Beauty Standards and their Impact

There's a scene in the 2004 film Mean Girls where the characters line up in front of a mirror and point out what they don't like about their physical appearances. "My hairline is so weird," one of them says. "My pores are huge." This scene is very telling of something- how much we're obsessed with our outward appearance and being beautiful. But what does beauty even mean? And what are beauty standards?

Beauty and Beauty Standards- why do they even matter? 'Beauty,' as defined by the Oxford dictionary, is a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially sight. And beauty standards are essentially variable standards of what it means to be attractive - present in a given culture over different eras. There is a biological reason why looks do matter. Health, fitness, and youth can be partially gauged from outward appearances. And when someone pays attention to their grooming, it shows that they care. Nevertheless, these are just general standards, but today's requirements to be "beautiful" are often harsh, unattainable, and unhealthy (which defeats the original purpose). Current beauty trends An "hourglass" figure is the ideal body type at the moment. And one of the biggest perpetrators of this is influencer culture. With the promotion of teas, gummies, and waist trainers that apparently make you skinnier, the reality is that it is a cash grab for influencers and corporations alike. Businesses that create these products have realised what sells and are the only ones that benefit from these trends. The recent 'fox eye' trend has been slammed as racist. It involves people making their eyes look smaller with the help of makeup or physically pulling their eyes into narrow shapes while taking pictures. Asian people are usually mocked for their smaller eyes, but now it is considered a trend by beauty bloggers and influencers. This is a noticeable pattern- where the features of a particular race that were initially made fun of become a major part of these trends. For example thick lips and eyebrows. Although eurocentric features aren't currently trendy, features like thick lips and eyebrows are only celebrated on Caucasian people. Fluctuation It is essential to understand that these trends are just that- trends. In medieval times, being fat was considered beautiful because it signalled wealth, the ability to stay indoors and not work, and the facilities to feed oneself. Additionally, they vary across cultures. It is well known that there is a "grass is greener on the other side" mindset. For example, the people of areas where dark skin is the norm want the opposite, and vice versa. The Rise of Plastic Surgery Another industry that's growing due to insecurity is plastic surgery. Although getting plastic surgery done is a personal choice, it should be considered why people are driven to such an extreme option in the first place. But what happens when a nose-job falls out of trend? Plastic surgery becomes a permanent solution to a temporary problem. TikTok and Teens Although the TikTok app has been banned in India, a lot of the trends from there are prevalent on Instagram Reels. A lot of the content revolves around looks, either videos of a conventionally attractive person usually doing nothing or videos of people trying beauty-related trends and failing. The comments are filled with people saying that now there's another thing they have to be insecure about. Teen years are often when one feels the most insecure about the physical appearance and the rise of TikTok adds fuel to the fire. There are clearly several issues caused by these trends, such as low self-esteem, bullying, and insecurities. Often these insecurities are focused on natural things like cellulite, acne, and stretch marks. So what should we do about it?

First, understand that your uniqueness makes you attractive, beauty is subjective, confidence is internal, and beautiful the way you are. Next, demand better from social media influencers and corporations. Lastly and most importantly, do not participate in perpetuating these trends.

Lastly and most importantly, do not participate in perpetuating these trends. Be mindful of how comments you make can have an extremely negative impact- whether towards others or yourself.

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