How do industries work? They propagate both real and false ideas; screaming that you’re inadequate. This creates a demand, and you get desperate to fill all those holes in you. This is obvious, isn’t it? How do people still fall for it? Because people have a natural tendency to feel inferior, and nothing is ever ‘enough’. The beauty industry milks millions of dollars out of this, because it’s just that easy. Here are 10 ways the beauty industry propagates unrealistic beauty standards as a cheap market strategy:
1. Fairness creams: These have to be one of the most racist propaganda since the American slavery, and what’s worse is that it’s passé. I really don’t understand the motive to not be dark-skinned in this day and age, or even have a tan. It openly proclaims that everyone with dark skin is ultimately inferior to those with a lighter skin tone, without any serious repercussions.
Image source: cosmeticideas
2. Light eyes are and always have been prettier than darker ones: It isn’t funny how society will critically analyze every single part of the female body and set ridiculous standards for it, like it’s an end-product coming out of a factory and every other ‘product’ has to be modeled after the ‘ideal’ one. Seriously, these are someone’s eyes, and I wouldn’t go poking around in someone’s iris to date them.
3. Your natural hair color isn’t good enough: There’s this unhealthy obsession with blonde hair, which I find deeply aggravating. Gladly, this ridiculous trend is slowly fading into nothing. However, this makes women feel like Barbie dolls with customizable hair color to change when they want depending on the whims of society.
Image source: waysandhow
4. Body hair is a no no: Why? I feel that whether one should keep body hair or not is a completely personal issue, and absolutely not gendered. If I personally feel grossed out by my own body hair, even as a male, I could shave it off. Why just keep it constrained to women and ‘beauty standards’?
Suggested read: Common arguments against feminism and how to respond to them
5. ‘Pure beauty’ is almost exclusively white: This is something that might escape your eyes, or not. While people of African descent or roots are quite involved in the modelling industry today, the beauty industry still has to let go of the ‘white complex’; that the whiteness of someone’s skin tone decides their beauty. Beauty is subjective, and everyone has different bases for it, but the bases with which the beauty industries judge beauty has a very destructive effect in what society expects from women.
6. Your skin is too light, you need a tan: It seems, you just can’t please everyone. And just maybe, you don’t have to? Women aren’t any ‘standards’ for human beauty, they’re people like men (which can be hard to swallow for some).
Image source: plussizeangel
7. Body size: This is probably one of the most destructive ideas prevalent in modern society, and perpetuated by beauty industries. No, most of it isn’t even about personal health. It’s just judgment by appearance, and you see so many adequately waist-ed women taking up rigorous and unhealthier dietary regimens just to fit in.
Image source: beautyundefined
8. They make self-grooming sound obligatory: Everyone’s responsible for how they look, and it generally does help to wear fresh clothes, keep yourself clean, get cleaner haircuts, etc varying from person to person. However, beauty industries make this a gendered issue, which it isn’t.
9. Ads: Apparently makeup is the only way to get your man back, or suddenly become sexually appealing to males around you. So, according to beauty companies, slathering make up over your ugly face is the natural and logical progression in your life. Well, then.
10. Eyelashes: Women are forced to put on fake eyelashes to look more ‘feminine’ and visibly attractive. The male equivalent of this could be wearing pads beneath our tees just to look more muscular.
Probably the biggest underlying problem is how female-centered the beauty industry is, and how ironically it tries to turn them into superficial mannequins who are constantly insecure about how they look. This is how directly the patriarchy affects the social order, which is already maimed and tainted in so many ways.
Featured image source: waysandhow
Facebook
Disqus
Google + 
