Beauty standards

   Today's topic is Beauty Standards. I won't go off talking like I haven't done the absolute most to try and adhere to these absolutely ridiculous standards, but I will talk about how stupid they are. When I was younger, I was raised in a very "you're looks aren't everything" kind of household, so when I was exposed to the world's opinions on strangers' appearances, it was a major eye-opener. 

    I wouldn't say that I was raised sheltered or anything, but rather just raised to be blissfully ignorant on anything regarding people's appearance, maybe because my parents didn't want me to be insecure about the secondhand clothes I had or the clothes generously donated to us by their coworkers, or maybe they didn't want me to turn to what they call "scandalous wear". I still remember when my older sister wore her first crop top at 13. All I heard for the next few days were lectures on not turning into a "whore" like my sister. Hearing that at a young age, from your parents nonetheless, leaves a reasonable-sized impression in your mind, I didn't argue back to them, I fully agreed. It wasn't until my teenage years that I looked back at the nearly forgotten memory and realized "Omg my parents were kinda shit". That triggered my descent into understanding beauty standards.

    The Greeks invented beauty standards 2,400 years ago, in the sense they put a label to what everyone already felt. They knew there was more to beauty. They considered it something great, just like honesty or bravery. What a juxtaposition of what it means in this day and age, huh? 

    My thoughts on beauty standards have never truly been solid, and may still not be. However, I know that I have done the most to try and fit into it during my earlier teenage years before finding it far too exhausting to care about—but lately I find myself falling into that same descent of trying to be appealing to others. I don’t think it is in the same manner as when I first tried, but it still comes from somewhere that’s trying to compensate in places I feel as though I’m lacking (studies). But why try so hard about something I barely understand? I’ve always heard that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, so how come with so many people around there seems to such a fixed set of rules to follow to be considered, pardon my French, fuckable? 

    I’ll speak for the women mainly, as I am one; the rules are to be just skinny enough, tall enough, have long legs, a long torso, full lips, small face, big eyes, petite nose, hairless, and basically look like a child in every manner but age—and for some that’s not even a requirement. All of this must be done just to the right degree too, too much or too little of anything and you’re disgusting. And for men, being very tall, having a ridiculous amount of muscle but without being overly bulky, and probably other stuff I’m not aware of, haha. Of course these standards change region to region but you’ll still find the list stays just as unattainable, if not more. 

    Having a preference is one thing, every individual is entitled to their idiosyncratic opinion, I mean even I have preferences—muscular, kind, funny, big ole nose…, man or woman, (hit me up), but having the expectation that everyone must abide to standards that have very little leniency is just stupid. Saying you want everyone to look alike at some degree is borderline incestuous. In that same breath I’d like to add that it is obvious that at some point after inhabiting the land for as long as humans have you would build up different standards—each one more restrictive than the previous. But the fact that beauty standards have been around to restrict people on a factor they most often cannot control is ridiculous. Beauty standards also often tend to effect one sex far more obviously than the other, it also is something that alters many people’s mental state to the point of their own being unable to function without being hyper fixated on it.

    I know it’d be farcical to say we should all band together and banish the existence of beauty standards as they have existed in every historical context since, well, 2400 years ago. But, the more something is ignored or unused—it is erased just like everything else with evolution.

    What about you? Do you have any experiences or questions.