on their gender?

00:11:53:27 – 00:11:56:03
Joseph
And if so, what kind of impact does it have?

00:11:57:09 – 00:12:30:18
Madison
I think that it’s more likely to have women being conscientious of their looks rather than men necessarily. Even though you’re a good example of people calling you fat and such and discriminating you for your body weight. But I definitely think it’s kind of seeing how it affects women. It’s like no matter what you do as a woman, even as a teen, you’re never going to have the perfect body.

00:12:30:19 – 00:12:57:16
Madison
And while men, it doesn’t seem to be as much of an issue, it’s just, you know, work out more and don’t be fat. Women. It’s even more complicated. It’s like if you’re too skinny, you need to eat up and you’re not attractive. If you’re too fat, you need to slim down. And really, there’s no way to get the perfect body for women because it’s so unrealistic and almost impossible for anybody.

00:12:58:11 – 00:13:08:28
Joseph
So do you think that there are things that are expected of women from a beauty standpoint that aren’t even expected of men? And if so, can you give an example?

00:13:09:01 – 00:13:31:27
Madison
Makeup is probably one of the biggest ones. Any kind of like skin care product in general, a lot of men won’t even use like lotion or anything because it’s considered to be feminine and most men aren’t expected to wear makeup or anything. Another one that I had a really big issue with when I started was shaving your legs.

00:13:33:01 – 00:13:50:14
Madison
Men don’t have to do that. Men don’t even men. The only thing men really shave is like the beard. Occasionally or even their hair. But like women, I kind of expected to shave their arms, their legs. They’re kind of expected to have flawless skin. And you don’t really expect that of men in society.

00:13:50:18 – 00:14:01:20
Joseph
That’s a that’s a very good point. So we’re going to take a quick break here. And when we come back, we’re going to talk about beauty and psychology. We’ll be right back.

00:14:01:29 – 00:14:10:01
Madison
All righty.

00:14:10:10 – 00:14:40:15
Joseph
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00:14:41:10 – 00:15:06:22
Joseph
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00:15:12:06 – 00:15:47:12
Madison
Welcome back to insights in the teens. Today we’re talking about teens and beauty standards. And now we’re going to talk about beauty and psychology. Oftentimes, due to the media, our brains perceive the psychological effects of beauty standards. Media plays a huge role in the press. The perceptions of the idea of these ideas. This is because it is the media where we get the ideas of perfect beauty and body from from social media, television, fashion magazines, billboards, and so much more.

00:15:47:21 – 00:16:13:09
Madison
We carry the idea of desire, of desirability and appearance. It is because of the media alone that we have body shaming issues, plastic surgeries and eating disorders. The media industry, however, takes this criticism unrealistically. Still, it is because of them that our attitude towards our own self and others is changed by the perception of beauty standards.

00:16:13:28 – 00:16:24:24
Joseph
So what kind of psychology Google Effects have beauty standards add on you? Give us an example.

00:16:24:24 – 00:16:43:29
Madison
Well, shaving my legs was definitely one. It’s like one that I didn’t really feel was necessary because it’s like, okay, why is it a sweater of women to shave their legs but not of men? And why is it considered hygiene when hygiene really shouldn’t be gendered, even though it’s gendered constantly, despite the fact that everybody should have hygiene?

00:16:44:11 – 00:16:45:18
Joseph
How does it make you feel, though?

00:16:47:16 – 00:17:09:12
Madison
It definitely. I guess I just didn’t I definitely didn’t understand it. It definitely confused me why that was a beauty standard entirely for women and why like I would be made fun of because I had hair on my legs. It just confused me and it just made me feel like, okay, that’s a little weird. I don’t really think that should be a thing.

00:17:09:23 – 00:17:38:12
Joseph
Do you? Do you feel that there’s anyone in school who has or any of your social circles who have ostracized you or shunned you or made fun of you because of your appearance, how you wear your hair, the clothes that you wear, whether or not you wear makeup or not, do you get any kind of negative feelings or feedback or anything like that where it might affect you at an emotional level?

00:17:38:17 – 00:17:54:12
Madison
I mean, the only thing that actually really happened was only for my friend and I know they probably didn’t mean it, but they said due to the way, like I just because I was like I normally wear hoodies and such. So when I was like wearing hoodies and mainly just covered up most of my body because I feel comfortable that way.

00:17:55:11 – 00:18:18:17
Madison
They basically said like, if I dress more like my friend Carly, who didn’t always wear hoodies and dressed more quote unquote feminine and more openly, showed her body like with arms and such, that I’d be happier. And I didn’t really get that. And that was really the only time that anyone really commented on how I looked entirely.

00:18:19:09 – 00:18:24:09
Joseph
So do you think looking a certain way can make you feel a certain way?

00:18:24:21 – 00:18:49:09
Madison
I mean, it can depend on the person. I personally feel way more comfortable. Like it definitely works with a comfort level. I definitely feel more comfortable not showing more of my body. I when I don’t have to during the summer, it’s a little more difficult, but I still prefer to just wear T-shirts and shorts. Most of the time I just during one or I just wear a hoodie pants and a t shirt underneath.

00:18:49:24 – 00:19:16:21
Madison
And that person that makes me feel comfortable. And I know that plenty of other people would feel more comfortable showing their skin, and that’s totally on them. And honestly, it really is just I feel about the comfort level. It can definitely provide comfort level, it might provide like confidence and such. But I’ve personally only really gained a comfort level from it and I really don’t care how I outwardly look as long as I just feel comfortable.

00:19:16:28 – 00:19:47:20
Joseph
Okay, well, that makes sense. There are, however, physiological effects of beauty standards. The advertisements every day come with a visual assault, and women are the most targeted audience of this constant barrage. These messages of beauty advertisements often have negative side effects on women. Several studies have found that these advertisements are harmful to a woman’s mood, body expectations, self-esteem, health, eating habits and so much more.

00:19:48:26 – 00:20:19:04
Joseph
The idea of beauty is circulated across so many media platforms that women carry these ideals as their own and they start to feel disappointed in their own skin. These unrealistic ideals can be damaging and harmful for their own self. The concept of ideal feminine body beauty is mostly created by society and often depicts physical attractiveness that every woman should possess to be desirable and attractive.

00:20:20:03 – 00:20:52:16
Joseph
These principles are largely based on heteronormative ideas and often discriminate against women based on social orientation. Have you ever found that you have been discriminated against because of the way you look or the way you dress? I mean, the situation that you depicted there is one thing, but do you find that people don’t want to socialize with you or don’t want to include you in things in school or at band or anything because you don’t dress the part of, you know, an attractive young lady?

00:20:53:09 – 00:21:15:27
Madison
Thankfully, I don’t think I’ve entirely experienced that. Nobody’s really insulted me for dressing the way I do. Nobody entirely comments on it, and I’m pretty sure that people that wouldn’t want to associate with me because of how I dress don’t outwardly tell it to me, which I can at least appreciate. It’s like, Yes, you can judge me, but don’t let me know that you’re judging me.

00:21:16:06 – 00:21:28:27
Joseph
Okay? Now, do you feel that there’s a pressure on you from anyone in society and you just aren’t bowing to that pressure? Or is there just no pressure there? It’s just people are kind of doing their own thing.

00:21:29:12 – 00:22:07:20
Madison
I mean, I’ve definitely noticed that I’m not I’m not overweight, obviously, but I definitely have my stomach is visible and I’m definitely not as thin. And some of my other classmates and I’ve noticed it and I’ve I’m not necessarily been it hasn’t really stopped me from being pressured. It hasn’t really gotten me pressured to get thinner or like do anything to make myself more attractive.

00:22:07:20 – 00:22:24:19
Madison
My face is certainly another thing because it’s like I’m one that kind of gets pimples and acne a lot. But unless it’s just to like, stop it from being like too much of a problem with skin care products for that, I don’t really cover it up.

00:22:24:19 – 00:22:36:07
Joseph
I’m not, is it? Did you notice these things because you noticed them or because you felt other people’s scrutiny on you?

00:22:36:07 – 00:23:04:21
Madison
Well, I guess beauty standards and learning about them definitely more opened my eyes to it when I started finally noticing different people’s weights and not well, not weights, but their body types. And then I started more recognizing mine. And then I kind of I mean, I probably I already kind of knew beforehand, but like it definitely, definitely made me more aware of it.

00:23:04:21 – 00:23:06:10
Madison
I think.

00:23:06:10 – 00:23:08:06
Joseph
Okay, I think that’s a fair point.

00:23:09:21 – 00:23:33:26
Madison
Women these days are trying to comply with these beauty ideals and standards which are leading to several psychological disorders. So this notion that such ideals can often lead to psychological issues such as depression, reduced self-esteem, eating disorders and so much more girls from a very early age are subjected to these images of perfection, and their exposure extends to adulthood.

00:23:34:15 – 00:24:13:01
Madison
The ideal feminine beauty. Beauty is considered to be a slow, faultless, flawless, impossibly proportioned woman upon whom all the other women should base themselves to be desirable and attractive. This ideal, however, is not entirely theoretical. It’s still beauty. Advertisers are crushing the demand to perfect this, to perfect to market their beauty products. So when do we know that beauty is the beast?

00:24:13:28 – 00:24:31:06
Madison
When the perceptions of beauty interfere with your healthy well-being and all it is giving you is stress and depression, then you should know that beauty is not worth it. It is always recommended to be true to yourself and that nothing is more important than your mental and physical health.

00:24:32:00 – 00:25:10:10
Joseph
So I want to throw an example out there and I’m curious what your your opinion is on it. So one of the things in pop culture that has taken a lot of heat for this misconception of what the ideal body looks like is the Barbie doll, where the Barbie doll has this ridiculous set of proportions that if a human being achieve those and some have tried, it would almost be fatal to the human body because you’d have to basically compress your internal organs and do all kinds of crazy, uncomfortable and dangerous things.

00:25:10:28 – 00:25:20:12
Joseph
Do you think that that standard that’s been set by that doll has caused problem with with kids and teens as they grow up?

00:25:21:00 – 00:25:54:15
Madison
I mean, I can’t deny that it’s more than likely had a large impact on it. While Barbie has definitely gotten flack for a lot of stuff, I can definitely see, even if it’s not inherently the problem, it’s certainly had some negative effect and there and I definitely can tell that it’s probably affected a lot of young girls and teens that have seen it and thought that they needed to be like Barbie.

00:25:54:15 – 00:26:18:15
Joseph
You know, it’s funny, I think of as I was growing up and the toys and the things that we kind of used as our standard as boys growing up. And the first thing I think of is professional wrestling. So when I was growing up, you had professional wrestlers that just looked like really big guys and you had some professional wrestlers who were fat.

00:26:18:18 – 00:26:57:14
Joseph
I mean, large men read like wrestlers like King Kong, Bundy and John Studd and Andre the Giant. These guys weren’t these ripped bodybuilders bulging with muscles. These were just all big, heavy, strong guys. And and that shifted, you know, as early as the 1990s. And, you started to see the occasional wrestler come in who just had this like physique that was chiseled from from marble and and that quickly overtook what professional wrestling looked like.

00:26:58:15 – 00:27:35:10
Joseph
And that standard really had an impact, I think, on what boys growing up during that time thought of. And then I think back to Barbie, where Barbie had been relatively from a parent standpoint, relatively unchanged for 50 years, 60 years now. How long it’s been out, do you think that the standards that were imposed by Barbie very early on in the fifties and sixties, I guess you came out in the sixties.

00:27:35:10 – 00:27:49:19
Joseph
Have they been reinforced for so long that it’s changed society, whereas the ideal male body is kind of a new concept? It’s, you know, it’s only maybe 30, 20, 30 years old. Do you think that’s out of the fact that time?

00:27:50:05 – 00:28:16:24
Madison
Yeah, because like when you look back at like really, really past Victorian eras, you got like men that well they definitely like composed themselves in certain ways. You got a lot of decently overweight men. However, women wore things like corsets back then, which while they were, while corsets weren’t entirely bad and and it normally helped them with their posture.

00:28:17:07 – 00:28:40:01
Madison
It did enforce a large beauty standard on them and that it’s probably one of the reasons why, like you see more women being damaged by the beauty standards than men. Because like you mentioned, the beauty standard for men is fairly recent. While the beauty standard for women has been around for centuries.

00:28:40:12 – 00:29:10:26
Joseph
It’s funny you mention that because in looking at the research on this, I did a little research on my own and from medieval times through the Renaissance. And really up until the 20th century, men who were overweight denoted a certain class of men. If you could afford to eat enough to get overweight, only affluent people were really overweight.

00:29:11:01 – 00:29:33:24
Joseph
Yeah. Because of the diet that you had. Like even you think back in the Middle Ages and then around that time, the average peasant couldn’t afford meat for the most part. And if it was, it was low quality, high fat meat that you got small portions of for the burst of energy that you get from you can go work out in the farm.

00:29:34:15 – 00:29:59:10
Joseph
It wasn’t until you got into the upper middle class that you started to have, you know, the fine meats, the venison, the kind of food that allowed you to have a high calorie intake and wasn’t just a primarily, you know, oats and grains and carb based type of of meal. And as a result, they started their waistlines started to expand.

00:29:59:10 – 00:30:10:15
Joseph
So when you saw a rotund man walking down the street, you knew that that represented a certain class of citizen, that they were relatively affluent.

00:30:10:23 – 00:30:25:04
Madison
Yeah. Because they were able to pay to eat as much as they wanted really. And back then like it basically showed that you were rich and it was, you know, a dignified beauty standard for it.

00:30:25:04 – 00:30:32:26
Joseph
So if I lived back then, I would look like I was look I would look like the Elon Musk of of citizens back then.

00:30:33:00 – 00:30:33:14
Madison
Yeah.

00:30:35:01 – 00:30:57:08
Joseph
Okay. So I think we’ve got a good standard that we’re working off of here. I think we’re going to take a quick break here. We’re going to come back and then we’re going to look at six ways to deal with beauty standards. We’ll be right back.

00:30:57:08 – 00:31:28:15
Michelle
Insights into entertainment, a podcast series taking a deeper look into entertainment and media. Our husband and wife team of pop culture fanatics are exploring all things from music and movies to television and fandom. We’ll look at the interesting and obscure entertainment news of the week. We’ll talk about theme park and pop culture news. We’ll give you the latest and greatest on pop culture conventions.

00:31:29:13 – 00:31:53:16
Michelle
We’ll give you a deep dove into Disney, Star Wars and much more. Check out our video episodes at YouTube.com back slash insights into things, our audio episodes at podcast insights into entertainment dot com or check us out on the web at insights into things dot com.

00:31:59:14 – 00:32:20:17
Madison
Welcome back to Insights in the Teens. Today we’re talking about teens and beauty standards. And now we’re going to talk about six ways to deal with beauty standards when it comes to psychological disorders. The world still lives in the Stone Age. This is why with mental disorder, this is why people with mental disorders find it difficult to come out in public.

00:32:21:09 – 00:32:51:29
Madison
It is even more difficult when you are really sick on the inside, but show the world that you are doing just fine. Honestly, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Mental illness this is because the world that we live in and the pressure of perception it puts on us, it is just normal to have insecurities. Here we are showing some of the ways by which you can keep a healthy, perceptive, perceptive perspective.

00:32:51:29 – 00:33:14:25
Madison
The first thing is know you, this is the first thing is know what you’re good at, do not be depressed with your limitations. Instead, focus on your strong points. You might have an absolute perception of beauty, but that does not mean that you have to copy someone from head to toe. You can definitely take inspiration and be your own kind of beautiful.

00:33:15:12 – 00:33:31:20
Madison
So instead of sulking into your depressed state of mind, get up and do what you are good at. If you still don’t know how to deal with your depression, then there is online therapy sessions you can go to, you can go to, or you can see a psychologist, but.

00:33:32:21 – 00:33:58:03
Joseph
You should also accept yourself. Holly A lot of us find it really difficult to accept our own selves, but most of the time it’s because we want to fit in to someone else’s expectation. So it’s essential to find someone who will accept you for who you are. People have high expectations, but in this whole wide world, you’ll definitely find a person who will love you for who you are.

00:33:59:03 – 00:34:22:07
Joseph
There are several dating sites and apps these days that work like online therapy for people who are trying to find their perfect match. You should also stand up for yourself. Believe in yourself and be confident. So never let someone bring you down or mistreat you. People can be mean and miserable, but you should know that if you don’t stand up for yourself, no one else will.

00:34:23:12 – 00:34:26:29
Joseph
So never allow anyone to tell you that you’re not good enough.

00:34:28:03 – 00:34:50:29
Madison
You should also seek professional help. Another way to deal with psychological disorders is to get treatment for your sake. Never step back in admitting that you need help. People who are not able to share their problems often meet fatal consequences. So if you know you are sick, go get help. If you’re too hesitant to visit. So to visit a psychology is in person.

00:34:51:12 – 00:35:17:06
Madison
You can also opt for online therapy. You should also stop self-sabotaging, never push people away. When someone is trying to cheer you up, let them be by your side. Being alone is the worst possible thing you can do when you are trying to deal with psychological issues. Be close to people who you, who like you for you, what you, who like you for what you are and not what you look like.

00:35:17:28 – 00:35:44:13
Madison
Also, there are several on the internet just like yours. We don’t watch them instead of some plastic beauty conception doing well with the work as online doing well will work as online therapy to make you love yourself. And finally, you should stop trying to be someone else. Another crucial thing you need to do is to stop comparing yourself to others.

00:35:45:00 – 00:36:09:03
Madison
Everyone is their own kind of beautiful. So if you are trying to be like someone else, you need to stop it right away. Frankly speaking, it is just going to make you feel lower to see and do things that will make you love yourself. There is numerous content on the internet on self-love, so you can use them as your personal online therapy sessions to feel good about yourself.

00:36:09:03 – 00:36:59:02
Joseph
But medium beauty advertisements only portray the unattainable an overly sexualized version of beauty. You should not be harrowing yourself with these ideas and notions in order to look or feel better. Spending your energy and time analyzing perfectionist, beauty, ideals does more bad than good. Therefore just love yourself and stay healthy. So let me ask you, based on what we just went over here, do you feel you had a need at any point in time to seek any kind of help to deal with what society or what the social circles you run in have imposed on you from this artificial idea of beauty.

00:36:59:27 – 00:37:33:26
Madison
I’m not for that reason, no. I’ve never really been entirely self-conscious about my own body. I’ve been able to train myself to know that beauty is subjective, much like comedy, and basically I kind of treated similar to comedy since physical attraction is a little weird to me. Basically, certain people will find a joke funny, certain people won’t find a joke funny.

00:37:34:23 – 00:37:37:26
Joseph
And most people don’t find mine funny at all. So I’m used to that.

00:37:39:09 – 00:38:08:25
Madison
And really the only it’s really not about whether your jokes are going to make somebody laugh or or to just get a reaction from people or at least a positive one. Really, the point of telling a joke is to make yourself laugh. And I feel in a way it can also be similar to beauty. It doesn’t matter if somebody is going to find you attractive or unattractive, really.

00:38:08:25 – 00:38:12:11
Madison
It’s just about you finding yourself attractive.

00:38:13:11 – 00:38:29:06
Joseph
I think that’s a very good answer there. I did want to ask, based on all of this, what do you consider beauty when you find in another person? What what does that mean to you? What do you look for?

00:38:29:29 – 00:38:55:00
Madison
To me, when I find beauty in a person, I find somebody who is willing to respect others, somebody that I’m able to joke around with, I can relate with. And really just somebody that is generally really nice to others and won’t try to put other people down. I normally find beauty in people’s personalities.

00:38:55:19 – 00:39:06:04
Joseph
So beauty to you is not this outward shell that we all wear and try to polish up. Really, it’s a matter of cracking that shell open and see what’s on the inside.

00:39:06:09 – 00:39:06:19
Madison
Yeah.

00:39:07:11 – 00:39:09:23
Joseph
That’s pretty deep. That’s deep, man.

00:39:09:27 – 00:39:10:24
Madison
That’s deep, man.

00:39:12:17 – 00:39:28:25
Joseph
I like that. I think I think you’re right. I think it is. I mean, I could be biased because, you know, I’m fat and ugly, but, you know, I’m one of those people. I think the beauty is on the inside because clearly it’s not on the outside for me. So you kind of have to look for it somewhere, right?

00:39:29:01 – 00:39:39:27
Madison
I mean, using you as an example, even if you might not be outwardly attractive, he’s got a good humor, even if, you know, most of your jokes might not be funny, but you’re caring.

00:39:39:28 – 00:39:41:24
Joseph
They’re designed to be not funny, though.

00:39:41:24 – 00:39:57:17
Madison
I mean, like, if they’re designed to be not funny, then, you know, but like, yeah, I’ve really fun hobbies. Um, when you actually allow people to get to know you, you’re fun to be around. You are very caring.

00:39:57:19 – 00:39:58:29
Joseph
You sound rather dysfunctional.

00:39:58:29 – 00:40:03:12
Madison
Doesn’t you just don’t trust people?

00:40:03:13 – 00:40:07:27
Joseph
No, I. Well, you know, a lot of that comes from experience, right? So you live and learn.

00:40:08:11 – 00:40:08:26
Madison
But. Yeah.

00:40:09:10 – 00:40:31:25
Joseph
So, yeah. I mean, you’re right. And, you know, with Mommy, I was very lucky. She’s very beautiful both on the inside and the outside. And I was very fortunate that, you know, Mommy was able to see through my ogre exterior to what I really was on the inside. And and to be honest with you, I wasn’t always, you know, that beautiful on the inside.

00:40:31:25 – 00:40:47:25
Joseph
It’s people like mommy that that make you a better person. And if you can find someone like that, you’re very lucky. Yeah, you know, I was very lucky. So we’re going to take our last break. We’re going to come back and we’ll get your closing thoughts and we’ll call it a day.

00:40:48:01 – 00:40:48:19
Madison
All righty.

00:40:48:28 – 00:40:51:22
Joseph
We’ll be right back.

00:40:56:14 – 00:41:27:29
Madison
All right. So for my closing statement, beauty is in itself a construct. There is no real perfect body, especially not from the outside. Everybody Is beautiful in their own way. The whole idea of humans is that no one of us looks the same or acts the same. And that’s the beauty in our society. Everybody’s different. Everybody has their own body type.

00:41:27:29 – 00:41:41:29
Madison
And really, why would you want to subject yourself to an idea that everybody wants to follow when the whole beauty of being human is that we can accept ourselves for being unique?

00:41:42:21 – 00:41:50:10
Joseph
Wow. Again, that’s deep, man. They are sage words of advice, as always. And I don’t think I can argue with it.

00:41:50:14 – 00:41:52:03
Madison
Thank you.

00:41:52:03 – 00:42:19:11
Joseph
But I think that’s all we had for today. Not a particularly hard hitting subject, but certainly one worth discussion. Yeah. Before we do going, I want to once again, I mean, for you to subscribe to the podcast if you don’t already do so. You can find audio versions of this podcast, listeners insights. The teens and audio and video versions of all the network’s podcasts can be found listed as insights into the things we’re on.

00:42:19:11 – 00:42:45:00
Joseph
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Pandora, Castro. Pretty much anywhere you can get a podcast. I would also ask you to writing give your feedback. Tell us how we’re doing. Give us your suggestions for show topics. You can email us your comments and insights into things dot com. We do stream five days a week on Twitch at twitch that TV slash insights into things.

00:42:45:22 – 00:43:00:07
Joseph
You can find high res versions of our videos on YouTube at YouTube.com slash in science, in the things where you can find links to all those and much more on our official website and insights into things dot com and you.

00:43:00:18 – 00:43:06:25
Madison
And don’t forget to check out our other two podcasts inside to nano tainment hosted by you and Mommy. I assume.

00:43:06:27 – 00:43:07:14
Joseph
Sometimes.

00:43:07:24 – 00:43:08:12
Madison
Sometimes.

00:43:08:19 – 00:43:08:26
Joseph
More.

00:43:09:09 – 00:43:13:24
Madison
And insights into tomorrow. Our monthly podcast hosted by you and my brother Sam.

00:43:13:26 – 00:43:17:23
Joseph
From time to time, usually. But it’s not monthly at this point. It’s whenever you know.

00:43:17:23 – 00:43:19:25
Madison
Yeah. What? So just one never.

00:43:20:17 – 00:43:22:20
Joseph
Anyway, that’s it. Another one in the book.

00:43:22:26 – 00:43:23:20
Madison
By the one.

00:43:23:21 – 00:43:49:28
Joseph
By.