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Belma Lulić 220103004 ELIT 12.5.2026. IMPOSSIBLE BEAUTY IDEALS AND FEMALE REPRESENTATION: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE GUARDIAN Introduction Digital platforms, celebrity culture, and commercial businesses that consistently promote limited and frequently unrealistic expectations of female appearance have impacted beauty standards in modern media culture. Women are often subjected to messages that link physical perfection, youth, and thinness to beauty, which puts pressure on them to live up to particular standards. In addition to advertising and entertainment, media, news stories, social media conversations, and public conversations on aging, beauty, and body image all serve to reinforce these ideals. Therefore, how women view themselves and how society defines femininity and attractiveness are greatly influenced by media representation. The Guardian was chosen as the media source for the paper because of its thorough coverage of social and cultural topics related to gender, body image, and beauty culture. Online beauty filters, anti-aging rhetoric, cosmetic injectables, and shifting celebrity beauty trends linked to weight- loss medications like Ozempic are just a few of the components of modern beauty standards placed on women that are covered in the four selected articles. The papers' examination of the pressures women face about beauty and self-presentation in contemporary culture unites them even though they address distinct issues. The following research question serves as the basis for the analysis: in four stories published between 2023 and 2026, how does The Guardian reflect, and critique modern beauty standards placed on women? The study uses Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which looks at the connections between language, discourse practices, and larger sociocultural settings, to address this subject. Using this approach, the analysis investigates how language choices, media production, and ideological presumptions influence how women are portrayed in modern media discourse and how beauty standards are constructed.
Theoretical framework The method known as Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) looks at how language, power, and society are related. Instead of considering language to be neutral, CDA makes the assumption that texts are influenced by social and ideological factors while also influencing public perception and social reality. Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional CDA model, which examines discourse at the interrelated levels of text, language practice, and sociocultural practice, is used in this paper. The linguistic elements of a text, such as vocabulary, grammar, style, sentence structure, and rhetorical organization, are the focus of the first dimension, text analysis. At this stage, the analysis looks at how certain word choices and linguistic patterns affect representation and meaning. Throughout the chosen pieces, special emphasis is paid to evaluative language, framing, and the descriptions of women and beauty standards. Discourse practice, the second dimension, examines the creation, spread, and interpretation of texts in media contexts. This involves looking at audience placement, intertextuality, genre traditions, and the inclusion or exclusion of particular voices and viewpoints. Discourse practice is used in this research to show how journalistic writing shapes readers' perceptions of beauty culture and points them in the direction of particular interpretations. Discourse is placed within larger social and ideological frameworks by the third dimension, sociocultural practice. This level of study takes into account how gender norms, power dynamics, and prevailing societal values are reflected and reproduced in media texts. Using this approach, the study explores the connections between broader concerns including consumer culture, social media influence, aging, and the pressure society places on women's looks and modern beauty standards. Text 1 Analysis “Teenage girls are feeling vulnerable”: fears grow over online beauty filters a) Online beauty filters are portrayed in the article as a harmful and widely accepted feature of digital society that primarily affects young ladies and teenage girls. The text's wording creates a sense of social concern and emotional vulnerability right away. The headline's use of the word "feeling vulnerable" presents teenage females as mentally impacted by online beauty culture and emotionally exposed. The article regularly used derogatory terms like "pressure," "harmful," "distorted," and "unrealistic," portraying beauty filters as destructive rather than harmless forms of entertainment. In terms of structure, the piece shifts from individual experiences and feelings to more general
eight measures" places science—rather than firsthand knowledge or societal concerns—as the dominant authority. The article regularly uses passive formulations ("are being presented," "was associated with") in terms of syntax and transitivity, which makes it difficult to determine who is performing the activity. This is common in science reporting; it presents results as objective rather than those of particular researchers who may have biases. The study itself is presented passively, but direct comments from specialists like Donald Lloyd-Jones and Nour Makarem are in the active voice ("we found," "we want"), giving those people power. Modality is very certain and powerful. Words like "can slow," "may slow," and "helps us understand" convey possibilities in a confident manner. The essay portrays these conclusions as established science rather than speculation, and there is very little framing or doubt. The majority of the time, evaluative language is used to frame aging as something that should be "slowed" or "decelerated." The term "healthy" is frequently used as an unquestionably good value. Implicitly, aging is portrayed as something to be avoided rather than accepted. b) The genre is science journalism, more precisely a synopsis of a study that was presented at an American Heart Association meeting. A captivating headline, a narrative summarizing findings, quotes from experts, background information on the study methodology, and a bulleted list of the eight measures at the conclusion are all typical elements of this genre. This has a lot of intertextuality. The article cites quotations from two named experts, a scientific conference, a research involving 6,500 adults, and the American Heart Association's "Life's Essential 8" tool. Every voice is professional, institutional, and authoritative. There are no competing viewpoints; no one was quoted challenging the findings or presenting a different perspective on aging. The idea that delaying aging is generally beneficial and supported by science is normalized by this absence. Reader positioning is based on the reader's desire for a longer and healthier life. Expressions such as "everyone wants to live longer" create a common, rational goal. Readers who might oppose anti-aging culture or wonder if living longer is always desirable are not addressed in the article. The implied reader is middle-aged (the average study age was 47), trusts scientific organizations, and is health-conscious. Production context: November 2023, published in the Science section of The Guardian's website. Subheadings, hyperlinks (not displayed here), and a list with bullets are all part of the format. The post-pandemic period is crucial because, following COVID-19, there was a notable increase in popular interest in lifespan and health. c) This article's prevailing philosophy is healthism, which holds that people should be in charge of their own health and that living a longer life is an absolute good. Biologically speaking, aging is viewed as a process that should be "slowed" or "stalled," rather than as a normal or potentially
significant stage of life. This is in line with anti-aging culture, which makes people fear growing older, particularly women. The following are examples of naturalized assumptions: biological age is a valid metric; six years of slower aging is objectively superior; everyone can follow all eight measures; and longer life equals better life. The essay doesn't address socioeconomic obstacles; maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, controlling blood pressure, and getting enough sleep all demand resources that not everyone has, including time, money, and access to healthcare. Power dynamics: The American Heart Association, the pharmaceutical and wellness businesses, and middle-class readers who are concerned about their health all benefit from the work. It doesn't address systemic disparities in access to healthcare. The researchers cited come from prestigious universities (Columbia University), and their authority is portrayed as unbiased and reliable. Social and historical context: This essay, which was published in 2023, captures the escalating cultural fear of aging that followed the pandemic. It also reflects a larger trend toward biological framing of aging as a problem to be fixed rather than a natural process, which is evident in The Guardian's coverage. In addition to the beauty filters and cosmetic operations covered in Text 1, this discourse places pressure on women to maintain their youthfulness through lifestyle choices. The Guardian easily reproduces institutional biomedical authority without critical distance, which is what this paragraph indicates about the outlet's connection to power. This article does not criticize anti-aging culture, in contrast to Text 1, which criticized beauty filters as harmful. It quietly upholds the same standards of beauty by treating slowing aging as clearly desired. Text 1 was criticized. Text 3 Analysis Hollywood beauty idea altered: use of Ozempic and drugs a) This opinion article, which is more similar to Text 1 than Text 2, consistently uses highly critical and sentimental language. Words like "unsettling," "gaunt," "skeletal," "uncanny," "strange," and "nightmare" convey a sense of unease and even disgust. The headline quickly establishes this: "not polished and slim... but altered and gaunt" creates a stark contrast between the current (poor) and ancient (excellent) standards of beauty. Coherence and structure: After establishing the old Hollywood ideal, the article presents the new unsettling appearance, explains the two causes (Ozempic and cosmetic operations), and then discusses the effects for film and Hollywood's cultural influence. A quotation and a rhetorical question conclude it. This method invites the reader to agree at each stage of the argument's development.
b) The Guardian's Fashion and Life & Style pages frequently carry articles or oral histories of this type. Human experience is given more weight in this genre than disagreement or bad news. It follows to the standard format, which includes an attention-grabbing title, a subheading that summarizes the problem, relevant statistics, and first-hand accounts as proof. Production context: Published in the Fashion section in March 2024. The period between Text 2 (November 2023) and Text 3 (March 2026) is noteworthy. Ozempic was gaining popularity in 2024, but the backlash had not yet taken shape. Compared to Text 3's 2026 criticism, the tone here is less angry and more curious. The five subjects are further humanized by the web format's images, which are not displayed. c) Here, unclear liberal feminism is the prevailing philosophy. Both personal preference ("body autonomy") and institutional criticism ("women around me are doing the most and men just get to age") are taken seriously in this essay. This piece permits several points of view to coexist, in contrast to Text 3's blatant condemnation. The idea can be summed up as follows: women should have the freedom to choose cosmetic operations because they are complex, but we should also consider the reasons behind the pressure. This piece highlights The Guardian's ability to express true ambivalence on its relationship to power. This element lets readers sit with uncertainty, in contrast to the confident critiques in Texts 1 and 3 or the uncritical science reporting in Text 2. The liberalism of The Guardian allows for "honestly, I don't know"; depending on your point of view, this can be interpreted as either avoiding a strong political position or as being intellectually honest. Longitudinal synthesis When examining all four texts from 2023 to 2026, a number of trends regarding The Guardian's portrayal of women's bodies and beauty standards become apparent. Even though each piece is from a different part of the paper (social affairs, science, opinion, fashion), taken as a whole, they tell a tale about how societal concerns about aging, attractiveness, and female autonomy are changing. The most noticeable change is in urgency and tone. Text 2 (2023) is balanced and upbeat; good news: adopting healthy behaviors will delay aging by six years. Text 4 (2024) is curious and conflicted; women consider injectables with doubt but without fear. Teenage girls are being harmed by beauty filters, according to Text 1 (undated but probably from 2025–2026). Hollywood's new thin, Ozempic-inspired style is described in Text 3 (2026) as "unsettling," "fascistic," and even a "nightmare." In just three years, the conversation changes from "aging can be managed" to "aging is under attack."
Women are the main subjects in all four works. Seldom do men appear; in Text 2, certain male research writers are mentioned; in Text 3, Jim Carrey and Ethan Hawke are discussed as examples; and in Text 4, James Vivian is the only male speaker. However, the main concern and the suggested reader are always female. Even in seemingly neutral texts (such as Text 2), aging, beauty, and body image are portrayed as women's difficulties. The Guardian presents itself as a mainstream feminist voice that is also critical. It is easy to criticize Hollywood, internet companies, and the beauty industry. It gives voice to those who doubt women's actual freedom of choice. However, it avoids taking more extreme stances, such as that the desire of young is harmful in and of itself or that criteria of beauty cannot be changed from within. Conclusion With an emphasis on aging, body image, and cosmetic enhancement, this examination of four Guardian stories from 2023 to 2026 has demonstrated how the publication reflects contemporary beauty standards imposed on women. I looked at how language choices, discourse practices, and sociocultural contexts influence how these topics are presented in various genres and eras using Fairclough's three-dimensional model. But the analysis also pointed out several shortcomings. The Guardian's reporting seldom challenges the fundamental importance of female beauty and frequently assumes that aging is something to control or slow rather than embrace. Instead of group action or structural change, individual reflection is offered as the primary remedy. This indicates that even while the criticism is sincere, it remains inside the system it is criticizing. This study shows that Critical Discourse Analysis is still a helpful method for comprehending how media texts reflect and influence cultural attitudes in spite of these drawbacks. In a world that encourages women to love themselves and never give up on changing, The Guardian's coverage of beauty standards is intelligent, critical, and profoundly controversial—perhaps the most honest stance available. References
Once upon a time in Hollywood, if you were an actor preparing to walk the red carpet at the Academy Awards, you might have been fasting to fit into your outfit. You definitely had access to the best hair and makeup artists, and designers and jewellers lent you thousands of dollars worth of incredible products. Maybe you even had a subtle bit of plastic surgery. You looked great! For a long time Hollywood operated a fairly coherent beauty ideal that, however unattainable, was at least legible. Beautiful meant healthy, glowing, symmetrical, and slim but not gaunt. The stars on the red carpet mostly looked like the most optimised version of themselves, which is to say they looked like very beautiful and polished versions of the rest of us. But the look coming out of Hollywood now is not universally aspired to; in fact there is significant public ambivalence and even rejection of it. Before, people may have looked at celebrities and felt inadequate because they didn’t look as good, but now it seems a significant portion of the public looks at celebrities and feels something closer to concern, or alienation. The comment sections on images of dramatically altered celebrities are not full of aspiration; they are full of “she looks sick”, “he looked so much better before” and “this is sad”. ‘He worked on his speech in French for months’: César awards boss rejects Jim Carrey clone conspiracy theories This awards season there has been a cluster of stars whose red carpet or fashion week appearances have led to concern, not admiration. These are actors who suddenly look either severely underweight and unwell, or those who have been overly cosmetically enhanced – or both.
The most dramatic recent example is Jim Carrey, who looked so altered that people thought the person on the podium at the 2026 César awards was a body double. The 64-year-old’s eyes were wide, his cheeks plumped and defined, his skin strangely smooth. Even his eye colour appeared to have been altered. So intense was the speculation that his representatives had to verify in the media that it was him and that he had worked on his speech in French for months. The speculation arose, at least in part, because people thought someone like Carrey, whose animated face is part of his appeal, would not choose to freeze his features with surgery. There are two converging phenomena that are producing a new aesthetic in Hollywood. The first is GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, which have produced rapid and significant weight loss across Hollywood in a very short period. You can see it in the Ozempic face phenomenon, when rapid fat loss produces volume loss in the face that then can appear gaunt and aged. The second is the acceleration of cosmetic procedures that are gaining in popularity – filler, brow lifts, buccal fat removal (the surgical removal of the fat pads in the cheeks, which produces a very sharp, hollow-cheeked look), lip enhancements and rhinoplasty. Buccal fat removal in particular, combined with Ozempic-related fat loss, is producing faces that look almost skeletal on screen. On the red carpet you see it in dramatically hollowed cheekbones, visible collarbones and very thin arms. The result of both surgery and GLP-1s together is a specific aesthetic that looks slightly uncanny and unnatural; faces that are clearly worked on and
Already Hollywood is grappling with diminishing financial and cultural power. When movie stars are no longer people we admire or aspire to look like (and copy their haircuts, fashion or fitness routine), the cultural power of Hollywood further diminishes. Angelica Jade Bastien in Vulture observed this week: “Yes, Hollywood is in a financial crisis motivated by a host of knotted issues … But Hollywood is also in an artistic crisis. So many films fail to engage meaningfully with the concerns, pleasures and contradictions of modern humanity. Meanwhile, movie stars have tweaked their faces and bodies into a startling sameness that hews toward the most fascistic markers of beauty (extreme thinness, whiteness, no signs of the passage of time.)” How can we still believe in the dream of Hollywood when, for those in it, it’s starting to look like a nightmare? ‘You start to wonder, is it really a choice?’ How it feels to age with cosmetic injectables Cosmetic injectables were once middle-aged accessories. Patients reached for them when a brow remained furrowed after a bad mood had passed, or their reflection started resembling their parent’s too much. But by the 2010s, the market had shifted. People in their 20s and 30s started seeking out Botox and fillers. Now, the most recent global survey from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has found that more than two-thirds of Botox users
globally were 50 and under, and 24% were aged 18 to 34. The survey also found that non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed by plastic surgeons had increased by 57.8% from 2018 to 2022. Spending on these kinds of cosmetic procedures topped $1bn in Australia for the first time last year, and the industry is in the midst of a regulatory overhaul due to concerns over standards and safety. As increasing numbers of young people turn towards “tweakments”, a cohort of early adopters is now approaching middle-age. So, what does getting older look like when you grew up with the promise of never having to look your age? We asked five people who have been getting cosmetic injectables for most of their adult lives to reflect on getting older – with or without wrinkles. When I was 21 I was working in a nice salon and there was a girl who was only a year older than me, but she was already getting anti-wrinkle injections. She just looked so flawless all the time, I think I wanted to emulate her. By the time I was 23 I was trading hair services with an esthetician to get Botox. That’s how I could afford it. I didn’t have any wrinkles but when I put on makeup my skin felt like glass. As the years went on, I wanted more and more. I haven’t really taken a break since I started, but I’ve gone through waves of how much I have. The closest I’ve come to stopping was last year when I didn’t do it for seven or eight months for financial reasons. It was surprising how rapidly my face changed. The speed of the ageing process made me nervous.
I started getting anti-wrinkle injections when I was 25 because I was waking up in the morning and my forehead looked like I had been frowning all night. It felt like there was a disconnect between how I felt and looked. Now I see them as part of an “ageing well” journey that extends far beyond the skin. It’s about living as long as I can healthily and happily. These days I only really think about this stuff when someone is surprised by how old I am. I’m always very open: I tell them I don’t go in the sun, I don’t drink, I see a personal trainer, I look after my skin and I get Botox. There’s a misconception around anti-wrinkle injections that once you start you have to do it forever. That’s not true. You continue because you like how it looks and feels. Like anything, I’ll continue until I don’t feel the need anymore. But honestly I don’t see why I would stop. If anything I’ll probably need more the older I get. I don’t want the things I’m doing now to become gateways for other procedures down the track. I’m doing the best I can now to not be a candidate for surgery later. I hope my vanity never extends that far. Erin Deering, 39: ‘I had an identity crisis and injectables became a bit of an obsession’ Entrepreneur and author who started getting injectables at 33 The first thing I did was a little bit of Botox and a little bit of filler in 2018. I was living overseas for work when I decided to try it. I remember sitting in the waiting room with people who looked really extreme and thinking: I don’t know if I want to go down this slippery slope. That experience didn’t really kick off anything crazy. But then I moved back to Australia with my children and it was a chaotic time. I didn’t know who I was. I had an identity crisis and injectables became a bit of an obsession. I
was going every month to a doctor who was a big over-treater. We did a lot of stuff. I think I was just trying to get a new face, trying to feel different, like a new person. Looking back, I realise my lack of self worth, self-awareness and identity at the time allowed it to become a huge part of my life. Then I had two pregnancies, the pandemic hit, and I entered an extended period where there were no treatments. During that time I also started doing a lot of emotional healing work. I looked at all the things I was doing and asked: How do I want to show up in the world? I didn’t stop all together. After my pregnancies I started to go back to do little things, a line here or there. But my relationship with injectables is always evolving. Sometimes I feel the desire is shifting, but the habit and programming of getting these things done is still there. I’m kind of like: Which way do I go? Do I want to stand for something? Do I want to be a role model for ageing naturally? Do I care? Honestly I don’t know where I sit. I’m having less done and I feel more like myself. I turn 40 this year and I’m really excited about getting older. But then I’m like, how much of that is dependent on looking a certain way? Felicity West, 39: ‘Coming into my 40s it’s appropriate to have a few fine lines’ A cosmetic nurse who started getting cosmetic injectables at 30 I first started getting injectables when I was working at a cosmetic clinic. Obviously considering I went on to start my own practice, I was pretty fond of the results. When I look at people my age who haven’t had treatments, I do feel my skin is in better condition. I’ll probably never stop, but I do try to make sure my treatments are age- appropriate. For example, in your 20s and 30s, it’s age-appropriate to have
A study suggests that following these measures promotes good heart health, which in turn may slow the pace of biological ageing by up to six years. The findings, based on data from more than 6,500 adults with an average age of 47, are being presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions conference in Philadelphia. Researchers said people with the best cardiovascular health were about six years younger biologically – the pace at which they have aged for every year alive – than their actual age. “These findings help us understand the link between chronological age and biological age and how following healthy lifestyle habits can help us live longer,” said Donald Lloyd-Jones, the chair of the writing group for Life’s Essential 8, the AHA’s health assessment tool. “Everyone wants to live longer, yet more importantly, we want to live healthier longer so we can really enjoy and have good quality of life for as many years as possible,” said Lloyd-Jones, a past volunteer president of the AHA. Life’s Essential 8 aims to define heart health based on four modifiable lifestyle measures and four modifiable health markers. To measure a person’s phenotypic, or biological, age the researchers checked their metabolism, organ function and inflammation. Phenotypic age acceleration is the difference between one’s biological age and actual age, with higher values indicating faster biological ageing. After accounting for social, economic and demographic factors, researchers said having the highest Life’s Essential 8 score – which means having good cardiovascular health – was associated with a biological age of about six years younger.
The senior study author Nour Makarem, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Mailman school of public health at Columbia University Irving Medical Centre, in New York City, said: “We found that higher cardiovascular health is associated with decelerated biological ageing, as measured by phenotypic age. “We also found a dose-dependent association – as heart health goes up, biological ageing goes down.” For example, the average actual age of those with good heart health was 41, yet their average biological age was 36; and the average actual age of those who had poor cardiovascular health was 53, though their average biological age was 57. Makarem said: “Greater adherence to all Life’s Essential 8 metrics and improving your cardiovascular health can slow down your body’s ageing process and have a lot of benefits down the line.” The eight health measures named by the American Heart Association: Eat a healthy diet Be more active Quit smoking Get healthy sleep Maintain a healthy weight Control cholesterol Watch blood sugar Manage blood pressure
