宿 务亚典 耀 圣 心 学 校

SACRED HEART SCHOOL – ATENEO de CEBU

H. Abellana St., Canduman, Mandaue City

Class: 38 Score:
Name: Dasha Angelica Tiu Date: 02/21/23
Section: 11- Caritas Teacher: Mr. Julius Cesar Cudera

Social Expectations: Narrows Beauty and Physical Appearance

Introduction

Allen Lazar once said, “Your Confidence is your biggest asset in life.” But what happens if that
confidence is taken away from you because of what the world thinks? This has brought negative
effects and most likely results to low-self-esteem for all gender. But throughout the years'
women are said to be more affected by this issue, Hence, women are more concerned about their
physical appearance than males are because they are frequently expected to live up to unrealistic
standards of beauty, which causes inadequacy and increased focus on appearance. Women are
often subject to greater pressure to conform to societal beauty standards and norms than men.

Counter-Argument

There are still people who claimed that men are more concerned when it comes to physical
appearance than women. For instance, men invest more in anabolic steroids compared to women.
A study was performed to determine whether Male and Female high school pupils utilize
anabolic steroids regularly. A study showed that over 5.0% of males use more compared to
females, where only 1.4% of them use anabolic steroids (R. Windsor, D. Dumitru, 1989). Men
invest more in anabolic steroids for bulking up for self-gain, goal setting, and social status
purposes. Men exercise specifically for social and competitive purposes, while women exercise
for appearance-related reasons, such as to maintain or lose weight (N. Saleh, 2021). Women
easily get conscious when they gain weight because it can be seen as a failure to meet
expectations and it often leads to feelings of shame.

Argument #1

Regardless of gender differences when it comes to being concerned about weight and physical
appearance, research shows that women are still more concerned with their weight and
appearance than men. Nowadays, young girls and teenage women are more susceptible to getting
compliments on their appearance rather than their thoughts or deeds. That woman who is pretty,
slender, and young are presumably to get emphasized in the media. Thus, Girls' pursuit of beauty
and physical ideals that either does not really exist has a negative impact on society as a whole.
(Oash, 2021). It's important to acknowledge that the pressure society places on women to meet
particular beauty standards can be harmful, and puts them at risk of developing an eating
disorder and a bad body image. Considering that girls are more likely to experience eating
disorders than boys, then there is really something about being a woman that increases the risk
for this. It is undeniably true that some societies encourage a thin body ideal, and we cannot deny
the reality that this frequently results in being a very significant risk factor for possessing an
eating disorder. If you grow up with that kind of trait, it eventually influences how you perceive
yourself and it has a direct influence on that (D. Bunnel Ph.D., 2023).

Argument #2
Moreover, peer pressure affected women more, mainly because of appearance-related social
pressure that develops a negative body image. The development of beauty ideas, norms, and
standards is encouraged by peers and parents, who also emphasize the significance of looks.
There have been several conducted studies on various aspects of peer and parental pressure.
Most people have been impacted by this toxic trait of expectations, and the most pervasive peer
influences have been mocking and rejection (S. Helfert, P. Warschburger, 2013). It is upsetting
to know that this is happening because it changes most people's perspectives toward women.
And that women may feel that they are not confident enough because of what society thinks.
Women frequently encounter stressful circumstances and challenging events in life, which may
negatively affect their self-esteem and appearance since they sometimes forget to take care of
themselves amid the problem. Unfortunately, some people tend to think negatively and have
unrealistically high standards of themselves (NHS, 2020).

Argument #3

Furthermore, Body-change habits are more prevalent in women than in men. Studies from
Bradley University shows that males are less impacted than females by poor body image, despite
the fact that males and females have many commonalities when it comes to this issue and may
even share the same risk factor and effects. (Hargreaves & Tiggermann, 2006). Boys and girls
may be socialized differently to think about their bodies. Males may be encouraged to focus
more on athletic performance or other pursuits that are not directly related to physical
appearance, whereas girls are encouraged to focus more on their appearances. Which leads to
gender disparities in how boys and girls see and appreciate their bodies. Contrary to popular
belief, males are only thought to be primarily concerned with a "perceived lack of muscle"
because, in comparison to women, they are simply exposed to more social situations that lead to
body dissatisfaction (Brennan, Lalonde, & Bain, 2010). This explains why it's common for
women to have negative body images but it's uncommon for men to do so, which gives a reason
for women to exhibit such body-change behaviors.

Conclusion

Body image is a complicated and varied topic that has an impact on people, especially women.
While some people might be able to put their own health and well-being first in a way that is
consistent with their values, Others might experience significant challenges as a result of social
pressure to conform to specific beauty standards and physical ideals. Hence, it is important to
promote the concept of body positivity, acceptance, and uniqueness in all of its forms. It is
essential that people should recognize the significance of having a positive body image in this
aspect and should develop supportive connections. For my final take, people should have the
freedom to make decisions that are consistent with their values and benefit their physical and
mental health, free from criticism or shame.
Reference

A. R. Windsor & D. Dumitru, PubMed (1989) Prevalence of anabolic steroid use by male
and female adolescents
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2607943/

B. Naveed Saleh, MD, MS (2021) Who exercises more, men or women?

https://www.mdlinx.com/article/who-exercises-more-men-or-women/
1TK8wn2e1IPcZYwBFE1cqC

C. Oash (2021) Body Image

https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/body-image-and-mental-health/body-image

D. Douglas W. Bunnell, Ph.D. (2023) Eating Disorders: Why Are Girls More Affected?
https://childmind.org/article/eating-disorders-why-are-girls-more-affected/

E. Susanne Helfert & Petra Warschburger (2013) The face of appearance-related social
pressure: gender, age, and body mass variations in peer and parental pressure during
adolescence
https://capmh.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1753-2000-7-16

F. NHS.UK (2020) Raising low self-esteem

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/raise-low-self-esteem/

G. Bradley University (2023) Male vs. Female Body Image

https://www.bradley.edu/sites/bodyproject/male-body-image-m-vs-f/

H. Hargreaves, Duane A., and Marika Tiggemann. “‘Body Image is for Girls’ A Qualitative
Study of Boys’ Body Image.” Journal of Health Psychology 11.4 (2006): 567-576. SAGE
Premier 2013.23 June 2015.

I. Brennan, Maggie A., Christopher E. Lalonde, and Jody L. Bain. “Body Image
Perceptions: Do Gender Differences Exist?” Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research.
15.3 (2010): 130-138.