
Beauty: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Setup
According to myth, Helen of Troy was “the face that launched a thousand ships” — her abduction having incited the Trojan War. Most of us can only dream of inspiring such passion, though studies show American women will spend over $200,000 on cosmetics in their lifetimes, and plastic surgeons report they are seeing “catapulting demand for facial plastic surgery and aesthetic procedures.” Are there risks associated with putting such a high premium on beauty, particularly in the age of social media? What happens to our psyches when we stare at ourselves on a screen all day? And what the heck is “snapchat dysmorphia” anyway?
- 2022 Festival
Explore More
Education

Today's kids are coming of age against a backdrop of political, social, technological, and economic upheaval. While these circumstances are shaping a precocious generation tha...


From blockchain to back to school and virus-hunting to bridging divides, speakers at the 2021 Aspen Ideas Festival addressed issues in a new kind of world—one touched, and cha...












We're proud to announce the 2022 winners of The Aspen Challenge, four amazing teams of young people designing solutions to some of the most critical problems facing their comm...





When children see themselves and their communities mirrored in school curriculum, they learn better. But traditional curriculum situates people of the African Diaspora in a mi...