The positive and negative impact of appearance on various spheres of life – the opinions of women and men of different ages

Abstract

<jats:p>The aim of the article is to present the results of a study addressing the issue of the positive and negative influence of appearance in the context of private and professional life. The publication is based on qualitative research on attitudes towards the appearance of women and men of different ages. The way of thinking about appearance depends on the conditions of the gendered age – i.e. the gender and age of the respondents. For women, appearance plays an important role in both the public and private spheres, while men have placed greater importance on it in the public sphere. While women still seem to attribute a greater role to physical appearance, more and more men are beginning to see this as a key aspect in interpersonal relationships. On the basis of the research we can observe the coexistence of two models of “femininity” and “masculinity”: patriarchal and androgynous. Sometimes in the same generation there are contradictory internal attitudes towards appearance. In the youngest generation, the process of unifying attitudes towards appearance is noticeable – attractive appearance is perceived by young men and women as one of the key human capital resources.</jats:p>

Correlation of Body Consciousness and Fear of Negative Appearance With Self-Esteem in University Students

“…11 The word "appearance" means "the way that someone or something looks", "an impression given by someone or something", "an act of performing or participating in a public event", "an act of arriving or becoming visible". 12 Recent work in the areas of body image disturbance and eating disorders has focused on the delineation of risk factors that may lead to the onset and maintenance of these clinical problems. Social concern is an exaggerated fear of a person for being focus of attention, being evaluated negatively by another person or persons and being considered worthless.…”