The clothing a woman wears, the texture of her hair and the shape of her body often reflect societal ideals about femininity and perfection, four panelists said last night at a discussion regarding the definition of beauty.

Two professors, a campus minister and a plastic surgeon spoke to about 60 people in HUB Auditorium last night.

Behind them hung images of beautiful and scantly clothed women, creating a foreground to their discussion.

" 'Body beautiful' standards are conveyed to us in many ways," said Stephanie Shields, professor of women's studies and psychology. "Achieving this 'body beautiful' has a lot of costs."

The panelist discussion marked the end of the HUB Gallery's provocative exhibit, Calculations for the Perfect Woman.

Throughout their discussion, the panelists spoke about today's en vogue look for women, and the importance of critically examining this ideal.

"We really need to think about what is beauty," Aaronette White, professor of African and African-American Studies and women's studies, said. "Ask yourself: What is the particular type you are attracted to, and how did you develop that?"

White said a beautiful woman is often considered to be white or light-skinned, and thin with long hair.

She added that this ideal often pressures women of different ethnicities to look more like a white woman.

"In ads, you see colored women with light skin," she said. "Colored women are rather invisible unless they appear white or light."

White also spoke about the impact of the "male gaze."

"What men prefer dictates and shapes what we consider beautiful," she said. "Most of us accommodate these standards of beauty in some ways and resist them in some ways."

Rena Miraliakbari, plastic surgeon for the Hershey Medical Center, said about one-quarter of his patients come for cosmetic reasons, many striving to achieve standards of beauty based on the look of white Anglo-Saxon women. However, he said women must go through an assessment process before he approves surgery. "It's never a five minute consultation," Miraliakbari said. "We try to assess the reason they want to be that way."

During a question-and-answer period, one audience member protested that she should not have to feel guilty for wearing makeup and eyeliner.

"It's because I like them," Rose Hernandez (graduate-materials sciences) said. "Every time I get ready in the morning I feel great."

White said women do not have to reject feminine ideals, but should consider why they may want to look a certain way.