International Journal of Gender and Women‟s Studies December 2018, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 1-11 ISSN: 2333-6021 (Print), 2333-603X (Online) Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. Published by American Research Institute for Policy Development DOI: 10.15640/ijgws.v6n2p1 URL: https://doi.org/10.15640/ijgws.v6n2p1 Western Beauty Pressures and Their Impact on Young University Women Ashley Mckay1 , Shannon Moore1 & Wendee Kubik1 Abstract This research examines the impact of Western beauty pressures on a select group of young Canadian women. I gathered data using qualitative semi-structured interviews and analysed the data using an intersectional analysis of oppression in order to learn how women‟s race, class and culture backgrounds shape their experiences with Western beauty pressures. The interviews were analysed using the voice-centred relational method of data analysis. The thirteen women interviewed discussed their perceptions of Western beauty pressures, how these pressures shape their engagement or lack thereof in beauty practices, and strategies they employ for resistance. The results are organized under six main themes: (a) gender roles and beauty (b) education, careers and beauty practices (c) influence of family, friends, relationships and peers (d) cosmetics (e) weight, and (f) resistance. Key words: Beauty, advertising, women, resistance, intersectionality, oppression. Introduction In our global beauty market, Western beauty ads play a significant role in shaping women‟s and girls‟ relationships to their bodies by promoting an unattainable beauty that does not leave room for cultural and individual differences. Globally, Western beauty “ideals” pressure women and girls to conform to a fair-skinned, youthful, thin, toned, able-bodied and physically “good looking” woman. Pressure on women and girls to strive for the Western beauty “ideal” is replacing the great diversity of human bodies and beauty (Rossini, 2015). Through imagery in advertising and in popular culture, women and girls receive the message that their value largely depends on their physical appearance (Newsom, 2011). Since advertisers have extraordinary power in determining the content of the media, women are conditioned from a very young age to believe that they can buy their way into achieving the Western beauty “ideal” (Rossini, 2015). Kilbourne (2010) argues that pressure on women and girls to conform to the Western beauty “ideal” has become worse over the years and that the criteria for meeting such standards has become more demanding. The unrelenting pressure on women and girls to meet Western beauty standards is shaped by inequality across gender, race, class, sexuality, gender identity and ability, making it a crucial social justice issue. In Western culture, women and girls learn that their bodies are a measure of their economic value, causing many women and girls to believe that changing their body size or shape can change their life (Brown & Jasper, 1993). Weitz (2008) found that conventional attractiveness in relationships and careers is a source of power for women. For example, conventionally attractive women are less lonely, more popular, more sexually experienced, are more likely to marry and are more likely to marry men of a higher socioeconomic status (Weitz, 2008). Conventionally attractive women are also more likely to get hired, promoted and paid higher salaries (Weitz, 2008). The transnational, multibillion dollar beauty industry has taken advantage of female consumers by fostering insecurities and offering a series of solutions that tell women and girls how to hide their imperfections through the purchase and use of beauty products (Darling-Wolf, 2009). Due to the unrelenting pressure on women to meet Western beauty standards and the obvious material gains that can be made by achieving them, many women and girls come to experience their bodies as a source of distress in our consumerist, media-driven culture. 1 Centre for Women‟s and Gender Studies, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada 2 International Journal of Gender and Women‟s Studies, Vol. 6, No. 2, December 2018 Weight Worldwide, the weight loss industry is worth $586 billion and has a 98% failure rate (Rossini, 2015). Rossini (2015) argues that this profit would be marginal if people succeeded at losing weight with