• Share

PRINT

Many people are brainwashed into buying into our culture’s steady message about what is attractive. Teenagers like myself are certainly encouraged by society (and our peers) to look a certain way.

Women, we’re basically told, should be equipped with shiny, long hair, dark eyelashes and a slim waist, while men should be tall, lean and muscular.

These standards of “beauty” are echoed by the Photoshopped images we see in magazines, flawless celebrities featured in popular movies, and the beauty queens and male models who have risen to fame on various social media sites such as Instagram and YouTube.

Beyond selling products that supposedly enable people to “improve their appearance,” beauty companies also sell a lifestyle. They want us to believe that only if we can alter our natural looks to resemble one of the gorgeous men or women pictured in fashion magazines can we attain true happiness.

Many internalize the message

I have observed many of my peers struggling to keep up with the ever-changing fashion trends, dieting unhealthily and scraping together what little money they have to purchase the latest “revolutionary” cosmetics.

I must admit I have also succumbed in my way. I cannot tell you how many mornings I have forced myself out of bed in order to have enough time to straighten my naturally curly hair, just so I could feel pretty and confident.

But this desire to be considered good-looking isn’t limited to teens. A fear of “fading beauty” due to age prompts many middle aged and older adults to turn to plastic surgery or makeup in an attempt to remain “attractive” or hold onto their youth.

Unfortunately, fear of not conforming to societal standards of beauty is not unfounded. Studies have shown that “more beautiful” people are often hired sooner, promoted faster and earn higher salaries than their “less-attractive” colleagues.

According to Daniel Hamermesh, professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin, attractive people earn roughly three or four percent more than others.

People of all ages are also more likely to approach traditionally attractive individuals to ask them out on a date than those who may not be as “good-looking.”

Researchers also find that the taller, better-looking or more-charismatic political candidate is more often the one who wins an election.

Dispelling the hype

There have been movements to try to dispel the belief that only one type of beauty exists.

Dove, the soap company, has launched the “Dove Self-Esteem Project” to try to boost the confidence of young girls, no matter their appearance.

They provide materials on their website (www.dove.com) that enable teachers to host body-image workshops and have beauty-related discussions with their students, and that instruct parents how to raise a self-assured child.

For older adults of limited means, there is the Beauty Becomes You Foundation (BeautyBecomesYou.org). Their mission is to “change the way society looks at seniors,” and to bring a human touch where it is often most needed: through massage therapy, personal aesthetic care and diabetic foot therapies to those who cannot otherwise afford it.

The foundation supplies trained volunteers with expertise in geriatric “aesthetic health and wellbeing,” and helps arrange donated spa services.

Pop star Rihanna has established a line of cosmetics, Fenty Beauty (www.fentybeauty.com), in order to provide makeup options to women of all races and skin tones, rather than just the limited shades offered by most beauty brands.

These are just a few of the efforts being made to reveal the truth about beauty: that every individual is beautiful and should be confident in his or her own skin.

You and your grandchild or younger friend can get together to have a conversation about beauty. What does beautiful mean to each of you? How have standards of beauty evolved during your lifetimes? In what ways have they stayed the same?

Work together to be role models for others in your community by being caring, kind and confident individuals. In that way, you can help more people internalize the truth that true beauty lies within.

Alexis Bentz is an 11th grade student at Thomas Wootton High School in Rockville, Md. This is her fifth year writing this column for the Beacon.