The ideal woman and the oppression of women Having an impossible ideal female appearance, society is beating us as women. We don't have time to emerge in the world through politics, business or any other power-related structure because we spend all our time trying to maintain or achieve this beauty. The ideal woman is constantly evolving. Different features and characteristics are valued at different times and in different cultures. And every time ideals change, or the culture in which we live changes, a woman must also change because if she is not the ideal beauty, then she is less of a woman. For example, in the case of Judith Ortiz Cofer, she was beautiful, tall, and light-skinned in Puerto Rican culture, but in American culture she was short, dark-skinned, and not the most beautiful. Beauty is relevant to time and place. And often, we forget this and are manipulated by society to think that the beauty of time and place is the most important thing a woman has. It's not just about oppression, it has a lot to do with money. Men, and other women too, take advantage of women's insecurities. And if we don't have insecurities about our bodies, they'll make sure we develop some by pointing out how much we don't look like the ideal woman. We are too deformed, stained, old, flabby, fat, thin or the wrong color. We do breast augmentation, liposuction, facelifts, nose jobs, skin discoloration, accept certain fad diets, buy makeup and hair coloring and styling products, and the new miracle exercise machine. Beauty is a multi-million dollar operation that cannot afford for any woman to love herself as she is. The current beauty ideal for women, tall, very thin,...... half of paper...... he didn't have a wig when he arrived. She was really embarrassed and breathlessly reaching for the book, so my father took it and handed it to her. Many times it seems, as in the case of Donna Walton in “What's a Leg Got to Do with It?”, that disabled people are too busy overcoming the illness or pain they suffer from to care what other people think. It only takes one person to raise the doubt that disabled people are less men or women, or less capable. It is important to recognize this and make a conscious effort to recognize them as capable and complete. Recognition and acknowledgment are critical ways we can overcome the oppression of all beauty ideals. If we make an effort in our minds to fight the messages we receive from society, other people will eventually decide that there are liberating alternatives to these harmful messages..