The Complicated Role Of Physical Beauty In The Modern World
It is no secret that physical beauty illicits a kind of admiration, wonder, even envy from others. As beauty fits itself into the world of consumerism, it becomes a currency in its own right and subsequently falls into the same dichotomy of demonization and aggrandizement that money falls into. That is, the same way that money itself is a neutral resource that people latch extremely charged emotions onto, physical beauty is often an outlet for people to do the same. Perhaps at no time has beauty been more demonized and excessively praised at the same time and on the same platforms. Of course, one must note the role that social media plays in providing these platforms for beauty to be shamelessly showcased (and publically shamed) in ways that are faster and more fleeting than any magazine or television ever could. We often note the existence of “beauty standards”, a term that evokes a Kardashian-esque image of what is now the desired asthetic for women to attain.
While there is often good intention behind the efforts to “dismantle” beauty standards, though, there is little analysis of the origins of such beauty standards, the industries that will continue to profit off of these standards no matter how we “re-imagine” them, and the need for women to once and for all acknowledge the consequences of pinning all of the blame on men for perpetuating said beauty standards. It is not to say that men are not a part of the cycle that perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards, but to suggest that perhaps there is a response to today’s beauty standards that is infintely more empowering and rewarding than simply rejecting them alltogether.
Understanding Where Beauty Standards Are Coming From Before Deciding Whether Or Not We Should Label Them “Problematic”
The term “beauty standards” has been an umbrella to describe the often unrealistic (and with social media, often literally unreal) physical features that we ought to attain and aspire to attain if we ever hope to elevate our current lifestyle. The issue with this umbrella term, however, is that it does not differentiate between what is traditionally considered to be beautiful according to men, according to other women, and according to the fashion/beauty industries. Rather, it assumes that all of these parties are endorsing the same image of what feminine beauty is, and that is simply not true.
The truth, whether or not we take the time to dissect it, is that these three groups all have slight variations in their understanding of what it is to be an attractive woman. True, most men find certain features and physical traits that they tend to deem attractive in women, and there is a large overlap between men’s understanding of beauty and the industry’s understanding of beauty, but the issue with completely conflating the two is that it often forces women into a place of believing that men are to blame for unrealistic beauty standards (and letting the beauty industry walk away without truly taking responsibility). This oversimplified vitriol towards our “beauty standards”, as we call them, leads many women into the painful choice of either obsessively aspiring to keep up with them or rejecting them completely for what often becomes a false sense of happiness.
In the quest to become attractive, as the term is defined by men and by others, we often lose what we understand to be the innate beauty of the feminine physique (a kind of beauty that is not only in physical form, but uses the physical form to project feminine traits of kindness and empathy into physicality). It is a shame, truly, to miss the countless opportunities that the modern world has for us to accentuate the natural beauty we really do have if we are not concerned with ever finding it. For many women, especially those who suffer from forms of dysphoria (also eating disorders and other forms of anxiety that deal with issies surrounding one’s own appearance), beauty never feels like an innate feature that nature has granted us in the ways that it has for others. For many women, beauty feels more like a vapid but necessary quest and a true silver bullet to expunge all negative perceptions of self.
Innate Beauty Vs. Socially Constructed Beauty (And The Symbiotic Relationship Between The Two)
Despite what it is often tempting to promulgate, beauty is not simply a social construct. As with every other aspect of humanity, there is a symbiotic relationship between what is innate and what is socially constructed. Of course, many elements of the expression of beauty are socially constructed (we weren’t born with makeup and bodycon dresses on, after all), but at their core, these products and rituals are used to point to something innate about feminine beauty.
This is where industry’s understanding of beauty and men’s understanding of beauty do intersect — where products are marketed and sold with the purpose of amplifying the feminine physique that precedes them. True, many men get swept up in the allure, the smoke and mirrors that makeup, clothes, filters, etc. create, but these things themselves are not what most men are pursuing. For most (heterosexual) men, rather, they serve as hilighters of the beauty they are biologically programmed to seek out. Men, then, have nothing to profit from the marketing of these tools women use to enhance their appearance.
This is also not to suggest that there be shame on those who (whether by choice or not) lie outside the parameters of traditional beauty. In fact, this is where we do have the opportunity to respond to beauty standards in an infinitely more empowering way than simply “dismantling” them. We have the power of individual perspective, personality, and persuasion. To simply reject societal beauty standards is to take an ultimately unsatisfying and nihilistic approach to the subject. It is a much more fulfilling journey to look inwards and discover what you as an individual find to be attractive about your appearance regardless of where it falls in accordance with these standards.
At first, this may require you to spend significantly less time on social media, or other places where people beauty is being marketed to you at such an aggressive pace. It is also critical that you recognize that it is ok to want to change your appearance and also ok to not want to change, and when you are secure in your appearance, there is no need to defend it on such platforms or ask that others agree with you. Remember the aspects of beauty (aspects that, yes, most men find attractive) that cannot be displayed on a phone screen. In physical beauty there is opportunity for personality to shine through. It is not just the smile in the makeup ad that is beautiful but the smile that you flash at a kind remark or a funny joke that is beautiful. Do not let the industry whiddle beauty down to a series of edited photos used to sell you shit — reclaim it by using your beauty as a vessel for a brighter, dynamic, and truly unique personality, and then there is no one to blame for the promulgation of “standards” becuase the only ones you pay attention to are those you set for yourself from a place of authenticity.
