What does it mean to you to possess beauty?
To the marketing world of America, it means to look like an unachievable vision of perfection –that is until you buy the next best product, to get you one step closer to this idea of beauty. According to Business Insider, in 2015 L’Oreal was reported having spent $2.2 billion on advertising. While there is nothing wrong with purchasing and using makeup, there is something wrong with the amount of emphasis our society puts on “looking pretty”.
Models have followers on social media by the millions, and for what reason? Not that they don’t have any other talents, but many of them are admired simply for their looks. Ironically, Photoshop is still frequently used even on those society considers the most beautiful.
For girls, caring about the way we look has been ingrained in us since we were children. Take Barbie dolls for instance, after receiving much scrutiny for it’s unrealistic portrayal of women, it wasn’t until very recently that Mattel produced a commercial with some substance. Barbie was portrayed in an advertisement as a depiction of something more than just that of an unrealistic version of “perfection” many young girls once aspired to attain.
Props to you if you have never been affected by superficiality. However, I’m afraid the vast majority of our world has been. Too many women don’t appreciate the characteristics that make them unique from everyone else. As cliché as it is, it’s cliché for a reason; true beauty has nothing to do appearance and everything to do with character. While our culture still has a long way to go on this matter, we are making progress. People who typically wouldn’t be glorified in the usual Hollywood manner, are beginning to be recognized for their talent and not for their looks.
The artist Sia is a perfect representation of this. In the majority of her performances, Sia doesn’t face the crowd while she sings, forcing audiences to appreciate her purely based on talent. Comedian and actress Rebel Wilson, known amongst Pitch Perfect fans as “Fat Amy”, recently made an unexpected dent in the fashion world coming out with her own line in collaboration with the plus-sized clothing store, Torrid.
Even magazines, the culprit for much of our fascination with perfection, are beginning to recognize this error. One worth mentioning, Darling Magazine, prints not only untouched pictures, but also thought-provoking pieces that focus on important topics of today’s world specifically geared towards women.
These steps taken by few organizations will hopefully make a lasting impact on our world and create a ripple effect throughout other companies, in order to show women what their true worth actually lies in.