Image Obsessed Nation

Ireland – An Image Obsessed Nation

It appears we all have image issues, even if we choose to ignore it or pretend it doesn't exist. This may seem like a sweeping statement, but look around the streets and urban centres and you will find it difficult to find a young woman that is not orange, or groomed to the highest.

I would not call myself an image conscious woman, in fact I have no interest in make up, tanning, diets etc, but I am in minority and the more time I spend observing the women in Ireland, the more I realise we have become an image obsessed nation.

Now there is many a convoluted answer for this social situation that has arisen in modern ireland. Many a woman blames the increase in beautiful Polish girls residing on our Island, which has made it much more difficult for women in Ireland to feel good about their bodies, as they have to compete with the stiff competition of blonde and slender Polish and Baltic nationals. Others blame the mass media,and the very horse which has bolted from the stable and overwhelmed this country – none other than WAG sensationalism. I first came across this WAG following when I worked in an elite department store in Dublin, last summer. I worked for a British company who on several occasions told me to improve my image by dying my natural brown tresses to a sexier shade of blonde. They insisted I cake my face in make up and always had my nails pristine. I was informed that I should aim for the 'WAG' look and thats when I realised that we in Ireland are facing a serious problem. Eventually I was told I was ugly and did not have natural beauty therefore I needed the help from our french friends of rouge, blush and lipstick. Unsurprisingly I left the position and was all the happier for it. However in those four months, I experienced a bully, which scarred me emotionally. It took a lot of strength to persevere and to rise above their words. I would love to be naive and say it is a pure london thing and that is why this london based company treated me this way, but unfortunately it is a social must in Ireland today.

If I want to go out on a night out wearing a skirt or a dress, I simply have two options; A, to go and get a tan either by bottle or by sun bed or B, buy a damn good pair of tan tights. It seems to have white pasty legs now is like a woman having hairs under her arm pits, it is a socially unacceptable move by any woman in society.

Everywhere you look we are consuming the 'image' that is imposed on us by the mass media, advertisers and marketing companies. There is not a woman's magazine out there that does not begin with at least six to eight pages of pictures of celebrities in their bikini's, walking in the parks, out shopping, or out wining and dining. Why is this ladies? It is because the magazines know what readers want to see? or are these images serving as pin ups, icons, ones to both idolise and scorn at. If it is not Cameron's glowing complexion, it is geri Halliwell's notorious botched up streaky tan job that has the media and the readers in a frenzy!

TV shows, afternoon shows, internet sites are giving us top tips to prolong a summer glow. If you take a look down the street, you will see that the Irish are browner than the tourists. Kids as young as eleven are splashing on the orange stuff just to fit in, so that they will not be the only white face in their class or in the lecture hall.

The real down fall is that these young kids are just victims of advertising and peer pressure. Make up manufacturers are selling products to an increasingly younger audience. Disney is selling make up kits for tweens, L'oreal is making cleanses and soap washes for the tween age – anything to allure a younger audience with a disposable income.

I understand that wearing make up is a rite of passage for young girls, it is up there with having your first kiss, getting your period and going to your first disco. It is important to assist young girls in their self-expression but seriously how much is too much?

At the age of twelve girls enter secondary school, where they are exposed to older boys and girls and advertising plays a bigger role on the young brain. It is simply not right that a young girl should damage her skin at such a young age and scientific research shows that make up damages younger skin more than older skin. More importantly young girls do not get to develop a sense of natural beauty, which is one of the best lessons any young woman can learn.

It is a sad state of affairs when a nation such as ours turns to these extremes in order to fit in or feel good about themselves. So I ask you, what has happened to the farmer tan? The pale Irish face? the natural look? or the beauty of a pair of white skinny legs. Unfortunately it is all gone orange – because after-all orange is the new white.