They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But what makes a person beautiful? What does a person need to have for people to call that person beautiful? I agree that we all have different opinons what it means to be beautiful. But we can't deny that beauty standards also have an influence on us. What is your take on beauty standards? I thought I'd share my ideas on the causes of beauty standards and what to do with pressure from them on this post. Let me know if my ideas resonate with you by leaving a message in the comments section!
I often find myself thinking about beauty standards. Are these standards based on what the majority thinks? Or is it about what they want us to think? Is it something dictated to us that we have come to learn and follow? Could it be a cultural thing? Is it possible that the history of country or community can affect our opinion of beauty? Is it only about physical characteristics or do other things come into play?
 |
| Photo by John Diez |
The Fandesals Podcast talked about something related in one of their episodes. This is from season 3 about the most beautiful Filipino celebrities. I realized from that episode is that beauty standards can be culture-based. Most of the people named were of the white/mestizo variety. Even the darker-skinned ones still had mestizo features. Calling people who are white (or whiter than most) beautiful has always been part of Pinoy culture. An offshoot of hundreds of years of colonization most likely. It’s something that we probably do not even think about anymore. It's so embedded in our psyche that it has become part of the norm.
The only good thing I realized from the episode was that beauty standards are not a final thing. As individuals, we all have our specific types of people who are beautiful in our eyes. They may not always fall under the umbrella of the set beauty standards but they are still beautiful to us. People with what they call the X-factor also fall under this category. They may not fall under the standards, but they have that something that makes them special.
Another thing discussed in the podcast was how one's personality affects their beauty. There's something about a person’s attitude and that affects the way we see them. The uglier the attitude, the worse they can seem no matter how beautiful they are. At least that's what it can seem like to me.
This may be more psychological, but I cannot help but believe that. No matter how beautiful a person is, if that person has a bad personality, it affects the way we see them. This is the same with people considered beautiful who do not fit beauty standards. This is because the goodness in them shines through and makes us see beyond beauty standards.
But why do we even have these standards in the first place? I was researching about this and found some opinions on why we have these beauty standards.
Causes of Beauty Standards
Culture and History
For the Philippines, beauty standards came from hundreds of years of colonization. First by the Spanish and followed by the Americans. Because of that, people with fair skin and more western features are the definition of beauty. This is also the reason why other countries have their own set of standards. We all have our unique histories and stories that influence our beliefs of what is beautiful.
Globalization
With modern technology, we have been able to reach out to other countries from all over the world. We get to learn from each other and share our ideas. This has affected our beauty standards now that it is also influenced by other countries.
Media and Marketing
Media plays a big role in shaping beauty standards. This industry chooses people who they define as beautiful. These are the ones shown in movies, TV, magazines and other forms of media. This influences everyone into believing the media. If they say this is beautiful, then that is what is beautiful.
Marketing also plays a role because beauty and fashion is such a big industry. Of course they will use marketing to convince people to become beautiful. After all, it will help them to grow their business. By teaching people what is beautiful, they also teach them what to change to fit in. Buy this, buy that. Undergo this and that procedure. They are using these standards to sell products and services that we often fall for to fit in.
Peer Pressure
Speaking of fitting in, people often feel the need to do that. This is why if there is a certain beauty standard, many would do what they can to make changes to fit into that. We often choose to follow the crowd instead of leaning into our unique looks. This further promotes a standard that may be difficult to meet.
Psychological Factors
Let's face it, people treat beautiful people in a different way. This is why many choose to make themselves conform to beauty standards. They want to get the same special treatment as beautiful people.
Having these beauty standards in our culture never goes away, but it often changes over time. For that reason I hope that people would not go through drastic measures to fit into these standards. These days there are so many pills to take and procedures to undergo to fit into the beauty standards of the time. There is so much pressure for people to fit in instead of standing out with their unique looks.
Attempting to conform to beauty standards can be a lot of pressure on anyone. If you or anyone you know is experiencing this, I have some things to share.
Things to Do If Pressured By Beauty Standards
Self-love
There are so many things we can do when feeling pressure with certain beauty standards. Take time to reflect on yourself and what is important to you. The standards imposed by society and whether you conform to them does not define you. It does not define your self-worth. Remember to love and accept yourself. Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't fit the standards that people follow. Loving yourself and practicing self-care goes a long way. It will give you that inner peace and love that shines out. That's better than conforming to any beauty standard.
Make yourself a priority by taking care of your physical and mental health. Do things that make you feel good so that you can become more confident. Focus on the positive things about you instead of the negative. Remember that you are your own worst critic and nothing is as bad as it seems.
Body and Image Positivity
Embrace who you are and love every part of yourself. Follow people who can be your role model in this practice. Learn to love what makes you unique. It will help you to have a better image of yourself that can affect how people see you as well.
Practice Gratitude
By feeling grateful and focusing on the positive things in life, your focus can shift. It can move from the pressures of beauty standards to you loving and enjoying life. Be grateful for what you have and who you are. Do not give any focus on what others are dictating for you to be.
Surround Yourself with the Right People
If the pressures of beauty standards often get to you, surround yourself with people who care. Having people who support and encourage you can help you feel happier about yourself. That satisfaction is better than conforming to those standards.
Another thing you can do is to go to a counselor or undergo therapy. Sometimes some of our issues need the help of a professional. Do not be afraid of talking to one if your image issues are affecting your mental health.
Stop Allowing Media to Influence You
Remember that media presents unrealistic images. In this age of photo editing and manipulation, not everything we see is real. Do not force yourself to follow a trend made on computer and is not achievable in real life.
Do Things for You, Not for Others
Only do things if it is what you want and not what people are influencing you to do.
Before going through anything drastic, we need to learn to love ourselves first. It's not only about what our bodies or our faces look like but also what's on the inside that makes us beautiful. Loving ourselves and taking care of ourselves should always be the first step. If someone feels that there are still “changes” that needed, everyone has the right to do. I only hope that person will choose to undergo it the right way.
To anyone who wants to make changes to be more beautiful, my advice would be this: Check with your doctor. Do your research. Make sure you do it with legitimate professionals who have had success with other people. Don’t rush and let the pressure of living up to these standards dictate what you do to yourself.
Most important of all, always remember that we are all beautiful in our way. There is always someone out there who thinks you are beautiful. You have to believe in that yourself.
Here’s the episode from the Fandesals Podcast that I mentioned earlier in this post. Happy viewing!
No comments
Post a Comment