For centuries, the accepted convention on what it means to be beautiful has changed significantly. In the 1700s and 1800s, a person who was fat in appearance (by today’s standards) was considered attractive and alluring. Obesity denoted wealth; they were rich enough to be obese. They had enough food to eat enough to get fat.
This shows that beauty and the concepts of beauty change according to the views and demands of society. Starting with the industrial revolution and into the 20th and then 21st centuries, a person’s beauty went from the rich obese man or woman and into the extremely fit, toned, athletic model.
On Instagram and on Facebook, there are beautiful women who portray themselves to highlight their physical being–the body type that is often the most desired by men in today’s society. They may be Elite LA models, Fitness Models, Instagram models or more that represent this society’s view of beauty.
The truth is:
- According to Dove, only 4% of women around the world see themselves as beautiful.
- By their mid-teens, more than 40% of people have acne or scars from acne.
This view of beauty seems to enforce the roles that have subjugated women throughout history and societal history up through this very moment. There has been, at least for the past 100 years, a forced viewpoint that men adhere to that denigrates women to a sheer matter of the fullness of hair on her head or the cleanliness of her face and body.
The stick-thin model. The big-breasted porn star. The gorgeous actress. All women that are thrust into the public eye in part because of their looks, which men then turn over and feast on, causing women to feel denigrated, because, at the very least, they are the sum of their physical parts.
This, of course, asks men in positions of power to harbor ill wills towards women who are making their way through the workforce, acquiring positions of power themselves, taking charge in the boardroom, and more, because women are traditionally valued according to their looks rather than their acumen.
Of course, women are bombarded, by the men who think they can get what they want because they have objectified women throughout their life. The men who sexually harass women, the men who sexually assault women, who do unwanted and inappropriate touching and so much more. It relies on standard that men are greater than women and physical objectification.
Of course, women are bombarded, by magazines and movies that portray women in the current standard of “beauty” while ignoring all the types of beauty that may come from having a little extra fat or an unnatural skin blemish or something that is just not as succinct with the views in today’s society.
However, there is progress. Today, the #MeToo movement has pulled men in positions of power from their positions and cast them into resignations or even arrests. The Body Positive movement encourages women to love their bodies, no matter what the size and many plus models are gaining steam in the mainstream media and on Instagram.
Of course, there are beauty products, for women that want to look “good” when they leave the house. There are skin whitening products, facial whitening creams, skincare products, skin bleach, and organic lightening cream.
Many women wish their skin was more “beautiful” in some way and shop for skincare products to help them achieve that.
By the year 2021, the global skincare market is expected to be valued at around 154 billion U.S. dollars. And in a survey conducted by Dove, seven in ten women agreed that a beauty product is an product that makes her feel more confident.
As was written above, people develop skin blemishes into their teenage years when it comes to acne and for many, those skin blemishes continue throughout the natural course of their lives. Skin care, at least on a superficial level, can help alleviate those blemishes and help bolster confidence in women who have them.
Skincare, then, is designed for women to feel more confident, which is a good thing. Beauty products, which make a woman feel more confident, help level out the field with women who are, by nature, the natural standard of beauty for the age, though that may change with time. This is a great source for more.