Since the beginning of time women have been expected to be polite, intelligent, and submissive to their male counterparts. On top of all of these expectations, we have also been expected to keep up with the standards of beauty that have been created by both society and the media. It started with women being expected to be extremely skinny, have straight long hair, and to look as European as possible. Although some of these beauty expectations still exist today, we are now within the period in which a specific type of curviness is celebrated.
On almost any form of social media, that being Instagram or Twitter, I see women with an extremely small waist and large curvy hips being celebrated. Meg Thee Stallion, India Love, Cardi B, and Kashdoll are just a small group of the “slim-thick” women I see being praised for possessing these outstanding frames. Aside from curves, we are also experiencing a time period where makeup and sew-ins seem to be a necessity to not stick out like a sore thumb.
As a woman who wears her natural fro, no makeup at all, and happens to be plus size, I did not think these certain types of women being celebrated would have an effect on me. After seeing these images daily, I started to become more concerned with aspects of my appearance that I once loved. I began to feel somewhat out of place for not wanting a sew-in and not knowing how to do any kind of makeup other than apply Vaseline and maybe a nice gloss every once in a while. Not to mention that seeing these images made me feel more inclined to lose weight but only in certain areas. It even got to the point where I desperately searched for exercises that would permit me to keep my curves but would get rid of my undesirable midsection. Constantly seeing a certain type of women being celebrated on all forms of media started to affect my confidence to the point where I felt like it was necessary to unplug from all social media.
Seeing this perception of what the media believes all women should look like causes women who do not look like this to view themselves in a negative light. Aside from these images I constantly see women tweeting about wishing their butts were bigger and their waist were smaller. These desires are all things that stem from the images of the media. This ultimately relates back to the fact that representation matters. Once a young girl or woman sees another woman who looks like her being celebrated, she will feel more empowered in being herself. This woman will be more inclined to celebrate her individuality. I love Twitter as much as the next girl, but detaching yourself every once in a while will do wonders for not only your confidence but your mental health as well.