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The infamous beauty standard
Oh! A cute baby girl was born, give her 10-13 (or even less) years before she has to worry about her weight, body shape, height, body hair, if she's pretty enough, or even if her smile is perfect. Women and men have to face a daily war between the way they look and the -unrealistic- beauty standard. Nevertheless, I want to talk from a woman's point of view. How society imposes the ideal way an individual should look, and how frustrated some people could be to reach it.
A symmetrical face, refined nose, big lips, wide eyes, and an hourglass figure is the way women should look, anything aside from this universal beauty rule is outside the beauty standard. Instead of accepting and embracing it, what you should do, according to society, is undergoing plastic surgery. So you could finally be the vibrant image of beauty. Yet be careful, because society will judge you if you change the way you look, and will call you “plastic,” “fake,” “no self-love b**ch,” and other decaying adjectives.
We are daily consumers of social media, therefore we are conscious of the weight it puts into living an extravagant lifestyle while looking amazing. Sadly we don’t always look the way social media expects. We are humans, and humans aren’t perfect. We have our flaws, flaws that the media and society consider threatening. Celebrities such as Kylie Jenner are a perfect example of how a simple negative comment about appearance can make you change, only to satisfy others. Under the pressure of the paparazzi following her all around Los Angeles, and people's comments, she decided to undergo lip filling and rhinoplasty. Kylie Jenner is just one of the thousand girls that commit plastic surgery to feel enough, to satisfy someone, or just to fit in.
Young girls these days have easy access to the media, they look up to influencers, models, and celebrities. What they see and follow are perfect-looking girls, promoting a lifestyle that is not easy to keep up with, “perfect bodies,” “perfect faces,” and just overall happiness. In social media, there is no space for imperfections. The information people recall is that any flaw is not okay and should be changed immediately.
Teenage girls look up to social media as if it is the bible, many of the influencers, models, or celebrities who post bikini pictures have an hourglass body or a skinny body type. This type of advertising can create insecurities and can make girls' self-esteem low. In extreme cases, someone with an eating disorder can be seriously triggered.
The beauty standard sets unrealistic goals for women and girls to achieve. What society wants is perfection. If you aren’t naturally pretty, plastic surgery is your only option, yet don’t overdo it, because you will be judged. Your Instagram feed will be full of hourglass bodies and perfect faces making you feel insecure.