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What is beauty?

What does it mean to be physically attractive?

Is there a universal standard of beauty?

These questions do not have one simple answer because, in a world with a population of over 6 billion, beauty means different things to different people. However, some trends create beauty standards and they somehow become the norm.

Growing up in the 2000s, we didn’t have social media but we had television sets and magazines which gave us a peek into the lives of celebrities and socialites. The likes of Ovation, Complete Fashion, Vogue and music videos gave us the semblance of social media. The editorials, exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes showed us what was trendy and acceptable thereby setting the beauty standards of the decade. Being skinny and thin-lipped was in and going under the knife to achieve them was quite unpopular. A decade later, things changed.

The Advent Of Social Media & Influencer Culture

Social media changed everything. It has changed our lives and is affecting us both positively and negatively. The need to be picture-perfect at all times is no longer restricted to our TV screens and magazine pages but has seeped into our reality.

Having an hourglass figure, flat stomach, thin waist and large buttocks as a woman is now regarded as the standard. It’s not new. During the Italian Renaissance, having an ample bosom, rounded stomach, full hips and fair skin was ideal. The Victorian era and Golden Age of Hollywood bore similarities as they considered women with curves, an hourglass figure and a cinched waist the standard. The only difference now is that we have front-row seats to witness societal acceptance of the current beauty standards on a global scale. It’s worse because we happen to see this acceptance in real-time.

Most fashion brands constantly advertise their products to us using social media influencers that look like the standard. They sell us a lifestyle that’s unrealistic to the majority which most people strive to achieve. In the end, it’s all marketing and they only want our money. However, it’s not just restricted to women. Men also have beauty standards but this post isn’t about them.

Dying For Beauty

Beauty is pain but does it have to be so? The ongoing trend of women undergoing the Brazillian butt lift (BBL) surgery is alarming. Once a plastic surgery that was done by certified professionals, BBL is now so widespread that it can be done by any fellow claiming to be a doctor. It’s in high demand and you know what economics says about demand and supply.

Going under anaesthesia, losing your blood and being on the brink of life and death to achieve a certain body type is wild. It’s too heavy a price to pay to look aesthetically pleasing and accepted by strangers who don’t care about you. Shedding your blood to achieve certain beauty standards is the height of vanity and an indicator of low self-esteem. Some will make excuses for celebrities, saying they’re in the spotlight and have to look “presentable”. This stance is a problem on its own because they are mostly guilty of creating these so-called standards.

Let’s learn to differentiate showbiz and marketing from real life. Developing body dysmorphia due to what’s being shown to us on screen and social media is happening a lot more these days. Learn to love the body you are in. It does so much to keep you alive daily and it’s unfortunate if you’d rather place aesthetics and societal acceptance above that fact. It’s our differences that make us unique. We don’t all have to look the same.

Keep in mind that trends are constantly evolving. There was a time in human history when women with big foreheads, rounded stomachs, large eyes and small feet were deemed the standard.

No fashion trend or beauty standard is worth a drop of your blood. A healthy body will forever be the standard.

Stay well.