An Emphasis On True Beauty

An Emphasis On True Beauty

Today, many little girls and young women are pressured into society’s views on what beauty is. Society has many different views on beauty but one thing the majority of those views have in common is that they are mostly related to physical appearance. Some in the fashion and cosmetics industry would argue that the perfect definition of beauty is a size 2 or smaller, a perfectly straight white smile, tan skin and curly blonde hair. Others would argue that a size 14 or larger with plump lips, acne-free skin and thick, dark hair is what a real woman should look like if she wants to be considered beautiful.

But why should we care so much about other’s opinions of our looks? What does someone’s physical appearance honestly have to do with how you live your life? How does criticizing other's physical appearance better or benefit you or your life in any way? Women should not  feel the need to put down other women’s physical appearance all because of our own insecurities, mostly brought on upon society telling us how we have to look, act and dress to be considered feminine and beautiful.  By giving into society’s limited and stressful demands on what they think real beauty should be, we open up dangers to our bodies that lead to eating disorders, skin cancer and other major health issues.

Now I’m not saying there is nothing wrong with pampering yourself to a facial, new hairstyle or manicure every once in a while, especially if it makes you feel better about yourself. That’s actually the message I am trying to get across. Do what makes you feel better about yourself and makes you feel happy and healthy without criticizing others for how they look or how they dress.  In fact, it’s better to actually compliment instead of criticize.

For example, if someone looks absolutely amazing in a dress or particular outfit, don’t hate on them for wearing it. Tell them they look amazing! You never know how self-conscious they may be feeling while wearing it. By letting them know, they look great, it may give them the confidence boost they need instead of making them even more self-conscious by nitpicking how they look out of spite, due to what we feel about our own insecurities.  It doesn’t matter if a lady is a size 3, a size 7 or a size 16, if she looks amazing in any possible way, compliment her for it!

As women, we should be supporting each other’s strengths instead of condemning what we feel are each other’s weaknesses. I truly feel like little girls and young women need those positive affirmations in their lives as they grow up in a world that can be so hateful on how people look, especially through body-shaming and media such as magazines, fashion shows and photo-shopped pictures of celebrities that basically tell us the entertainment and fashion industries views on what they say is considered pretty. Let’s focus more of an emphasis on inner beauty by lifting each other up through positive words of kindness instead of making the world uglier through words of bitterness, envy, negativity and hatred.

In conclusion, we have to remember that most of us are not going to look like world-famous supermodels, Adriana Lima, Chanel Iman and Candice Swanepoel. We are not all going to have that Hollywood glamour that Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson and Megan Fox possess, no matter how much society tries to force that on us. As a matter of fact, we shouldn’t even expect any of those things. Instead we should embrace our own individual, unique beauty and be proud of the way we are. We were all born to be and look different so we should love that about ourselves and instead of putting others down negatively for their appearance, we should look for the beauty in others, both inner and outer, but with more emphasis on the inner.