Chapter 4: The Look

What do you consider beautiful?

Are you under pressure to live up to current beauty ideals? If so, from who—yourself? The media? Boys?

How do you think beauty and success should be defined?

What do you think can be done to help make these changes happen?

Comments

[Grace]

I'd just like to say that the quotes from page 69 made me feel really good about myself. I thought I was the only teen out there who wore a bra size above a D. Now I know I was wrong. Jessica's comment made me feel really good. I wish I could meet her someday. She gave me the courage to feel good about myself.

[g]

What do I consider beautiful? I don't know. I guess when someone is just smiling.

Oh, I'm pressured!People (boys, friends, ballet teachers...) always go on about my curly hair. It's big. It's beautiful. Get over it!

Sucess should be acheiving your dreams, even if your dream is to be a science teacher, which isn't considered glam.
Beauty should be being happy and having a smile.
And following hygiene. My horizons may have been broadened, but not THAT much!

How can we make these changes happen? By not being something just because a celeb has it, by loving yourself, BY MAKING YOUR BE HEARD!

[Theresa]

I guess I define beauty by the way people feel about themselves, if they love themselves, if their confident, and smile.

I believe everyone is pressured to look beautiful no matter who they are. Even when your in the mall people are constantly judging your sense of style and how skinny or fat you are, especially by the boys.

Success should be defined by what you really like to do that can help other people and makes you feel good inside. I myself want to be an artist because it makes me feel good and lets other people have a view of what are my ideals. You should be celebrated no matter what you do not just the celebrities and supermodels.
Beauty should be what you look good in not what celebs would. I have seen too many people who are (no offense) but who are a little bigger and where short tight mini-skirts that they look awful in just because celebrities wear it.

We can make these changes by being ouselves!!!!

What do you consider beautiful?
honestly, i'm still struggling with this. its so hard to let go of what society says is beautiful - super skinny models and celebrities. the fashion industry is practically built off of thinness ie. introducing the new skinny jean... its hard to stop fighting my body and let it be what it is and just accept me the way i am. its hard to think you're beautiful when the world, or at least what seems like the whole world, tells you differently.
Are you under pressure to live up to current beauty ideals? If so, from who—yourself? The media? Boys?
all of the above!
What do you think can be done to help make these changes happen?
i think change will begin within ourselves - to reject the standards the media sets for us and start looking towards intelligent women who are making a difference in the world as our rolemodels

[Miranda]

Beautiful is when a person is confident with how she looks, because then self esteem and confidence and happiness just radiates from her.

I might not be large, have a slightly large chest for my age, and blond hair, but I don't really fit into the standard definition of beauty. Don't even try to talk to me about my legs, which I hate! Often I feel embarassed about how I look, especially when I need to wear my PE uniform, which has very short shorts, and with my non-skinny legs, I feel immensly awkward. I always wished for the skinny legs of some of the other girls in the class until I saw another girl who had the legs I had always envyed. I noticed that when she was walking around in the locker room, you could see every vertebrae in her back! That put me off of being super-skinny! But I still feel under pressure, because I think that the media doesn't represent people like me (I'm very nerdy, and proud of it) and every girl with blond hair is an airhead who is obsessed with fashion! That's a stereotype that really has to change!

To change society's views, I think that we need to stop being so obsessed with fashion and show the media that girls come in all shapes and sizes, and that you can be whoever you want. We should ignore the media messages that say that expensive treatments are beautiful, and start embracing the beauty of every girl in the world!

[Artist4life]

I have brown hair with blonde streaks and blue eyes. Ever since I was eight I noticed how the "perfect" girl was always a blonde with blue eyes. In bratz and barbie, the main character is a blondie with icey blue eyes. The brunettes and African americans are portrayed as straight or frizzy hair, with brown eyes. The redheads always have about 3 or 4 freckles with really frizzy hair. I feel very prejudiced about this, why can't we have different colored eyes and different hairstyles? Why do blondes get to be considered perfect? I read your book and I really like it.
-Artist4life

[Amber Dean]

True beauty is not found within a magazine or a girl that is skinny sick,
but within a girl that is accepting of any person,girl or boy. Enough with the crap that the media is feeding us through straws! How about the plus sizes? Or the kids with all A's? Life is better when people aren't tugging at the size extra small shirt they're wearing when they are acually beautiful size large?
thank u so much 4 listening!!!
-amber d.-

[Amanda, Alicia, and Via]

When we think of beautiful, we don't think of a toothpick covered in skin (AKA most models or celebrities.) We think that to be beautiful we don't have to be supper skiny, platnum blond, or have no blemishes. Being beautiful should come from the generous and great things you do. WE think some examples of beauty include Shakira for opening up that Columbian art school and not using the money to host some wild party or some new dress coverred in diamonds. We think that beauty and sucess should be defined by how you have impacted the world - or just how you made another person's day. If you are famous, you should be famous for the right reasons, and how you spend your $$$. Sucess should be defined by how you help others and by how you became sucessful.

Here are some ways you can make change:

1) Start a school campaign about real beauty, once kids start believing it, the rest will have to and pretty soon the whole school will forget about the hype.

2) Tell your neighborhood about it.

3) Write to Pres. Bush (or current pres./local govornment).

Get involved. Lets diminish this once and for all!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--
Via
Alica &
Amanda

[Abby11]

I don't think of beautiful as putting on lots of shimmery makeup, or some kind of miss America dress. Being beautiful isn't looking like a slutt, or a stick figure either. Beauty is when someone brings home a report card filled with A's. Or, finds the cure for cancer. Something amazing like that. Those people may not have slim, skinny bodies, or have ever gotten their pictures taken for a magazine, but they change the world, and they make it a better place. Modols, popstars, ect, just walk around in 5 inch heels, showing off how skinny they are ( A.K.A. eating disorders ) and get paid for making girls think its allright to starve themselves. In my opinion, they just make the world worse.
I guess I'm pressured to be beautiful, in my school every girl dresses alike.It flashes on the tv, and is in magizines everyday. It's hard to still like my body the way it is. But even so, I wear what I think is cool. I don't care who dosn't like what I dress in.

Success is when someone helps other people and enjoys it too. They don't ever wish they hadn't made that desision, because they knew it was the right path in their lives to take. We might think famous people are successful, but their not. Who would want to live a life with cameras snapping pictures at you all the time. I bet they wish they just had a normal life.
To make changes happen, make sure everyone reads All Made Up! It's a great book. Tell friends about the media, and make sure they pass it on. Do whatever you can to let your voice be heard. We can make changes happen, we are smart enough to live above all this nonsence. Thanks 4 listening!!
- Abby

[champagne]

so many people believe models are the best just because they can pose for the camera. Not saying it's hard I mean I could never starve myself and be that competitive!

[Alicia]

I think that models are way too popular and are given credit for things that do not mean anything. does starving yourself and posing for a camera help cure cancer? Don't bet on it.

[liz]

that a hard question who cares somewhere in the world somebody loves you for who you are and you don't have to where make-up to get attention from guys some don't care about your looks
(all I care about is how nice and how careing)NOT THE LOOKS

[Phoebe]

Beautiful doesn't mean fitting in to a size 2, it means believing in yourself. If you look at yourself in the mirror, you can see that you are so pretty. tell urself you are pretty! have a sleepover, do you friends hair and you're already pretty! No need to spend millions on a make-over!!!
i am not pressured but my mother is!! So what if we have pimles?? Its just that. its your look. your look is not bad. as long as you are happy, its ok. smile and you already look good!
Tell the world you are beautiful, you can be beautiful in your own way. just like how a guy loves you, for being yourself, if u are a model u can't find true love. if you are urself u can find true love and live a happy life. and not be loved for your looks. or being cheated. you can buy love.

[greentea]

Beauty shouldn't be defined by a woman's dress size or how good her income is or anything like that.
It should be defined by her personality, her brain, and anything BUT her physique. It would be nice if
outer beauty was defined by how you smell. :( That way we wouldn't need to worry as much.

[Yvette]

I'm a cute light skinned Nigerian. i have a middle-sized chest. a big juicy booty. And a nice slender body. Sometimes i where revealing clothes for my boyfriend. He loves it when i do that! AT my house he likes kissing me alot(ecspeccially on my stomach and chest) i ike it, but i think he likes me for my body, not me. one time at his house whe took of our clothes (ecept underwear, i didnt have you know wat) then i realixed he was going ut with me for my body! i was atteacking me! so i broke up wit him.

[Julia]

First I want to say that you guys are all so inspiring! I am happy to see that there are other girls out there who want to be beautiful for who they really are not who they are expected to be.
I have always strived to look good. Or at least since middle school I have. But at one point i asked myself WHY I was trying to be in good shape and have smooth hair. The answer surprised me: boys. I'm sure every girl gets a warm tingle inside when a guy thinks she's cute, but when we change our bodies to please boys is where the line should be drawn. I realized that if I wanted to look nice it should be because it makes me feel healthy and confident, not to please other people. I encourage all of you to do the same.
Thank you for your time :D
-Julia ;)

[CJ]

Please post peeps!

[CJ]

I'm waiting for a POST! I'm going to go crzy if people will refuse to POST! ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;)