In this project, we will argue that the Kardashian women influence beauty standards by portraying themselves as beauty moguls to control the interests of their audience and promoting themselves as the modern day standard of beauty. This affects their audience by creating unattainable and unrealistic standards of beauty that negatively impacts their sense of self and mental health. We will explore the influence they have created and why their influence remains preferred by their audience over time, explaining how they maintain control of the industry.

In the the fall semester of 2022 I took a class called HON 380: Aesthetics and Society. The question was posed: "What is beauty?" It was there I began to ponder the abstract nature of the concept of beauty. There were several different compelling theories, beauty is defined philosophically, by evolutionary principles, or by societal and cultural norms. However, I still believed that these theories didn't do enough to full satisfy the question of "What is beauty?" The different theories all neglected to talk about an integral part of beauty and what I found to be the key to defining it, it's antithesis: Ugliness.

This study presents documentary analysis and observational data evaluating the portrayal of female body types in movies produced by the Walt Disney Company and its impact on our most vulnerable population, young children. We examine past scholarly works and present a tool for quantifying the progression of Disney in representing a larger variety of body types in their films in order to make a determination as to whether or not Disney has improved in their presentation of the female body overtime. Overall, our findings indicate that Disney movies have not progressed significantly over time in terms of representing a realistic female body type to its young audience quite yet in a meaningful way.

Since the early 2010s, there seems to be a shift from the dominant Eurocentric beauty ideal to a new beauty standard that embodies more ethnic features, reflected in the growing number of women who want to enhance or adopt ethnic features through cosmetic procedures. As more white women adopt this new beauty standard, research into how perceptions of race are shifting is warranted and thus I explore the following question: What can we learn from white women who have undergone cosmetic procedures to appear less white and how are contemporary beauty standards changing perceptions of race?

This paper focuses on the relationship between modern beauty ideals in today’s society and its catalyzation and/or effect on perpetuating eating disorders in young females. Further, this paper utilizes a primary case study to propose a more accurate and modernized approach to disordered eating – specifically anorexia-nervosa. A review of the literature on modern beauty in the present day in association with eating disorders was conducted and further utilized in conjunction to conduct research on eating disorder symptomatology, the prevailing gaps surrounding disordered eating, a more renewed way towards recovery, and further recommended insights for external groups. Although much of the long-established research pertaining to eating disorder recovery stands at a general level to advocate traditional recovery methods, what still lacks is the increasing correlation between the vulgarity of modern beauty standards and its role in recovery. As evident through primary and secondary sources of literature, this paper attempts to address the growing gaps in scholarly research pertaining to the lack of recovery recourse and further delineates and analyzes a few research questions. With this being said, the case study in this paper arguably amplifies the strong reproach for a more relatable recovery discourse from an autobiographical point of view and advocates for additional research to be completed regarding diagnostic management. The findings of my research have resulted in a six-step recovery model for individuals struggling with disordered eating and will be further supported by documentary analysis.