The sexiest woman alive 2013,

Almost every week when I pick up a magazine, I come across at least one “sexiest woman/man alive” ranking. Of course they’re always fun to look at and to compare but it wasn’t until recently that I truly started thinking about what it was that I was looking at and how these adverts have influenced my perception of what beauty is.

Above is a picture of Mila Kunis who is currently ranked as the world’s sexiest woman alive by FHM's 2013 poll. It is evident that she is a beautiful young woman. I am sure that there are many young girls who aspire to be like her when they see her on ads such as these. When I saw her on the list I wanted to know more about her. What she does? What she wears? What she eats? Everything! I wanted to know what was different about her. How I could adapt some of what she does so I could be in a similar league. While googling her I came across the rest of her pictures. Pictures of her on a daily basis- without makeup (on the right) Then it hit me! She is just an ordinary girl. She looked like the girls I interact with everyday. Still beautiful I must add, but she looked different to the image portrayed of her in the ad. The reality of this is that many girls believe the perceptions fed to them by the media on what beauty. Most often their lives revolve around these perceptions - which are not always inaccurate.

It is often said that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Looking at Mila’s picture on the right, it’s safe to say that we all could make that “sexiest woman alive” list if we could have a full photo-shoot with the world’s top photographers, makeup artists and editors. Hence, how we define beauty and how young women go through emotional roller coaster to find ways to “fit into” what our communities define as beautiful is a problem that still faces our society. It is important that women and men who read these ads know that beauty is defined by perception and let it not affect their views of themselves.

So as I continue to flip through magazine pages and read the next ranking. I admire, I get excited, I laugh but in the back of my head I know they aren’t accurate. I know that the lists are subjective. Shouldn’t the “sexiest woman alive” be able to look just as “sexy” without makeup?