Our culture has a huge focus on our physical appearance. One of the primary concerns in todays culture is weight. Everyone is concerned with how much they weigh, which is odd because we are the fattest country in the world. They're calling it an obesity epidemic. I love the way one comedian talked about it. He said that a convorstation between our generation and our grandkids would go something like:
child: "Wow granda the obesity epidemic, how did you survive?"
grandpa: "I dunno Jimmy it was tough, there was cheesecake and porkchops everywhere"
I'm sure I didn't get the exact wording on that, but it was something along those lines. Everyone wants to be skinny but most people just don't have the self control to eat right and exercise. Some people say that the increase in weight could decrease our average lifespan by five years. This is the only thing that could be affected by our weight though. Studies have shown that the way we look can have a huge impact on our jobs. One study found that", for women, a 1% increase in body mass as measured by the body mas index results in a 0.6 pertentage point decrease in family income" (Armour 257). You're job is affected by other aspects of your appearance too. Darlene Jesperson was actually fired from Harrah's for not wearing makeup. Another study found that CEOs are, on average, 3 inches taller than the average man.
Why is appearance so important in our culture? It puts a huge stress on people, especially women. Shouldn't we have better things to worry about than what we look like?
2 comments:
Very true matt, but I think when we talk about the 'obesity epidemic' you need to keep in mind that thats refering to health, and as far as jobs go. It oftentimes gets to the point that more attractive people as simply more effective in many aspects. And it's not anything emotionally or biologically different, or even anything that we can control, but just the fact that people are subconsciously more willing to purchase a product or service from a more attractive person.
I think this is very well written and takes a different, creative approach while still covering the issue of the way the body is viewed.
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