Self-image affects every single person, and one of the most commonly referenced facets of self-image is - you guessed it: beauty standards. Having grown up around an abundance of women with a plethora of various beauty routines (if any), the perceived expectation of women’s beauty and looks are something I have known for a long time. On the other hand, I’ve never known a beauty routine of many men (if I would even call it that) beyond using a face wash and some aftershave. While this is commonly accepted, it still doesn’t really make sense to me.
While I am sharing that this is my opinion, I also want to clarify that I in no way judge anyone for caring about their appearance. As someone who cares about their appearance, I don’t think it’s shameful or taboo, but it rather helps me connect with my sense of self and presentation.
At the few formal events I’ve attended, for weeks ahead of time I’ve heard my friends fretting over what color boutonniere to buy for their dates, their hair and/or nail appointments, and arranging to meet up at someone’s house to do makeup. And this is no modern concept; makeup as we know it originated in the early 1900s, but history dates makeup and face painting back to the times of the ancient Egyptians. From about the fifth to the nineteenth century, most European trends were along the lines of painting one’s face a light gray or white color (the main users of makeup being white people of upper classes through the 1700s, and the lower classes after that), as well as adding freckles or mouches to highlight clear skin. The practice of painting one’s face with lipstick or rouge, etc. was decreed vulgar by Queen Victoria, as it was a highly popular trait among prostitutes and the lower classes. So most Anglican women would paint their faces with a mix of lead and vinegar, often leading to muscle paralysis and death.
As the years and decades progress, beauty is being challenged more; the Eurocentric background of many if not all Western beauty norms, the lengths of preparation expected by women in the working world, and the movement of many celebrities and influencers toward body-altering surgeries.
During the summer months, it is increasingly and painfully obvious the European and generally white background to beauty norms. For graduation, I’ve seen the majority of the white seniors at my school sporting ungainly spray tans, and when summer comes, beaches and pools will fill with adults sporting their tanning spray or foil reflectors. And almost all of the people I see tanning are women.
My lifetime of education has taught me that concealer is meant to hide the blemishes (that somehow only women have, as I’ve yet to see a man use concealer). High cheekbones and a sharp brow bone make someone more attractive, and the leaner a woman’s face, the more beautiful she must be, right? Creating the most geometric shapes in one’s body is the best way to look sexy, and the easiest way to find a date, despite the time and lengths it might take to achieve that. Women need curves and men need lines, or so it seems. For centuries women have been accentuating their cheeks to create a rounder face, toning their bodies to create a large chest and a tiny waist. We all have heard the horror stories of the countless women who died from whalebone corsets, and how the invention of the modern bra was both radical and lifesaving. But this history is missing one thing; men.
Especially now in high school, I notice often how at special events, boys generally wear a nice shirt and jeans, whereas girls will be decked out in a new outfit, with nails done and curled hair (I generalize, but bear with me). Despite spending an hour trying to perfect my eyeliner, I will never be inherently labeled as an attractive person even when I show up with immaculate hair and an immaculate outfit. That is a privilege reserved for select men. I had a friend who was showing me a picture of a late celebrity in their youth, in jeans and the most garish shirt I’ve seen in my life, and he was trying to convince me of how attractive he was. And at the same time, I have friends doing the same. But when the picture is of a woman, she is almost always in formalwear or made up under a mask of makeup. When will it be that women are attractive simply for being? We make excuses to treat men that way but refuse to do the same for women. In a world in which sexism is often built into the foundation of the workplace, and occasionally the home, another social tax is simply too much. It has been centuries of attachment to the allure of conditional feminine beauty, and centuries of struggles to view oneself as beautiful, even when that is the obvious truth. How much longer will it take until each person recognizes themself as beautiful and worthy of everything we assign to beauty? As someone who generally recognizes beauty almost everywhere, I think it is time for everyone to receive the confidence we all deserve, realizing that every one of us is beautiful beyond belief.
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