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True Beauty by the Numbers

love your body

I ran across this video on inner beauty the other day and felt like it was too good not to share with you guys.

It’s got some really staggering statistics about the money and time that women spend on our beauty routines each year and inspired me to look for more beauty industry statistics to share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P351B0mGhb8

My first thought when I saw this video was that it really underscores how important it is to choose healthy beauty supplies for our bodies, but I think there’s a much stronger underlying message: why are we slathering all of this stuff on our bodies in the first place?

Beauty Marketing and Body Image

A big part of our self image comes from the barrage of “beauty” marketing that women face every day. Advertisers want us to feel like our hips are too big, our boobs are too small, and that we should be ashamed of any imperfection or blemish. I think that, if anything, it’s these marketers who should be ashamed. Beauty is about more than how you look, and I hate the idea that any woman is ashamed at what she sees in the mirror.

Here are some numbers about women and body image, including an additional statistic that the woman who made this video shared on her YouTube page:

  • The average U.S. woman is 5’4” and weighs 140 pounds whereas the average U.S. model is 5’11” and weighs 117 pounds. (source)
  • In a survey of girls 9 and 10 years old, 40% have tried to lose weight, according to an ongoing study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. (source)
  • A woman consumes 6 pounds of lipstick in her life. (source)
  • In 2007, women accounted for 91% of the cosmetic surgery in the U.S. (source)

Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting to feel beautiful. I think the problem isn’t with women. It’s that we’re striving for an unattainable standard of beauty that’s thrown in our faces every day, and it’s costing us our time, money, and happiness.

What do you guys think? Where does this poor body image come from? Is it all marketing? Is it TV and movies? Somewhere else? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by tinytall

Written by Becky Striepe

My name is Becky Striepe (rhymes with “sleepy”), and I am a crafts and food writer from Atlanta, Georgia with a passion for making our planet a healthier, happier, and more compassionate place to live. My mission is to make vegan food and crafts accessible to everyone!. If you like my work, you can also find me on Twitter, Facebook, and .

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