Unlearning Beauty Standards
Chubby, thin, curvy, skinny, slender, pudgy. There are so many words that we use when describing our bodies. If someone were to ask you to describe your body in one word, I am pretty sure the only thing you would think to say is how it looks. You would never say capable, strong, or powerful. Even though your body is all of those things, you have been programmed by society to believe that the only purpose your body serves is to be attractive.
This idea that physical attractiveness is the most valuable aspect of a woman rules our day-to-day lives, whether or not we are conscious of it. It dictates so many choices that we make. Maybe you wake up one day and don’t really feel like doing a full face of makeup, but you still do it so that no one judges you for not looking your best. Maybe you want to wear an outfit that you love, but you won’t because it isn’t “for your body-type”. Maybe you want to eat a big meal when you’re at dinner with your friends, but you just get a salad so that you don’t look bloated.
The irony is, beauty standards are constantly changing. The “ideal” body-type has transitioned an absurd amount over time. In the past 20 years alone, we have seen a sharp shift from skinny modelesque bodies being “in” to a focus on slim-thick bodies. That’s because even the standards we have, even for individual body parts, have completely changed in a single generation.
The ever changing beauty standards do not only apply to body type, they also extend into the way you choose to decorate your body. By this, I mean style. We have seen the rise and fall of many trends. There are so many clothing items that you would have seen everywhere just 5 to 10 years ago that are now considered “cheugy”. To name just a few: skater skirts, tattoo chokers, skinny jeans, and tons more. This also leads into the idea of gendered clothing. We have these ideas as a society that men should dress one way and women should dress another. If you dress outside of these gendered norms then people automatically think that it says something about you. A woman in “men’s clothing” is trashy and lazy, communicating that she doesn’t care about how she looks. No one stops to consider that she may just feel more comfortable in traditionally masculine clothes.
Although the beauty standard is always changing, there is always one part of it that remains the same: not everyone is seen as beautiful.
With expectations and standards changing so rapidly, it’s nearly impossible to try to live up to them. And to be honest, you shouldn’t. The only real purpose that your body serves is to allow you to experience life. Your body allows you to listen to music, to eat good food, to hug your parents, to hold a lover’s hand. So who cares if it’s fat or thin, or if you dress it up in a feminine or masculine way?
Unlearning beauty standards will take a conscious effort over a long period of time, however, the best way to start is by planting a seed of self love. Ask yourself, “what are you thankful that your body does for you?”
Written by: Chloe Foster, Photography: Cullen Powitzky, Design: Taylor Gustafson, Social Media: Krisha Atreya