Describe how ideals of beauty within a culture motivate consumers to change themselves physically. Discuss specific categories where this occurs

What will be an ideal response?

A person's satisfaction with the physical image he or she presents to others is affected by how closely that image corresponds to the image valued by his or her culture. Ideals of beauty, however, vary radically across cultures and even over time within the same society. These "ideals" include physical features, clothing styles, cosmetics, hairstyles, skin tone, and body type.
Manifestations of the desire to alter one's physical self to conform to current ideals of beauty include:
a. Fattism—Our society has an obsession with weight and thinness, reinforced by advertising and peers.
b. Eating disorders—Anorexia and bulimia eating disorders, noted often in white upper-middle-class girls, are evidence of exaggerated concern about desirable body images.
c. Cosmetic surgery—Increasingly, men as well as women undergo cosmetic surgery. Women use surgery to reduce weight or to increase sexual desirability. Men have used implants for chests and legs.
d. Body decoration and mutilation—Performed in every culture, body adornment serves purposes other than contributing to ideal beauty. Tattoos are one popular form of adornment.
Note to the instructor: Student answers may vary with respect to cultural motivations.