Opinion Piece: How Realistic Are Society’s Beauty Standards?
As you walk down the street and casually glance at windows, billboards, and magazine covers, you are served the latest beauty ideal that slowly whispers into your subconscious – you’re not good enough. Bigger lips, glossier skin, whiter teeth, bigger breasts, bigger lashes, smaller noses, you name them, they’re everywhere, seemingly mocking all of us. It’s true, throughout the centuries, beauty ideals have drastically changed from celebrating plump shapes to glorifying anorexia-like skinniness.
However, we’ve entered a new era of unrealistic and fake. Now that we have several different fronts where we can feel ugly and inferior (yes, that would be our social media profiles), it seems that the ways in which we get to ridicule or worship various looks are also multiplying by the minute.
Beauty Expressed in Likes and Follows
You may feel immune to the different imagery representing beauty ideals, whether you see them online or offline. However, a recent study has shown that even as little as 15 minutes of exposure to images of “beautiful” people has the potential to alter our mindset. So, you look at slender or fuller figures for a quarter of an hour, and in that time, your perception of beauty changes to reflect what you’ve seen. Simply put, none of us are immune, and the media has a mighty role in shaping these standards.
It’s no wonder then, that the latest beauty ideals are formed also by those who steal the spotlight in all forms of digital media. Instagram’s most followed beauty idols flood the newsfeed with their images on a regular basis, while magazines still put forth celebrities who match that very same look.
Infusing Beauty with Health
On a different note, the recent health and fitness revolution has inspired quite a few trends that defy the typical fake, faux, and filtered ideals. The nude look is seen more often on the runways as more models boast the latest designer collections makeup-free, while the general “au naturel” vibe is growing stronger.
While certain standards go against common sense and our wellbeing, others work well in favor of our health. A great example is dealing with acne after birth controlwith the help of regulating your diet, which not only gives you a clear complexion, but also reduces inflammation and oxidative stress. You may have changed your eating style predominantly to treat a skin issue, but you’ll end up with a stronger immune system and a healthier body as well.
A growing number of fitness models and athletes in all spheres are also making a bold step forward in the name of real beauty. Encouraging a healthy lifestyle (albeit with some help from Photoshop) while showing their bodies in more than just perfectly posed images is giving new hope to people looking to reach their fitness goals without deluding themselves into nonexistent physiques.
Pretty is a Calling
Just how obsessed we are with physical appearance and approval of others can be seen in the way we monetize beauty every step of the way. This is beyond supermodels and celebrities who do their best to maintain their image and reputation, but refers more to a growing number of beauty and fashion bloggers, as well as Instagram models. They push trends forward, work alongside beauty brands to promote their products, and post reviews to invite followers to try different brands.
However, it should also be recognized that a fraction of these industries is striving for a more inclusive approach. Certain designers are beginning to introduce more diversity into their ranks – from albino to those with Down syndrome, the modern idea of beauty is slowly showing potential to be more diverse and actually beautiful.
The Ugly Truth
To answer the initial question – these standards have strayed so far from the idea of beauty that we now rely on nonexistent, media-flaunted ideals that not even the very models possess. Perhaps it’s high time we started investing the same amount of effort into our minds as we do in our looks. Maybe then the world will be able to see past the current pretty and embrace and celebrate the simple truth that we all are and should be different.
.Guest post written by Claire Hastings – Claire is a wanderer and a writer. She writes as long as she can remember, and she is very passionate about fashion, running, other cultures, and her cat.