Why are people so fixated on how body should look?

[Spirit of Light]

For a long time humans have been fixating on how we should look to be successful, but the look of our body does not say if we are successful or not.
Why do you think advertisment on TV are so focused on this?

Beauty come from within, does it not?

 

[Secret Chief]

It took a lot of hard work to look this good. If you want to attract a mate you have to make an effort.

 

[Spirit of Light]

It took a lot of hard work to look this good. If you want to attract a mate you have to make an effort.

Yes, but i thinking more about all the ads on TV female beauty is not realistic, only a bad % of females look like they do on ads for beauty products. But all of it is only for seiling more, and not about sløsing the normal female

 

[Secret Chief]

I think you got it with "selling more."

 

[Curious George]

For a long time humans have been fixating on how we should look to be successful, but the look of our body does not say if we are successful or not.
Why do you think advertisment on TV are so focused on this?

Beauty come from within, does it not?

Because sigmund Freud's nephew showed that it works. And the propaganda machine has been going full throttle ever since

 

[Curious George]

Beauty come from within, does it not?

Beauty is found in both. Humans have idealized form and figure for a long time. I think it would be a mistake to overlook beauty in form as it would be a mistake to overlook beauty in character.

 

[Samael_Khan]

For a long time humans have been fixating on how we should look to be successful, but the look of our body does not say if we are successful or not.
Why do you think advertisment on TV are so focused on this?

Beauty come from within, does it not?

Advertising exists to sell products and ideas, and if you want people to buy health products and make, up and such things, what you should do as an advertiser is shape the publics views of what is beauty so that they will buy your products in order to look like that. Adverts appeal to the easily influenced and the ignorant.

Humans also have an idea of what aesthetic beauty is, which is why we have art and such things. But the idea of what is a beautiful body has changed throughout the ages.

 

[Samael_Khan]

Because sigmund Freud's nephew showed that it works. And the propaganda machine has been going full throttle ever since

I am fascinated about how Edward, Freud's nephew, was so influential. How he got women to smoke was amazing.

 

[Heyo]

For a long time humans have been fixating on how we should look to be successful, but the look of our body does not say if we are successful or not.

But it does. Physical beauty is roughly related to (potential reproductive) success. It is obviously more complicated but that is the basis of beauty/physical attractiveness. What we find attractive comes from the instinct do produce successful offspring.

Why do you think advertisment on TV are so focused on this?

Advertisement works in three steps. 1. appeal to instinctive notions of beauty 2. change the notion to fit the product 3. profit.

Beauty come from within, does it not?

Well, it comes from your genes (and the genes of your gut bacteria).

 

[Spirit of Light]

But it does. Physical beauty is roughly related to (potential reproductive) success. It is obviously more complicated but that is the basis of beauty/physical attractiveness. What we find attractive comes from the instinct do produce successful offspring.

Advertisement works in three steps. 1. appeal to instinctive notions of beauty 2. change the notion to fit the product 3. profit.

Well, it comes from your genes (and the genes of your gut bacteria).

I can of course only speak for my self, but reproduction is not on the top of my list actually it is very far down the list of important things in my life.

 

[exchemist]

For a long time humans have been fixating on how we should look to be successful, but the look of our body does not say if we are successful or not.
Why do you think advertisment on TV are so focused on this?

Beauty come from within, does it not?

Not entirely. The shape of our bodies is an indicator of health.

This is why, in evolutionary terms, body appearance - and function - has always been a factor in choosing a mate, for example. But it also has a significance to others as well, beside potential mates. Personal appearance is also a psychological indicator. For instance a dishevelled person turning up to a job interview in scruffy clothes is not likely to make a good impression. This is with good reason, as it suggests someone who doesn't care much about getting the job, doesn't feel any need to show some respect towards the interviewer - and may have a chaotic or badly managed life in other respects too.

So it matters, to some extent, in quite a number of settings. The issue in modern life is, as with everything else, not becoming obsessed with it.

 

[Erebus]

Beauty come from within, does it not?

Yes and no. There are plenty of personality traits that I find attractive or unattractive and that has a major influence on whether or not I see somebody as beautiful. I've found myself completely repelled by somebody who I would otherwise think is pretty because of how they are as a person. The reverse has also been true with people who probably won't turn many heads but are excellent company.

However, I'm certainly aware of when I think somebody is physically beautiful too. The thing with that is that there are no objective criteria for what is or isn't physically appealing, only personal and societal values. Whether being underweight or overweight is seen as attractive is a classic example of standards of beauty varying depending on culture and personal taste. Facial symmetry is often held up as the closest thing we have to an objective criteria but there are plenty of people who find facial scars appealing. I personally prefer long hair on a woman but know people who go crazy for a pixie cut. You get the point.


Now I will say that physical beauty is given quite a bit more importance than it should be. Advertising, cinema and even music capitalise on that quite a bit since people naturally like pretty things. It's also possible to roughly determine which physical features appeal to the highest number of people in a given society. That's pretty much the reason you see very similar traits being used to sell stuff to people.

Some people have argued that modern, western society has gone to extremes with its fixation on beauty but I'm not sure that's true. If anything, I'd say we're quite a bit more lenient about it than we were in the past. The fact that the saying "Beauty comes from within" is popular is an excellent example of why that's true. It wasn't that long ago that ugliness was genuinely seen as the result of a deviant and/or sinful character.

 

[ChristineM]

Yes, but i thinking more about all the ads on TV female beauty is not realistic, only a bad % of females look like they do on ads for beauty products. But all of it is only for seiling more, and not about sløsing the normal female

Beauty sells, thats what advertising is all about.

One understands it's not the reality, even so many people consider that attractiveness reflects on the product.

No product manufacturer want their product associated with the unattractive.

Personally i see an ad and consider the actor/actress to be just that. What attracts me to a product is "do i need that"

 

[Heyo]

I can of course only speak for my self, but reproduction is not on the top of my list actually it is very far down the list of important things in my life.

As I said, it's complicated. Beauty is not a perfect sign of fitness, only a proxy. The (modern) concept of beauty is influenced by culture more than genetics. But the general idea of beauty is an evolutionary concept. We probably wouldn't have it if weren't that it's, on average, an evolutionary successful thing.
And the fact that you are not aware of it's instinctive nature makes you vulnerable to attacks on your unconscious.

 

[Revoltingest]

For a long time humans have been fixating on how we should look to be successful, but the look of our body does not say if we are successful or not.
Why do you think advertisment on TV are so focused on this?

Beauty come from within, does it not?

In the real world, beauty is on the outside.
But on RF it's different.
We know each other only by what we post.
Appearances are unknown. Sure, sure...some post pix.
But we can't trust those. Anyone can post any picture.
Is @Rival really the fetching lass in the photos?
Or is she really Hafthor Bjornsson in disguise?
Doesn't matter....her posts are beautiful.

 

[BSM1]

For a long time humans have been fixating on how we should look to be successful, but the look of our body does not say if we are successful or not.
Why do you think advertisment on TV are so focused on this?

Beauty come from within, does it not?

Why paint your house?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

For a long time humans have been fixating on how we should look to be successful, but the look of our body does not say if we are successful or not.
Why do you think advertisment on TV are so focused on this?

Beauty come from within, does it not?

Both. I don't agree that outside beauty should be "as a result" of being successful etc. I do believe that outside and inside beauty compliment each other. For example, exercising helps without side beauty. Dolling up does as well. It shows that you want to take care of your body and mind (doing things like being grateful every morning). Things like that. It actually comes natural. When I stared exercising, I naturally wanted to change my diet for a healthy one and naturally want to dolly up more to the extent I can maintain. I wish I can get my hair done but all the beauty parlors are closed

Anyway. It comes from within and without. Outer beauty also is a human evolutionary thing. It shows confidence and that you're not a "victim of threat." It does a lot of things.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Both. I don't agree that outside beauty should be "as a result" of being successful etc. I do believe that outside and inside beauty compliment each other. For example, exercising helps without side beauty. Dolling up does as well. It shows that you want to take care of your body and mind (doing things like being grateful every morning). Things like that. It actually comes natural. When I stared exercising, I naturally wanted to change my diet for a healthy one and naturally want to dolly up more to the extent I can maintain. I wish I can get my hair done but all the beauty parlors are closed

Anyway. It comes from within and without. Outer beauty also is a human evolutionary thing. It shows confidence and that you're not a "victim of threat." It does a lot of things.

I do not disagree with what you said here But to me, every person is beautiful no matter how the "outside" looks. And just to add something about my preferences toward females, personally I find females to be more beautiful when they do not use makeup, it's just something with makeup that put me off.

 

[Rival]

Our body is the one thing we have that is unequivocally ours. We paint it, pluck it, dress it, dye it, shave it, modify it in accordance with how we see ourselves internally. Our body is the best communicator we have and we use it more than we use words in any given situation. Bodies, appearances, mannerisms are all how people make decisions about people before any speech has passed.

People like me have to care. I'm small, I walk on my own ~2 miles of basically all fields along a riverbank. If someone shifty comes along I have to make a split second decision whether to chat with him or run away. If an unknown vehicle pulls up, I have to look at how the person inside is looking to gain a sense of if he wants to kidnap me or ask me for directions.

 

[Spirit of Light]

Our body is the one thing we have that is unequivocally ours. We paint it, pluck it, dress it, dye it, shave it, modify it in accordance with how we see ourselves internally. Our body is the best communicator we have and we use it more than we use words in any given situation. Bodies, appearances, mannerisms are all how people make decisions about people before any speech has passed. People like me have to. I'm small, I walk on my own ~2 miles of basically fields along a riverbank. If someone shifty comes along I have to make a split second decision whether to chat with him or run away. If an unknown vehicle pulls up, I have to look at how the person inside is looking to gain a sense of if he wants to kidnap me or ask me for directions.

I can`t argue against this Your answer is very well said