She was not Fat. Are you Fat?
If you only asked her grandmother.
S, M, L, XL, XXL, and XXXL, sizes exist beyond this spectrum. Where a person is on this scale, is becoming increasingly important to more people, more women. It is like after years of corsets, there was some space to breathe, which is getting heavier again with endless comparisons and social media debates. Which end of the scale sounds more alluring — petite, slim, small, or curvy, big, plump? Is it so straightforward? The adjectives do you like, what made you like them?
Beauty is pain. Many would like you to worship this belief. They would rather have you be a hamster in a running wheel than let you believe in the beautiful body you have. Because societal standards exist. The irony being they are vaguely universal and cruelly specific, and if you are inches away from them, you are certainly not falling in the pretty category. In your parents' eyes, you might be the most beautiful person in the world (forget this if your parents are too honest!), but others take their sweet time tearing down this vision. Everyone has an ideal version of others they want to be emulated, and when someone falls short of it, the illusion disappears and you might be a good person, but not quite the good-looking one.
For people who are sick and tired of the beauty debate, any spiels of beauty standards or physique may feel like hammers striking their ears. The half-a-trillion-dollar industry figure below might remind you that not many truly believe that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Of course, no one wants to live like a caveman (no judging if that’s your style!), and personal care and grooming are a necessary part of life. There’s also nothing wrong with beautification, wanting to put on makeup, and donning different styles. It only becomes an issue when people who may not adhere to certain standards are discriminated against or made to feel small. It’s even worse when it starts with a very young, impressionable age. It is cute for a little child to raid their parent's closets and try everything. It is not cute when the same child comes crying home because ‘Mommy, Ms said I can’t play the princess because Lizzy was pretty and I can play the handmaiden. Am I not pretty?’. It is not just the start of insecurity and trying to conform. It is the start of something very toxic.
As per Statista,
Revenue in the Beauty & Personal Care market amounts to US$571.10bn in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 3.80% (CAGR 2023–2027).
Influencers are a big part of the beauty and fashion industry now. You sweep through social media accounts and see sweeping, opulent pictures that may make many people wonder if everyone is living on the same planet. It is the way reality is distorted and unrealistic expectations set in, from millions of followers who are envious of such a high-flying life and never happy with theirs, that the capitalistic wheel loves spinning in. The media is also a vehicle for the dissemination and curated cultivating of a certain body image. It is as if the second you go online, you may start questioning the entire value of your life. Because the reality is not that shiny.
A new report by the Dove Self-Esteem Project surveying more than 1,000 girls aged 10–17 revealed that 1 in 2 girls say toxic beauty advice on social media causes low self-esteem. And 90% of girls say they follow at least one social media account that makes them feel less beautiful.
To any alien lightyears away from us, it must be amusing to witness, the see-saw of high civilizational advancement and low social practices. If you go and search beauty/fashion-related videos, some of these lines may be very commonplace — ‘Get abs in 30 days, 10 ways to make your skin fairer, lose 10 kg in one month’. Digging deeper, there might be expert advice such as ‘the Keto diet, eating one meal a day, buying a scale to measure carbs, water body detoxification’. Everyone will vouch till their last breath that they are doing it for their own selves, not to fit into some category, but truly, are they? The beauty aspect has sunk so deep into our lives, so hidden and pervasive, that many play the double role of an accepting saint for others and a harsh critic for themselves. Eating disorders are becoming more commonplace, and medical histories are not the only cause. To think, that one of the necessities of human survival, food, has fallen in the trailblazing victory of aesthetics.
Yes, it would be ideal to have a balanced diet. Yes, too much oily food or sugar is not good for your health. Yes, it is always good to aim for a stronger physique and increased stamina. No, it is not good to starve. No, it is not good to give up the food you loved since you were a child without a medical condition. Social media will not tell you the same, and most likely, the world around will not sit long enough to empathize.
It is not a woman’s domain or a socio-economic strata aspiration, it is every individual’s responsibility to ensure that at least from their end, people around them feel good about themselves. Body positivity is not merely a topic to have a viral YouTube video on or sell bestsellers about, it is for each and every one of us to be respectful of and appreciate. In a world where we paint all sorts of greys on a child’s mindset, let this be one less thing to worry about.
