Essay Sample On Beauty Standards

The impossible current beauty standard for women includes having a thin face, defined cheekbones, skin that shows no sign of acne, aging, or stretch marks, a slim eurocentric nose, full lips, large breasts, large butt, and slim stomach. Women in Asian countries pay to have their skin bleached meanwhile, women in America spend their summers sitting in the sweltering sun to work on a tan in hopes of gaining a darker complexion. If beauty is subjective, then why do women go to extreme lengths to follow the standards of the media that are always changing? While some people believe that having/following beauty and body standards is significant to societal norms and the structure of culture, fashion, social media, and corporation, others contest that social media standards are implementing harmful habits on young, impressionable women and that there is no need to conform to unrealistic and temporary ideals.

Representation in various media matters. In a society that rewards the walking beauty standards for the bare minimum, people should use the media to their advantage and reclaim what it means to be beautiful. According to Paji Chavez, a writer for Daily Utah Chronicle, “Although the sheer amount of content online can be overwhelming at times, there are benefits. We have incredible access to information and education. Everyone with access to the Internet has an outlet to tell their story. Each user also has the ability to curate their timeline and give themselves space from any messaging that they deem irrelevant or harmful to them.” Social media is often demonized for perpetuating negative stereotypes and fad trends, which is true in some cases but as Chavez mentions, most social media platforms give users the power to change their timeline and only see what they want to see. Another important point to mention is the relevance of body positivity trends in magazines, modeling, and social media. Body positivity is defined as, “A growing phenomenon that seeks to challenge dominant societal appearance ideals and promote acceptance and appreciation of all bodies and appearances” (Cohen). While it isn’t easy being vulnerable on the internet, many people find these accounts promoting body acceptance to be helpful to their self-esteem on a platform that makes changing someone’s appearance easy as opening Photoshop or Facetune. According to Terry Ellis Niquel of  Herald-Mail Media, “Experts are urging women with insecurities about their body image to follow these types of social media pages, saying Instagram sex symbols like the Kardashian-Jenner clan can trigger body dysmorphia — a mental disorder that causes people to constantly think about their flaws and avoid social situations”. While the internet is promoting positive behavior, it is always easier to look at the negative which can be damaging to mental health so it is important to take a step back and reflect when it feels needed.  

Is body positivity on social media enough to feel better about ourselves? Faith Smith in their article “Social Media Degrades the Value, Meaning of Beauty Standards”, describes the following, “Soulful R&B singer Ari Lennox and fashion icon Teyana Taylor looks were compared by a Twitter user to a rottweiler dog. This sent Lennox on a Twitter rant encouraging parents to tell their children how beautiful they are without societal limitations. Social media opens doors to not only break a person mentally but also degrade a person physically. Insecurities may start from within, but if you're constantly told you're not beautiful enough and or not beautiful at all, it takes a toll on self-esteem.” The dehumanization of women (especially women of color) on social media is an issue in itself that needs to be addressed. Women influencers on social media are seen as sex symbols, objects, and in this case, animals. When two women get compared to a rottweiler dog, issues and questions begin to arise, Is this racially motivated? Was the tweet meant to be degrading or uplifting? or, Why was this tweet published in the first place? Smith also explains how social media can both physically and mentally break a person and when someone reaches their tipping point, they may start unhealthy habits, self-harm, and a person may gain body dysmorphia as described before. Jordanna Schriever, a writer for The Advertiser newspaper shares, “As advertisers, fashion labels and influencers beam thin, perfect bodies into social media feeds, the images are affecting the way children and adults alike perceive the body. A national study of Australian 14 to 15-year-olds found many had taken action to try to control their weight by skipping meals and not eating anything all day in a bid to shed kilos, despite a large percentage not being overweight.” Children and Teenagers are being negatively impacted by social media and as I explained before, are gaining unhealthy habits and putting themselves in positions that lead to eating disorders and body dysmorphia.