They say your tummy has to be flat and your legs toned. They say your arms can’t jiggle and your face always has to have make-up on. They say your best is not good enough and your good is certainly insufficient. They define what “beauty” is to the world.


But why is the media the only ones who can put a definition to this word? And why do they make their standards so hard to reach?


When looking through a magazine and a picture of a model leaves one breathless; remember that nearly every picture is digitally altered in some way. Photoshop is a powerful tool, allowing all those who have mastered it the ability to do whatever they want. Just by a few clicks of the mouse, a picture of an already thin, beautiful bikini can become even more beautiful; an unreachable amount of beauty can be bestowed upon anyone.


In the media’s definition of beauty, males and females are both greatly affected by the unattainable standards. Constantly, women have low self-esteem because they can’t fit into a size 0 jean or their nose isn’t the “perfect” shape. Some may think that men are not influenced by the media at all, but they’re wrong. Looking at a picture of a “sex symbol” in the entertainment industry, it’s easy to see the buff arms and six pack abs; any man can believe this is how he has to look to be attractive to any woman.


Numerous people beforehand have said that celebrities are just normal people, and that is exactly true. Just as a doctor’s job is to help people, a celebrity’s job is to act, sing, or model. Even though a celebrity is the pinnacle of ‘beauty,’ the media also takes it upon themselves to point out every imperfection of any such celebrity. With this, the perfect become the imperfect.


Every person that walks this Earth is unique. They each have that one special attribute that will deem them beautiful. While society will still continue to judge other’s beauty by their outer appearance, their personality is the true test to one’s allure. Someone could be the nicest, most honest, caring person in the world, but if the common opinion is that that person is ‘homely’ looking, they are considered not beautiful. When, in reality, that’s not true at all. Actually that person is the most beautiful and the others who judged, with the uglier personalities, are the ones who have a lesser beauty. The age old statement still remains, outer beauty is only skin deep; and what’s on the inside is truly what matters.