A beautiful inquiry: stories in the reflections of beauty
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Abstract
This study explored the implicit messages in narrative fiction relating to the construction of female beauty ideas and ideals. Conversations with three young adult female participants focused on how our media-saturated culture perpetuates beauty myths specifically within fictional narratives and how these stories affect identification with the concept of beauty. Through one selected counterstory, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, participants and researcher reflected on the potential for narrative fiction to question symbolic representations of culturally encoded beauty ideology. Furthermore, the study highlighted the importance for young adults to develop active and critical reading competencies when encountering the implied messages in narrative fiction.