20TH CENTURY BEAUTY IDEALS AROUND THE WORLD

As evidenced by the fluctuations of popular images of women in America throughout the 20th century, beauty

ideals are not a permanent and unchanging set of expectations. They are relative to their culture and era,

and they shift over time. Just as these body images have changed in America, the ideal of beauty for women

can be similar or sometimes much different in other parts of the world.

Western Nations

English-speaking, European, and first-world Western nations often broadly share in the same conflicting

messages of beauty found in America. Britain has a similar struggle with popular messages promoting

unattainable thinness, leading to weight issues and widespread dieting among women 1 in 4 are on a diet,

and over 50% of girls say that girls their age struggle with body image. In Australia, eating disorders affect a

million people and cost the economy $70 billion a year.

In France, long the global capital of the fashion industry, lawmakers have passed legislation barring

advertisements promoting extreme thinness or dieting, following the anorexia-linked deaths of several

models. In Italy, women are extensively objectified in media, and many young women are driven to obtain

plastic surgery as soon as they reach the legal age to do so. And in Sweden, an increasing number of upper-

class young women areobsessed with their appearance and dissatisfied with their bodies this group has

the highest incidence of anorexia nervosa.

In Spain and Mexico, 1 in 4 teen girls are at risk of developing an eating disorder, and they face pressure

from those around them to lose weight. Brazilians are known to overestimate the actual size of their

bodies, while desiring to be thinner. A substantial portion of the Brazilian population takes appetite

suppressants, and numerous models have died of anorexia.

Eastern and Third-World Nations

WHAT MOLDS SELF-IMAGE AND BODY CONFIDENCE?

A number of factors contribute to women's poor self-image and body dissatisfaction. In a longitudinal study of

teenagers, the strongest predictors of negative body image were found to be a lack of parental support,

negative mood and feelings, and the choice to diet, as well as a lack of support from peers. Girls

show higher rates of negative body image than boys, and unlike boys, the intensity of this increases as they

age.
Another study showed that after women were shown media images depicting the modern thin ideal, they had

an increase in anxiety, depression, anger, and dissatisfaction with their bodies. Use of such media

has also been found to be associated with symptoms of disordered eating and an urge to be thin. As women's

family, friends, and peers also absorb these media messages, this adds to an increased pressure to aspire to

this ideal coming from all directions.

Moreover, as women pursue this thin ideal, they are more likely to become more dissatisfied with their

appearance. Most will not be able to attain this ideal and will remain unhappy with their bodies. Perfectionist

women, anxious or depressed women, and women with poor self-esteem are especially at risk for developing

an eating disorder. At this point, anxiety over body image and ongoing dieting have become frequent enough

to be considered a normal if unhealthy state of affairs among women.

In contrast, positive relationships and acceptance from friends are associated with a healthy self-image. As the

belief in thinness being important to relationships with friends decreased, positive self-image increased. Thus,

when this thin ideal is deemphasized in one's peer group, a positive self-image can more easily be

cultivated.

CONTAGIOUS EATING DISORDERS: THE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF MEDIA EXPOSURE

Aspirations for thinness can begin to impact girls at a surprisingly young age. In one study, 40% of 6-year-old
girls expressed a desire to be thinner. An overwhelming majority of 10-year-old girls 81% fear being fat.
Half of girls in 5th grade through 12th grade feel that magazine images have made them want to lose weight.

Among girls who are of normal weight, 50-70% perceive themselves as being overweight. Theseself-

perceptions can directly affect their eating behaviors and health. Of girls age 6 to 12, 35% have been

on a diet at some point. Ten- and 11-year-old girls who had dieted were shown to have internalized media

messages to a greater extent than those who did not diet.

Globally, rates of eating disorders in young girls such as anorexia and bulimia are steadily increasing.

This has occurred in England, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, and a number of other nations. Fiji is an ideal setting

to study the impact of media. Television was not introduced in the remote provinces of Fiji until the mid-1990s.

Over the next three years, teenage girls went from viewing being overweight positively to viewing it negatively,

and 74% thought of themselves as too fat. Many decided to diet.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

By the end of the 20th century, female beauty standards in America have remained unrealistic and extreme,

with popular images of thinness being more out-of-reach for the average woman than ever before. This trend
has been reflected in many first-world nations, although women in certain developing nations lack this

widespread anxiety over their weight.

The chief contributors to negative self-image and weight dissatisfaction are media images promoting

thinness, peer pressure, and personal levels of anxiety or depression conditions which can be

exacerbated by continued unsuccessful pursuit of an unattainable goal. The result has been a marked rise in

weight anxieties in even very young girls, as well as an increase in dieting from a young age, and even potentially

deadly eating disorders such as anorexia. While the severity of this problem is receiving increasing attention in

the public sphere, these anxieties remain so common as to be normal among women.

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Redefine Your Definition of Beauty

Bri Seeley Bri Seeley is a coach, author, and speaker who helps women build inspirational lives.

As women, our self-image is constantly bombarded from every angle. The fashion and media industries tell

us constantly about how were not beautiful enough, or dont have flawless enough skin, or need to compete

with the women in our lives for success and love. Were provided an endless stream of beauty products to

fix our hair, our complexion, our height, our shape, and more.

We dont even realize that most of what we read and see is specifically engineered to create subconscious

beliefs about who we are in the world. The media creates a story in an ad campaign, which becomes a story

we tell ourselves, which becomes a story we tell other people, and subsequently becomes our story of who

we are - a lot of times without our conscious knowledge or permission.

Ashley Crouch has first hand knowledge of this. After spending years in Manhattan working behind the scenes

at photoshoots, fashion weeks, and spinning stories for press placement, Crouch woke up to how limiting

messages about beauty in the media sabotage womens self-esteem. She recalls that she was so disoriented

by working in media and fashion for years, I felt like I was hearing everyone else voice and not listening to

my own.

Her solution at the time was to flee the country to live off the grid in France for a month. She didnt know

anything about her trip (including where she was going to stay) but she did make one promise to herself: to

journal every single day.

I wrote everyday and by end of month I had 2300 handwritten pages. I felt more alive than I ever had
before. I had given myself permission to hear my own voice. From there I got the opportunity to create the
kind of person that I want to be and live it everyday to create the legacy of my life.
Crouch didnt want to wait around for the media to change its ways. Instead, her self-realization quickly

expanded to provide a similar solution to others when she teamed with several women entrepreneurs. They

set out to create a product that would not only educate women, but also be a fun daily companion to remind

them of their worth every single day.

I wanted to create a culture of affirmation for women to change this ourselves. We are able to physically
change the neuropathways in our brains to work through these unhealthy ways and recreate positive
neuronetworks in our brains from place of affirmation. The words that we speak architect the reality of our
lives. Our words come from inner dialogue and become flesh. We must be intentional about every word that
comes out of our mouth about ourselves, our possibility and who we are.
Bloom, Lovely combines proven techniques with Crouchs experience to reach women where they are and

help them feel beautiful, empowered, and equipped to live their best life every single day.

Bloom, Lovely is a daily companion to help women blossom into their best selves. We created the journal
because: Women cannot become what they do not believe. We believe every woman wants to feel beautiful
and should feel free to thrive. Often, our insecurities hold us back from advocating for ourselves or realizing
our true potential. To help, we foster a culture of affirmation. We help women break through their mental
limitations and enrich their relationship with themselves and other women.
Bloom, Lovely is a combination of meditations through an app and a journal* filled with quotes about beauty

for every day of the year to help women understand and reflect on their self-worth. Crouch recognized that

lasting change happens through daily reinforcement over time. Each day, users have the power to choose

new ways to view themselves, others, and the world, rooted in healthier definitions about what true beauty

is. It was designed to re-train your brain as a fun, simple way to change your approach to beauty!

The short meditation allows women to go into an emotional space by internalizing the quote and shaping

her thoughts for the day. The quotes in the journal directly align with meditation in the app. Its important

as we go through this process of change to solidify our thoughts by putting them into words and writing

them down.

I believe women everywhere deserve to feel beautiful. Women often make resolutions to live healthier, diet,
or give up some bad habit to become their best self. Those efforts are sabotaged by a mindset that believes
they are not worth it, dont deserve it, or are not good enough. Bloom, Lovely helps women blossom into
their best self from the inside out. It is the first product of its kind; a fun, mini-guide to a healthier mindset,
true self-worth and self-acceptance. It provides a roadmap for women to redefine beauty for themselves so
they can truly thrive. If women could believe they are beautiful, valuable, and worth it, they would be
unstoppable.

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