The Concept of Beauty

The concept of beauty has in the past gone through a lot of evolution and transformation. There are different aspects by which people look at the concept of beauty, and changes over the history also altered this concept. And nowadays, vanity has taken its place in the minds of the people, as the concept of beauty has elated to a higher consciousness amongst people, especially women.

Fashionability among people has changed virtually. Different concepts pertaining to beauty emerged and in this way influenced most of the people who wanted to “innovate” beauty. Most of the people have resorted into different sorts of innovations to make themselves “novelty” at that period, and these innovations have been greatly accepted by people, most particularly by women (Riordan, 2004, p. 273)

The advent of the first wave of feminism in the United States marked the rise of beauty consciousness. It is during this era that women had formally demanded for equality in social, economic and legal standing.  And at the start of the second wave of feminism, women had become more radical, challenging their reproductive role at the division of labor. Thus, innovations inkling towards beauty have become more rampant and deliberate. Aside from the usual and common cosmetics that were produced and developed, technological innovations were also utilized for better enhancement of the human physique. Modern ways of enhancing beauty is now rampant and more widely used especially by ageing and rich women who can afford to spend for the sake of “beauty”.

The concept of beauty has most widely been dominated by that of the Western’s culture, thus beauty was seen to be tall, white, slim – most of the characteristics molded from the Western view. Thus, the intensified trend towards the commodification of beauty pushed through inventions that were geared towards the enhancement of beauty in line with this concept.

Thus, the commercialization of beauty has been used widely to promote Western beauty and to further penetrate the global market. Consumer trade patterns have changed widely over the world, being influenced by the growing market for beauty innovations. And spending patterns, especially for women, have been more inclined towards beauty enhancing products. Moreover, the emergence of this beauty concept has become even more manipulative, not only in the market trends, but as well as in the mentality and colonialism that it was able to promote. It has also gained strong influence towards the blacks, whose concept of beauty also tilted towards the whites. Although, African American were able to lure away from this trend, the social and physiological factors of commercialized beauty however, still enforced influence over them. Albeit this influence, the Africans were able to positively mold themselves through it. Using this “buying beauty culture” towards the emancipation of their black ethnicity and reject the stereotypes of the era. (Through the…).

Hence, while the concept of beauty evolved through time, and so have the innovations and means for coping with it changed too. It played a big part in the evolution of consumer trade patters and as well as the people’s concept development of beauty – be it racial and physiological.

References

Riordan, Teresa. (2004) Inventing Beauty. Broadway.

Through the Looking Glass: The Commodification and Consumption of America’s Beauty Culture. Retrieved October 24, 2007 from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG02/reynolds/beautyhome.html