Episode 6 - Beauty & Beauty Privilege - What is it, Who defines it, & How do We Find Our Beauty in it?
By Jessica Garrison
In a world consumed by social media, toxic body image, and celebrity worship, the way we perceive ourselves is harsher than ever. This week we discuss pretty privilege and beauty standards that we’re faced with in society, especially being women across a spectrum of backgrounds. From racism to agism, the world of beauty is difficult to navigate, and there’s never a real winner. This conversation is hosted by Melissa Crook with guests Charlotte Feehan, Micaela, and myself, as we share our past experiences with beauty standards and how the media changed our perception growing up.
Micaela brought up how she watched America’s Next Top Model growing up (I was OBSESSED with it), yet there were so many terrible messages sent to young girls through this show. She recalls a specific season where a contestant had a gap in her front teeth and was told she needs to close it to become a model. The model stood up for herself and said she liked the gap between her teeth,, but the insistence to get rid of it really is damaging to those watching who don’t have perfect teeth and might not have the means to accomplish that. But why do we care so much? We can’t help how our teeth grow in; it’s a natural occurrence, and yet we put so much pressure on ourselves to look flawless every second of the day, even when it comes to our teeth and our smiles. This show was on air for 24 seasons and received multiple spin-offs across various countries; imagine how many people were negatively affected by this show and will continue to be affected by it.
In high school, Charlotte never felt desirable because everyone had preconceived notions of who was pretty and who was popular. She was introverted and closed off, but she didn’t mind that. She was comfortable with who she was, but there came a point where she started to change herself for social media. She posted more of what she thought other people would like to see and what would bring her more attention. She describes how those posts did get her more attention from boys, and she experienced a lot of unsolicited comments about her body and the way she looked. Just because someone posts a photo doesn’t mean that they want everyone’s two cents, but, unfortunately, it seems to be a sacrifice you have to make in the world of social media.
Melissa also shares a story that she previously spoke about in another episode, where she experienced a serious foot injury being a track runner. However, the injury didn’t come from actually running on the track. She says that if she didn’t feel skinny enough before bed, she would jog in place in her room until she felt like she was thin enough. It breaks my heart to hear stories like this, but I’ve experienced this mentality as well. It’s even more upsetting to think about how many people agree that they’ve had similar thoughts and experiences when no one should have to go through that. There’s also so much talk about beauty stopping once you reach a certain age, and Melissa has had to deal with this for years. Any person of any age can be beautiful, but according to societal rules, beauty ends at 30 when there’s still so much life left to live.
When it comes to beauty culture, my first thought is it’s about whatever is in style at the time. If big lips are in style, then it seems like everyone is getting lip injections and plumping lip gloss. If skinny butts are in style, everyone’s getting liposuction and going on destructive diets to seem as skinny as possible. Personally, I don’t find anything wrong with people who want to have work done because I believe if it’s your body, then it’s your choice. However, I believe people should do it for the right reasons, rather than just worrying about seeming beautiful to others and worrying about what other people think of you. It truly is a battle that goes back and forth, and like I said before, it’s too contradicting for anyone to actually be victorious in the eyes of society and its standards.
This has been one of the easiest blogs to write and yet one of the most difficult. Just as we said on the podcast, we could talk about this topic all day long. This topic could be its own podcast with how many layers there are to the conversation. Deciding which stories to tell and which could be saved for another day was difficult. But we would love to continue the conversation, hear everyone’s stories, and bring more awareness to issues involving beauty privilege, body image, and everything in between because no one is alone in the struggle.