Our culture gives a young woman only two dreams in which to imagine her body, like a coin with

two faces: one pornographic and the other anorexic; the first for nightmare, the second for day-the one supposedly, for men and the other for other women (Wolf 199). What is beauty? How would you describe a beautiful woman? Would you use the words like strong, happy content, good friend, someone to trust, or hardworking? Or would you use words like thin, good bone structure, flawless skin, gorgeous face, shiny hair, full lips, or perky breasts? American women base their lives on a myth, a beauty myth, which impairs their self-image and distorts their views of others. In her book, The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf argues that the ideal female beauty that is emphasized in the American society is simply the latest method of keeping women in a subservient role within a patriarchal system. Like an economy, it is determined by politics, and in the modern age in the West it is the last, best belief system that keeps male dominance intact (Wolf 12). Wolf further argues that this idea of feminine beauty has also affected the advancement of women. We are in the midst of a violent backlash against feminism that uses images of female beauty as a political weapon against womens advancement (Wolf 10). Since the publication of this book in 1990, very little has changed for the American woman, except that the beauty myth, explored and documented by Wolf has intensified over the years. We learn at a young age the importance of beauty. But what is beauty? Beauty is defined as, (1) the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit. (2) a beautiful person or thing; especially: a beautiful woman (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). This definition however, does not clearly explain what beauty is and who it can be attributed too. The ideal of feminine beauty has changed many times over history, and it varies widely across

different cultures (Sapiro 195).

As we can see from this pictures beauty has changed over the years. The swinging twenties brought about the most important freedom for women: the right to vote. During this time women were also offered new loser clothing trends, but this change in fashion attire also brought about harsher judgments on height and weight.

Women spend large amounts of time, money, and energy in creating and maintaining this idealized beauty image. The endless struggle against looking old, the inability to accept the changing body and face. All form a part of the mosaic that makes up the $15 billion cosmetic surgery industry in America (Kucynski 4). This idealized beauty is comprised of many different faucets including: plastic surgeries, cosmetics, dieting, and exercising. Each of these pieces of the puzzle have affected most women at some point in their lives. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons indicated in their 2008 report that some 11 million cosmetic procedures were performed on women, an increase of 3% from 2007. As with any surgery, plastic surgery comes with not only physical risks but also mental and emotional risks. However, for those who can not afford cosmetic surgery they must find alternative routes to achieve this idealized beauty.

We have become a society obsessed with beauty; how to get it and how to keep it. We forget, however, that this idealized beauty image is fake; it is all airbrushed, pushed

up, sucked out, and implanted. It is about time women stop looking in mirrors for what should be there and look at what is there and accept the face and body staring back at them as beautiful.