Open AccessIdentifying Ugliness, Defining Beauty: A Focus Group Analysis of and Reaction to Ugly Betty
Author(s) -
Adria Y. Goldman,
Damion Waymer
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 35
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2014.1263
Subject(s) - beauty , focus group , aesthetics , construct (python library) , interpretation (philosophy) , ideology , psychology , representation (politics) , art , sociology , philosophy , computer science , politics , linguistics , anthropology , political science , law , programming language
This article discusses the ideological construct “beauty” that permeates our society by focusing specifically on socially constructed ideals of beauty and ugliness as they are represented in media text, specifically, in the TV sitcom Ugly Betty. For this study we conducted focus group interview sessions to explore the influence an alternative representation of beauty and ugliness, as portrayed in the show Ugly Betty, has on college aged females’ definition and interpretation of beauty—typically questions explored using traditional experimental and other quantitative methods. Moreover, this study provides insights into tensions surrounding how beauty and ugliness are defined and the implications of these definitions for women.