Pressure To Become Beautiful - Ugly Betty

America's value of media marketing - the "sex sells" idea has become an excuse to blame and stigmatize those who are less privileged to have a certain 'look.'  In this culture that assumes anyone can achieve the American dream, I question: Why is everyone on the cover of the fashion magazine look alike? How come hot topics are always about weight and physical beauty? These questions motivated me to analyze American perceptions of beauty through a popular sitcom called Ugly Betty.

Ugly Betty

Ugly Betty was aired on ABC for four seasons. It centers Betty Suarez who is a 22-year-old Mexican American woman from Queens, New York. She is portrayed as an unattractive but optimistic secretary at a fashion magazine company. If she ran a campaign, the slogan would be 'do not judge the book by its cover." This sitcom gained a widely public recognition when the show won a Golden Globe award for best comedy and Betty (America Ferrera) won an Emmy in its first season. As a personal fan, I was stimulated and agitated at the same time by watching Betty's discrimination purely based on her physical appearance.  I was stimulated by the fact that the main reason she got hired was because her unattractive appearance would not cause a distraction for her fellow male employees. I was agitated when Betty would be often discouraged in pursuing her career goals because others' judgments of her beauty.  

This sitcom stands out from other typical shows because it embodies how beauty is made up by someone's measure. It openly shows about cosmetic procedures, Photoshop retouching and other inorganic means to achieve to appear beautiful. I was shocked when characters were ashamed of themselves because their clothing were out of the trend.  I think the audience can all find commonality along with Betty's dilemma between keeping her original identity and going with the flow of the culture.
Unlike the typical ending which the main character gets a transformative makeover, Betty is consistently  fighting internally and externally to reveal more of true herself. In these adversities, Betty is more or so courageous and gains a positive and solid identity.  This is perhaps why many would find her inspirational.  

According to a sociologist W. Phillips Davison, who said that the Third-People Effect assumes that people perceive mass communicated messages to have a greater influence on others than on themselves. For example, even if people watch sexual and violent contents, they are less likely to be affected than others who watch it. If I apply this hypothesis to watching Ugly Betty, this is what I concluded.   The Ugly Betty viewers might presume that others are more likely to accept their natural beauty however, they will still keep their old mindset and follow the 'hottest trend' as before.

 Media is a powerful messenger and yet, we still see a very narrow pool of individuals that embody similar  physical characteristics. It is critical that we are aware of messages that it send out to us. Ugly Betty was an example of a media tool that introduced a new and creative perspective of beauty. However, it still seemed as though talent and personal integrity are undervalued.

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