I was five years old when I found out that there was an acceptable way for women (and girls) to look. I don’t have many memories from that time, but I remember knowing that there was a certain standard I had to live up to. I was 10 years old when I tried to make my skin become whiten just because my best friend have a perfect skin and she was so pretty. At some point, I learned that the only acceptable skin color for women is in the “white skin” . I was slightly brown until my aunt tell me that I shouldn’t playing during the day too much it because my skin were already too brown, and playing during the day would only make it worse.
Why am i considered ugly if i don’t meet the beauty standards?
Attitudes towards appearance are one of the main reasons why people are being bullied. In fact, young people said that their appearance like uneven skin, darker skin, stretch marks, body folds etc was the reason they were bullied.
For example :
in Ancient Egypt era, the ideal woman is described as slender, narrow shoulders, high waist and symmetrical face.
In a Victorian England featured beautiful woman as desirably plump, full-figured, cinched-waist and a pale face with rosy cheeks was seen as the most ‘beautiful’. The the era of the corset. In this time period, women cinched their waists with tight-fitting undergarments to give the perception of the desirable hourglass figure. This time period lasted through the reign of Queen Victoria, considered by many as one of the most influential figures of the time.
In a golden age of hollywood the ideal woman is described as having curves, hourglass figure, large breast, and slim waist. The classic example of this ideal woman’s body is Marilyn Monroe, the Golden Girl of Hollywood.
In a Postmodern Beauty the current beauty standards for women include flat stomach. Healty skinny, large breasts + butt, and thight gap. Kim Kardashian, as unfortunate as it may be, is the poster woman of ideal beauty standards for the modern woman. Women are expected to be skinny, but not too skinny, with large breasts and a big butt, all while maintaining a flat stomach. Women increasingly are seeking plastic surgery ‘fixes’ to achieve this look.
What’s your definition of beauty?
Beauty standards dictate that asymmetric features, facial hair, big noses, uneven skin, stretch marks, body folds, and essentially anything out of the standard, are ugly. But in reality, it’s the beauty standards that are ugly - they are ugly because they artificially create ugliness.
Role Of Media In This Mentality
the are numerous movies that make this demarcation. The heroine, who is almost always shown as the beautiful one is someone who is dressed up well, flaunting pink lipstick and pretty hair. On the other hand, the girl everyone takes notes from is generally the one with messy hair, weird dressing sense, and hardly any makeup.
What This Does To The Way Women Perceive Themselves
women are forced to be extremely skinny or extremely overweight, they are still forced to wear skimpy clothes that put their bodies on display. We are still objects. Only some of us take up more space. They still have to shave their her legs and their armpits. Their eyebrows must be plucked and shaped into a perfect arch. They still have to have on a ton of make-up. Even cosmetic plastic surgery is almost exclusively done to women (92% of all cosmetic procedures are done to women) because our society puts so much pressure on women to conform to beauty standards. I want to get rid of beauty standards altogether. All of them. I don’t want “beautiful” to be a thing little girls aspire to be. Strong, brave, intelligent, thoughtful, resourceful, funny, confident, ambitious… these should be the standards. Just like they are for men and boys.