Day 65–100 Days 100 Ways To A Body Positive Mindset
Why we continue to aspire to body image ideals we know aren’t real: Part III: the ethics of beauty
This is the final part of the research paper review by Fiona MacCallum and Heather Widdows where we look at the ethical side of beauty and body image ideals, and how they influence our behavior.
MacCallum and Widdows state that for some women, beauty ideals (encompassing body image) function as ethical ideals. Let’s deconstruct this further.
The authors essentially argue that beauty and its associated behaviors often act as proxies for other moral ideals, even to the extent of what actions are considered right or wrong.
Irrespective of the ‘goods’ delivered, the beauty ideal drives and influences behavior
When we judge ourselves against a beauty ideal, there are certain parameters of success and failure we pitch ourselves against, which can be goal or habit-orientated: we might deem ourselves successful once we’ve reached our goal weight, filled our wrinkles or can fit into our 10-year-old pair of jeans.
On a daily basis, we measure our success against micro-behaviors. Success might look like sticking to our diet…
