It used to be magazines and supermodels that everyone saw as unattainable and the ideal standard of beauty. Now, Instagram and influencers are defining beauty and portraying unrealistic standards. In the recent drama of Khloe Kardashian’s candid bikini pic, this has led to the debate of how celebrities and social media set unrealistic beauty and body standards under the guise of “hard work” and “au natural.” Yes, diet, working out, make up, photo angles and filters all play a role in the final capture that we see on our screens, but there’s more behind the image being portrayed.
Celebrities getting work done on their face or body is not a new concept, but it is difficult to distinguish reality vs. an appearance that was bought.
For years, celebrities have set the beauty and body standards of our generation, but they often hid the truth of what it really took to reach these idealistic standards.
Kylie Jenner’s entire brand was created off of her lips, which she originally gave the false narrative that her plump lips were created by overlining. She later admitted to getting lip filler, but this sparked the trend of having plump lips, and lip filler becoming the new norm. There’s nothing wrong with altering your body or face to make you feel more confident, but it does create unattainable standards by lying about getting work done for those who wish their body or face was “naturally” a certain way.
There’s also the other side of unrealistic standards where celebrities and models don’t address their unproportionate bodies or perfectly smooth faces. Kim Kardashian, Madison Beer and Bella Hadid are some of the more notable celebs that have been accused of altering their appearance but deny the accusations. Whether these accusations are true or false, portraying a false appearance under the guise that it was achieved naturally can be very dangerous to young and impressionable viewers. The Instagram account @beauty.false actually reveals influencers’ and celebrities’ edited pictures compared to how they look in real life. This account may show photos some people don’t want to be seen, but their images provide a glimpse of reality and how social media can easily alter appearances.
Anyone can edit a photo or suck in their stomach for the perfect snapshot on Instagram. I mean, anyone can also pay to alter their appearance. The popular meme does say, “Remember, you’re not ugly… Just poor.”
Filters, plastic surgery and facetune are all acceptable, but it’s important to remember that an image online doesn’t represent reality. Today, the growing trend of body positivity has allowed for a new standard to be set that embraces all bodies and imperfections.