A.Nyomi.B
26th March
2018
Meaning
of Beauty
What is beauty? What makes her beautiful and not me? Can I
change what I see in the mirror to look like her? These are a few of the
questions racing the minds of many women today. As a consequence of the rigid,
societal beauty standards many persons believe it is crucial that they have a
certain body image or physical features to be considered beautiful. Many of us
often critique ourselves or try to alter how we look to fit into society’s
“ideal” beauty standards. However, we must learn to be comfortable in our own
body.
Beauty standards are essentially “what
society says is good enough.” According to an article in the Huffman Post newspaper, “the
feminine beauty ideal
is the socially constructed notion that physical attractiveness is one of
women's most important assets, and something all women should strive to achieve
and maintain.” The article further explains that as technology
changes from generation to generation so does beauty standards. This statement
is true, think about it? All around us are television
shows, magazines and social media websites which influence many young girls to
believe that they must change their body image (whether it is weight, hair,
face, breasts etc.) to be “perfect.” So, when these media platforms change “the
ideal beauty” so does society. Our society has instilled in some women that
specific physical features are essential and since we are constantly judged on
our appearance, many persons believe they must try to meet these social
constructs.
I once struggled with learning to
love myself or trying to look “beautiful”.
A few persons would often lift my slender arms, wrap their thumb and
middle finger around my wrist to measure the size of my arms. This was often
followed by a comment such as “Wow, you are extremely skinny, you should eat
more!” Other comments would include “I can see your collar bones and ribs, you
need more meat on your bones.” Or “You would look better with more weight, a
similar size to hers” while the person pointed at a magazine or screen. These
scenarios are forever etched in my mind. After constantly hearing these words,
I always felt that I was not good enough - the girl who was too skinny, had too
much acne and not a perfect smile. I believed I needed to be slim but not TOO
skinny, have a little weight but not TOO much, have curves, abs and clear
acne-free skin and a pretty face. OH! and my hair, it was a bit “knotty” so it
should fall on my back and not rise to the sky. However, after years of
introspection, meeting girls who had
similar “problems” as I did and listening to songs such as “Pretty Hurts
“by Beyoncé, I began to accept how I looked and I realized that I was perfect
just the way I am.
The song “Pretty Hurts” depicts a girl who
trained to be a pageant queen from the time she learned to walk, and it was
always instilled in her mind that beauty is more important that brains. She
always tried to a match a body type described as “Blonder hair, no flat chest,
TV says bigger is better, South Beach, sugar free, Vogue says, Thinner is
better.” To her this is what was perfect and even if she didn’t want to change
she’ll just “pageant the pain away.” This song caused me to ponder on what is
beauty, how did these standards evolve and what makes certain features more
accepted than others. BUT as previously mentioned beauty is a social construct
therefore what is beautiful to me may not be beautiful to you, it is all about
your perspective. Therefore, it pains me that many young girls across the globe
are struggling with something which I went through for many years (as it is a
process). This is all due to rigid, societal standards. However, as technology
is changing, and more people are growing up with a different mindset than in
primitive times, physical features outside of the “ideal beauty standards” are
becoming more accepted. For example, there are more plus-sized models than ever
before, younger black girls and women are wearing their natural curls and afros
in public spaces, television shows and showcasing it on social media.
Melissa Victoria Harris-Perry is “an American writer, professor, television
host, and political commentator with a focus on African-American politics.” In
her blog post, television segments and YouTube videos she inspires black girls
to be comfortable with their own hair. She has struggled with learning to love
her “knotty” hair afro and even now she receives harsh comments from viewers
who believe her hair should be more “neat” when she presents on screen. In her
blog post “I remember Every Hairdo I’ve had in 40 years” she speaks about her
hair journey. For her, growing up in predominantly white communities as a mixed
child with hair which looked different and took time to manage; she always felt
like she didn’t fit in. Eventually she relaxed her hair, so it can look like
the other girls. She articulates in her blog post “Things changed in sixth
grade when I started making my own decisions about my hair. I looked at
magazines with pictures of predominantly white women at the time. I don’t think
I found Essence magazine until middle school. I didn’t know that if I cut my hair, it
would grow up, not down. So, when I thought I was cutting a bob, I cut a
fro.” After years of having relaxer, she moved to North Carolina to attend Wake
Forest University and she described the experience as “an absolute hair
revelation” She reminisces stating “It was the first time I lived with other
black women—14 to be exact—in a house centered on black women’s identity” and
from that moment on she began to accept her hair and now she empowers young
black girls to do the same. She constantly receives harsh comments about her
afro or braided hair on social media however, she does not let that deter her
from showcasing her black beauty.
Melissa Perry is a role model
to many black females whether young or old and I applaud her for her work so
far. This is what I hope to do, encourage black girls especially from a young
age that they are beautiful despite what others think. As the song “Pretty
Hurts” states “perfection is a disease of a nation”, a very contagious one as society’s
beauty “ideals” are passed from one person to another through social contact,
magazines, social media and television shows. Some people are mentally affected
while others are not. However, we (as a society) must understand that beauty is
seen from your perspective, it is unique, inculcates various body types, hair,
skin color, heights and it goes far beneath the surface.
P.S This paper does not belong me ! I give A. Nyomi.B all credit for this amazingly done assignment !
