Fame, Feminism and Fury

Sarcasm, Stupidity and Society

Society noun: the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community.

Source: The Oxford Dictionary of English

Synonyms: community, civilization, humanity, nation, population, public.
Antonyms: hate
Source: thesaurus.com

Although, as a fourteen year old high school student, I am in little to no position to disagree with the Oxford Dictionary or a website used and trusted worldwide, I do. What the dictionary has failed to mention in its many definitions of society are the general thoughts and opinions of society that dictate the vast majorities' lives. Thesaurus.com's antonym for society is 'hate', but within our society and many others, hate is one of the most prominent emotions. What these two sources have stated are very narrow minded and literate facts about society. What they have missed is the sheer power of the force that shapes our world.

Societies are made up of the population of an area, state or country. The society that our country is part of and the society that I will be referring to in this text is referred to as 'Western society'.Western society is made up of many First World countries worldwide. This list includes Australia, USA, the UK, Ireland, Western and Central Europe, New Zealand, Canada, some South American countries and South Africa.Regardless of your views, beliefs or opinions, you are part of a society. Influential and respectable people worldwide are all part of a society. People who do things for the greater good, who put the safety and wellbeing of others before their own and who would stop at nothing to make living worthwhile are all a part of a society. But societies are also home to homophobia, sexism, racism, bullying and discrimination. It is said that the antonym for society is hate but how can this be true when many members of our society are riddled with that emotion? Although there are millions of different thoughts and views in our society, somehow half of them get blocked out and society only concentrates on the select views of the ignorant. It is through this blindness that we get social expectations.

An average person wakes up every day and gets ready with a wish to look acceptable. Brushing hair, teeth, getting out of your pyjamas, even just wearing clothes are actions that most people do to fit in with our society. Children are taught from a very young age what is and isn't suitable to do in public. People are judged for doing something out of the ordinary and from this many develop prejudiced opinions based on appearances. There is an immense amount of pressure placed on both males and females to be beautiful and so that is what many peoples' lives revolve around. Over the years beauty has become a goal. The media has influenced people and what they hear from parents, friends or people that they idolise that beauty is a goal that everyone must try and achieve. Although the majority of parents will tell their children not to try and change their appearance and that make up and plastic surgery is unnecessary, they will reassure their children with the overused saying 'You are beautiful just the way you are'. This phrase is a fire that has been fuelled by celebrities, social media, television, magazines and books but people still try and strive for beauty. What needs to be understood and accepted by society is that beauty is (in most cases) unnecessary. Sure, there are jobs and professions that appear to require you to be beautiful, for example modelling, but that is a marketing trick that encourages people to buy products. However you don't need beauty to get where you want to be. What people need to focus on now is inner beauty that is a completely different thing in itself, regardless of the name.

To have inner beauty one must be a kind and caring person who values other people's opinions and beliefs but sticks true to their own. Inner beauty is more likely to improve your social health and if it weren't for society, knowing you are beautiful inside would also improve your mental health. Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a mental illness that occurs when someone is obsessive about improving or hiding their flaws in both non-permanent and permanent ways. People with this disorder find themselves constantly checking their appearance in mirrors or avoiding mirrors completely to avoid seeing how they look. Although this illness seems extreme it is related to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and various other anxiety disorders that are a lot more common in our society, affecting 14% of 16-85 year olds in Australia. Although this problem isn't directly caused by society, the appearance related pressure placed on people today would not help the percentage of our population suffering from disorders like this.