The Sunday News
Rutendo Chidawanyika
The creation of this obsession over the way women should look and the constant insecurities experienced by women comes from mass media.
Television, offline/ online publications, and social media have created and further fed into this standard of an “ideal” beauty. Actresses and models are either perfectly slim or curvaceous. They are only thicker or quirky looking if the role or campaign requires them to be.
Even on YouTube, an outlet which is supposed to be made up of ordinary people, many (especially beauty gurus) represent this perfectly groomed image.
Beauty, skincare, clothing, perfume, and other companies profit by using the ideal looks of celebrities and models to highlight the inadequacies within ordinary women. Makeup, lighting, photo re-touching, clever positioning, and camera angles further add to this illusion of an ideal standard of beauty. The cherry on the cake is the various portable screens at hand constantly reinforcing what women should look like.
The appearance of actresses, female celebrities, and models across this media also sends the message of what is considered attractive by men.
It screams that if you look a certain way, you will get positive attention from men.
So, in order to be considered desirable, you must meet this ideal standard of beauty. All the various outlets are constantly bombarding women with this one message. This informs the societal norm, adding further pressure upon women on having to strive to look a specific way in order to be attractive to men.
Focusing only on the external appearance of women sends another message, that the only valuable thing a woman can offer is her looks.
Ultimately, a woman’s worth is attached to her level of attractiveness.
If women meet this ideal standard of beauty, only then will society accept them as valuable and give them the permission to hold a positive sense of self-worth.
For us now, we women also need to take responsibility. Women shouldn’t shame others about the way they look. We should be the last to point out an external flaw in another woman. We do not need to further reaffirm the standards and the feelings of insecurity that are being put upon us by society.
There is so much natural variety in the looks of women. This difference needs to be celebrated and appreciated. All women cannot fit into one box. Women need to support one another and shatter the illusions of beauty and attractiveness. For instance, when you hear a friend pointing out what she feels is a flaw, positively challenge her and show her the real beauty you see in her.
We do feel we are under too much pressure to look like the images of perfect women the media bombards us with every day. But I don’t agree with the philosophy that I should love what I see in the mirror especially when I am a bit on the heavy side and the skin around my eyes is computer-screen dry.
I think every woman should care about how she looks if she wants to realise a comfortable level of success and self-sufficiency.
Quite a bit of research has tried to determine how many seconds it takes before a person forms a judgment of someone they meet. Their brains calculate your value in terms of age, social standing and how approachable you are within thirty seconds or less.
I’m not advocating for skin bleaching and extreme diets. I do advocate for presenting an attractive, updated, professional image that represents how you want the world to judge you. If you feel you need makeup to enhance your looks then go for it. Change your hairdo/renew it every now and then. We are not saying go to bed all glammed up but when you go to work and functions, look your best.
Does this mean society dictates beauty standards? No matter how shallow and unfair it is, attractiveness factors into most parts of our lives, including hiring and promotion decisions. In this economy looking good isn’t just vanity, its economic survival.
What about surgery, injections or lasers? Does Botox increase your success? Some women believe it does. When it comes to weight, it’s evident the lighter women are preferred to the heavier. Especially when it comes to hiring and promotions.
I don’t think you should alter your appearance so your friends don’t recognise you or you starve to death because you don’t want to gain a kilo. I don’t think you should put yourself in financial or physical jeopardy to stay looking young. I do think you should care about what you look like. Do not obsess but be motivated. –Additional information from Online sources. Email: [email protected]
