Ladies and gentlemen, behold the tragic story of the prison of beauty standards women have endured for centuries! Slim body? Long hair? Flawless skin? No? Rejected. It’s so easy to cancel a woman for having a flaw; so easy to humiliate her enough that she feels like she’s not good enough. These feelings are what women experienced throughout the Victorian Era and are the same in the 21st century, except in a different way. Why are women required to change themselves to fit a standard in order to feel beautiful?
The picture above? It looks like a normal piece of clothing, but no. It’s far from that. This, my friends, is a corset. Although initially designed to serve a similar purpose as a brassiere, for many women it quickly became a way to fit into a “desirable” body. As if corsets weren’t enough, many men in society wanted women to look beautiful but also present a natural look, meaning no makeup. The lengths women had to go to be accepted! For example, some women used drops of Belladonna, which is a deadly poison called Nightshade, to make their eyes look bigger and prettier. They were aware of the possible consequence of blindness, but valued beauty and acceptance over their safety. The other way to get this result? Squirt lemon or orange juice into your eyes. Why was beauty valued over the lives and health of women?!
In the 21st century, we live in a world of social media where models and celebrities post selfies all day. Say goodbye to the world of corsets and nightshade poisoning, and hello to all the stress and anxiety social media expectations create. It’s no longer enough to just “look good”, women must strive for constant perfection. The widespread use of filters and photoshop all over social media gives people the oppportuunity to appear perfect online. But what happens when this forgery of beauty collides with reality? Women find themselves comparing animated flawlessness with real imperfections, thinking that they’ll never be good enough. Their self esteem plummets to the ground (literally) and they put on thousands of facial products to change their appearance. Some even go to the lengths of plastic surgery with the intention to satisfy others! Is this really what we want to teach women and girls around us? That we will only be accepted if we’re “perfect”?
Throughout the ages, women have been forced to follow the unrealistic expectations of society. In the Victorian Era, they wore corsets so tight that they felt faint. Now, they have to slap on makeup all over their faces to be seen as desirable. On top of this, there’s the constant stress of not being good enough, or pretty enough. But enough is enough. Our world needs to realise that beauty comes in all shapes and colours. And that realisation starts with you. So, don’t compare yourself to others. Be yourself. You’re you; don’t let some measly beauty standards tell you otherwise.