Gender equality

Self-harming behavior and health problems

Gender stereotypes bring expectations which are in many ways, very difficult to fulfil. The Beauty Myth is one such stereotyped concept, which especially for girls and women suggests that beautiful looks are an essential feminine quality.

The Beauty Myth is a set of gender stereotypes that promote the idea that beauty is a key quality of femininity.

The Beauty Myth creates enormous pressure to which girls and women (and more increasingly boys and men) are exposed. The desire to please is inherent in all people. The definition of beauty differs depending on the culture or historical period. The problem arises when something which cannot be achieved other than “unnaturally” is defined as “natural" feminine beauty, if it is defined only for a certain short-term period (old age is ugly), if the concept of beauty in one culture is promoted over all others, and especially, if it threatens the health and lives of women.

More and more girls not only in Slovakia suffer from eating disorders and most women, at some point in their lifes, was on a diet to lose weight. Does this mean that most women are overweight? If yes, how can a "natural" ideal be something that most women cannot reach? This problem has, however, a more serious background than may appear at first glance. What seems pretty to us, what seems "sexy" to us must be learned. If children are taught that women are pretty if they are slim and men are handsome if they have “big muscles", they increasingly suffer from worries about their appearance the further away they are from the ideal. The most alarming thing is that they do not suffer unreasonably. In a society where a woman's beauty ("sexy look") is appreciated more than the woman´s work - let´s compare the income of models or prices in Beauty Contests with payment for women's work, every girl or woman is under the power of The Beauty Myth. Since the majority of the population is less than ideal, they suffer more or less frustration due to concerns about their appearance.

The Beauty Myth reduces personality characteristics and talents to something that is not as important as beauty. A consequence of The Beauty Myth is for instance the situation in which working positions where women’s beauty is appreciated (female models, female presenters, etc.) are incomparably better paid than "female professions". In the case of men, it is not so. Many "male professions” are not only better paid, but also more appreciated then the professions of the male model or male presenter.

For children and young people especially, the view of their surroundings, especially of peers is the priority. Many children are involved in worrying about their appearance to such an extent that it restricts them in their personal development. The right to personal development is a human right.

As a result of The Beauty Myth, women pay from their own income (already on average lower income than for men) large amounts of money for cosmetic products, cosmetic interventions, including risks posed by plastic surgery and dieting. Eating disorders are an even more serious consequence of The Beauty Myth, which increasingly younger and younger girls face. Anorexia, bulimia, exercise addiction and other impacts of The Beauty Myth threaten not only the ambition and income of women and girls (and boys too), but most of their health and even lives (global statistics show that most diseases occur during puberty and adolescence, thus in the age of 12-18 years. Anorexia plays the third most significant role in chronic illnesses among adolescents).

The negative health consequences of Gender stereotypes affect women, but also men. While in the case of women it is mostly violence and The Beauty Myth, for men there is a health hazard, due to many stereotypical "orders" of masculinity. In particular the requirement "to be strong" contains many risks. Men may not express their feelings, which threatens their mental health. The effort of men to find help from other people in case they have problems, can be defined as a dependency, loss of their independence, weakness ... It excludes the concept of an "ideal man". The requirement to be strong is often associated with the command "to be courageous". Manifestations of courage often cross the limits of risky behaviour, and as a result of that men are more often exposed to injury. Strength and courage are often perceived as an ability to express aggression. These endanger not only men themselves, but also their surroundings.

"... This thing called courage, sometimes actually lies in some form of cowardice: the evidence are all sorts of situations where the will to control, exploit or oppress is able to justify killing, torture and rape, because it found support in the "macho" fear of exclusion from the world of "men", who per definition is not weak. Men are sometimes being called "fierce boys", as they are tough to their own pain but most importantly, to the pain of others". (Pierre Bourdieu: Domination of Men)