The perception of beauty is constantly changing across time and culture.
In ancient Greece, a woman was considered beautiful if she had small breasts and plump buttocks; today these features would be seen as unattractive. Similarly, women who were obese used to be considered healthy and fertile in Victorian England, while today they are often stigmatized as being fat and lazy. These changes reflect how societal norms influence morality regarding appearance.
One example of this is that people tend to judge others based on their physical attractiveness. This can lead to biases in favor of good-looking individuals and against those who do not meet certain standards of beauty. In one study, participants were asked to rate job candidates for an open position. The resumes included identical qualifications except for pictures of either "good"-looking or "average"-looking applicants. The ones with better-looking photos received more positive feedback overall. This shows how judgment can be influenced by arbitrary factors such as looks instead of merit or skillset.
Another consequence of society's emphasis on appearance is that it can cause people to focus too much on physical attributes when evaluating others. As a result, important traits like kindness, empathy, or intelligence may go ignored. It also makes it harder for those who don't fit into traditional beauty ideals (such as plus-size individuals) to find partners since there is less interest from potential mates.
Social pressures to conform to these standards can lead some individuals to engage in risky behaviors like extreme dieting or cosmetic surgery, which may harm their health and self-esteem.
The way we view our own bodies affects our sense of identity. If someone doesn't measure up to society's idea of what is beautiful, they may feel ashamed or even depressed. They may try to change themselves through exercise, diet, or plastic surgery.
These efforts often come at great cost both financially and psychologically. Some studies suggest that those who are dissatisfied with their body image have lower self-esteem than those who accept themselves. This demonstrates how societal norms around attractiveness can negatively impact mental health.
Societal norms regarding appearance influence morality, relational ethics, and self-perception in several ways. By valuing superficial qualities over more significant ones, it can create biases against certain groups while also putting pressure on people to conform to unrealistic expectations.
How do societal norms around appearance influence moral judgment, relational ethics, and self-perception?
Societal norms around appearance influence moral judgment, relational ethics, and self-perception by creating expectations of what is considered attractive, acceptable, desirable, and morally justifiable for individuals to look like, behave, and act. These norms can be influenced by various factors such as media portrayals, social status, cultural beliefs, historical contexts, and personal experiences.