The concept of beauty standards has always been a part of human culture. From prehistory to the present, they have undeniably influenced mankind’s perception and shaped our preferences. Beauty standards are a subjective analysis of an individual’s appearance which idealizes and scrutinizes everything from bodily physique to facial features. Furthermore, they are a benchmark that determines if you are conventionally “attractive” — perhaps even genetically “ideal” or socially “acceptable” — and that is where the major problem lies. They are toxic and deadly, and more often than not, they are unrealistic and unattainable.
Ideals concerning appearance have been demolishing humanity’s ego for millennia. With the earliest evidence of their presence dating as far back as the prehistoric period, the perception of true beauty has certainly come a long way from what it used to be. According to Edwards (n.d.), standards are periodically divided into multiple eras, such as the Italian Renaissance, Victorian England, and the Golden Age of Hollywood. It goes without saying that the standards — most prevalently of women — have evolved throughout the years, and a peer into history’s divisions would only reveal their distinction and ephemerality. Given this, let us look at the current feminine beauty ideals, which are no less unrealistic than their historical counterparts and still differ by region and decade.
During this digital age, these standards have broken into mainstream media and asserted their relevance through it. Like never before, social media platforms influence a myriad of impressionable minds on the daily with their billions of users. Tiktok, Instagram, and Pinterest are just a few of the many content factories behind the production of current trends.
These platforms are home to concerning content, such as the “facial-symmetry” challenge and the “paper-waist” comparison. As its name suggests, the former uses a filter to vertically invert your face to check how symmetrical it is as you film your reaction to the results. In its shallowest form, you are allowing a mere model of artificial intelligence to determine your beauty. However, despite the evident toxicity, there are still those who prefer to wholeheartedly embrace the content and participate in the trends.
Standards have been imposed for the longest time, but their over-publication has only become all the more possible with today’s technology. Beauty influencers and the industry alike thrive off and capitalize on our insecurities because they sell. Interestingly, it is a marketing ploy in accordance with the “Scarcity Principle,” which states that with scarcity comes demand, followed by a rise in supply in an attempt to meet it. In that sense, the existence of a standard is born from the absence of its fulfillment.
For the epitome of irony, cite none other than the Eastern and Western beauty standards, with each one being the complete opposite of the other. In the East (predominantly Asia), a modest, natural, and youthful look is what many consider to be attractive. Fair complexion, round eyes, double eyelids, and slim physique are Eastern ideals of beauty, all while their natural features beg to differ. In the West (predominantly America and Europe), on the other hand, bold symmetry is a statement, closely resembling the circa-1980s Supermodel Era. Generally, Westerners idealize tanned skin, a tall stature, and a curvy figure, in slight contrast to the Western genotype.
Think Kardashian-Jenner: the family of American socialites who built their billion-dollar empire on their careers as the mascots of the Western beauty standard (and the plastic surgery that came with its attainment). They hold influence over their millions of followers, exposing them to their standard of beauty — which most believe they lack — and their products (e.g. Kylie Skin), which are marketed to allegedly help attain that standard.
A discussion on the topic of beauty would not be complete without the mention of South Korea. What began as the Hallyu of the 1990s has evolved into the dehumanization, and ironically, the veneration of public figures otherwise known as “idols.” Korean beauty is a culture that obsesses over naturalness as it romanticizes flawlessness. To achieve this standard, idols resort to the unthinkable, undergoing plastic surgery, restrictive diets, skin-bleaching, and the like, to conform. As the “Demonstration Effect” explains, after the practices gain attention from the media and online users, consumers follow suit.
The standard of beauty has been shown to evolve throughout history and differ around the globe, only gaining prominence in this digitalized age. Many issues stem from the shift and variation in ideals, but society often fails to remember that they are no more than preferences, worthless without our confirmation. After all, beauty standards are nothing more than an attempt to portray unrealistic perfection and are only true to those who believe in them.
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