Throughout the years, women have always faced a problem, the beauty standards the world makes us believe will make us “beautiful.”
In the 1800s they had clear pale skin, pink rosy cheeks, and a tiny waist with wide hips. In the 50’s they had the hourglass figure and a big bust with bright red lipstick and big dresses with petticoats. In the 2000s they had tanned bodies, shimmering makeup, and layering clothing. Now in 2023, we are open to more body types and clothing styles such as gothic, coquette, y2k and so much more.
But still, some women feel obligated to “look pretty”, they feel like they need these clothes and makeup to feel pretty. Our society has let the fashion industry and so-called influencers dictate these beauty standards — all in the name of selling products to make money.
They see a bunch of other women wearing this type of clothing and makeup and think that they need to do the same to look pretty. Nowadays the most significant way beauty standards come about is social media. With social media people can edit their images to appear skinnier, tanner, or younger and many teens will look at these alterd pictures and compare them with their own self image. But women aren’t the only ones that experience these beauty standards, men can too. They might feel like they need to have six-pack abs and big muscles so that women like or notice them. Again this can lead to severe mental health issues.
When you compare yourself to other people, that is a big sign of low self-esteem, but it might lead to problems such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and even suicidal thoughts.
Some can argue that makeup is bad for young teens. Some people think wearing too much makeup at a young age can lead them to feel insecure about themselves and feel like they can’t leave the house without a full face of makeup. But others say that makeup is a great way to express yourself. It helps them feel more confident. I believe that makeup is a beautiful way to express yourself and it’s OK to use it if it makes you feel happy and not just make yourself “prettier” or conform to beauthy standards.
The same is true with men and bodybuilding, if you’re doing it to make yourself more ‘attractive’ you should probably stop what you doing because doing so much of something like working out can stress/wear you out and can lead to further problems such as more of a risk of injuries, muscle strain, and so much more.
I believe that if you want to make yourself look “prettier” or more attractive, you’re probably doing it for the wrong reasons. But if you are doing it to help your confidence, then be my guest.
