Politics and Policy Studies: Question 18 - Patriarchy and Beauty

This essay explores the concepts of patriarchy and the beauty myth, defining patriarchy as a system where men hold primary power and examining the beauty myth as unrealistic standards of physical beauty influenced by patriarchy and media. The essay argues that the beauty myth is political, affecting women's roles and positions in society, and remains valid today due to media and internet influence, citing women's obsession with makeup as an example. The analysis references scholarly sources to support arguments about gender inequality, societal expectations, and the objectification of women. The essay concludes that patriarchal norms and the beauty myth continue to shape women's experiences and opportunities.

Running head: POLITICS AND POLICY STUDIES: QUESTION 18
Politics and Policy Studies: Question 18
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1POLITICS AND POLICY STUDIES: QUESTION 18
18. What is patriarchy? What are the core arguments of the beauty myth? To what
extent is the beauty myth political? To what extent is the beauty myth valid today? In
defending your argument, provide an example that was not discussed in the reading or
class.
Patriarchy can be broadly defined as a system of society that hold men in the primary
power and assign them predominating roles in politics, leadership, morality, social privileges
and right to property. In many cases, patriarchal societies can be patrilineal which means that
title and property of the family are handed down to the male lineage and women are
considered as the second class citizen (Enloe 2017). Patriarchy has been rampant in the world
and in almost every sphere, this becomes obvious. Despite much campaign and awareness,
men hold most of the powerful positions in politics and in the business world. There are
significant pay gap in work sphere.
Most of the political leaders are women and standards of morality, conduct and beauty
are only attributed to women while men are believed to be entitled to do as they please.
Patriarchy is thus, a systematic demolition of equal rights of women and is based on the idea
of dominance over them, in order to ensure their superiority (Ramati-Ziber, Shnabel and
Glick 2019). Patriarchy has not only created standards of morality, conduct and beauty but
also have attributed suitable tasks for women. Patriarchs believe that women’s place are in
home and kitchen, in cooking and child rearing. Moreover, it also objectifies women as a
medium of sexual gratification which intensifies the beauty standards that women struggle to
live up to.
In this regard, the concept of beauty myth becomes relevant. In her book, Naomi wolf
talks about the beauty myth and the increasing pressure that women face as become more
prominent and powerful. The beauty myth is basically an unrealistically high standards of

2POLITICS AND POLICY STUDIES: QUESTION 18
physical beauty, having a body that appeals to a man and thus makes a women perfect in then
societal context (Ashfaq, Khattak and Shah 2017). The core arguments of beauty myth is
based on patriarchy and the objectification of women and the role of media in dictating the
standards that the society sets for feminine beauty. The beauty myth is essentially responsible
for many of the psychological and biological disorders in women, genetic disfigurement and
mutation. Cosmetic surgery became popular and as women become more powerful and
influential these standards are weighs heavier on women.
The beauty myth is also part of political agenda. The beauty myth focuses on the
nurturing and sexualized aspect of a woman which decreases their power and position in the
political arena and leadership (Hobson 2016). Most of the people in the world, agree that
women are not good leaders and running a country or a company requires male leadership.
The beauty myth also denounces women’s capability to reach to their top position fir talent
only as it is quite common to attribute the success of a woman with their physical
attractiveness. This indicates that a women that has reached to the top uses her physical
attractiveness as their key to success rather than their leadership and talent. This reduces their
influence as leaders which helps patriarchy to retain male superiority.
Beauty myth, though quite old, is all the more valid today. Earlier, the women were
held accountable to the standards set by the patriarchal society (Miś 2016). Now, the
intervention of media and internet has created diverse standards and code of conduct that
creates the idea of modern beauty myth. For example, women suffer more from eating
disorders and depression due to their body image issues after mass media started using
women as their promotional objectives. Media created almost an unattainable standard for
women and due to internet and social media that image is being circulated all over the world.
Women follow celebrities and try to achieve the looks that they sport to fulfil their desire to

3POLITICS AND POLICY STUDIES: QUESTION 18
attain that myth. Women are more likely to believe their worth in this world is as much as the
beauty of their body (Reategui and Palmer 2017).
One of the greatest instance of beauty myth being more at play today is women’s
obsession with makeup and cosmetic products. Majority of the women use immense amount
of beauty products in order to make themselves appear flawless and beautiful. They hide their
imperfection on skin and try to accentuate features like eyes or lips that are likely to attract
the attention of men (McCabe, Waal Malefyt and Fabri 2017). After this trend was continued,
men started accusing women of using too much makeup and creating false impression and
cheating. Women still trying to live up to the expectations of men started sporting a no-
makeup look. This kind of behavior by majority of women shows that in reality, the society is
still being directed and governed by the rules of patriarchy and men’s appreciation of
women’s beauty.

4POLITICS AND POLICY STUDIES: QUESTION 18
References
Ashfaq, Samina, Nasir Jamal Khattak, and Syed Zahid Ali Shah. "The Battle of the
Conscious Self and the Power Dynamics of the Beauty Myth 1." The Journal of
Humanities and Social Sciences 25, no. 2 (2017): 85-94.
Enloe, Cynthia. The big push: Exposing and challenging the persistence of patriarchy. Univ
of California Press, 2017.
Hobson, Janelle. "Black beauty and digital spaces: The new visibility politics." (2016).
McCabe, Maryann, Timothy de Waal Malefyt, and Antonella Fabri. "Women, makeup, and
authenticity: Negotiating embodiment and discourses of beauty." Journal of
Consumer Culture (2017): 1469540517736558.
Miś, Anna. "Artificial beauty of cosmopolitan women–the beauty myth in horoscopic
discourse." Prace Naukowe Akademii im. Jana Długosza w Częstochowie. Studia
Neofilologiczne 12, no. 12 (2016): 91-104.
Ramati-Ziber, Leeat, Nurit Shnabel, and Peter Glick. "The beauty myth: Prescriptive beauty
norms for women reflect hierarchy-enhancing motivations leading to discriminatory
employment practices." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2019).
Reategui, Andrea Stefania Levano, and Robert Palmer. "Unfiltered: The effect of media on
body image dissatisfaction." International Journal of Social Science and Humanity 7,
no. 6 (2017): 367.