My flat chest. My big nose. My small lips…and even some pimples on my forehead.
A never-ending topic, and yet another day where a lot of us feel like we have to fit the social constructs at any given time. The moment we wake up, we think about things like the way our hair is going to look and the outfit we will end up wearing – everyone has a self-image and this affects the way we feel negatively, positively or neutral about our bodies. Everyone searches for this one thing to fit the social constructs – beauty.
Beauty has different definitions in one part of the U.S. compared to the other side, and maybe a whole different outlook if we were in the Eastern part of the world. At the end of the day, your beauty, these unique set of qualities, from your color and shape – all are more important than fitting inside someone else’s standards.
Most of us tend to live in this insta-life, where a part of our lives are judged solely on the fact that we believe if we keep posting these pictures of ourselves, wearing less clothes or not, the likes will define how pretty we feel. We understand the harm that this can do, so then why do the events of the insta-life seem cyclical? Back to square one, and everyone still thinks that they need to fit others’ beauty standards – the bigger the lips, the bigger the chest…the better.
There are quite a few that seem to give into the plastic surgery world, however only to please others. It could be a bad doctor, your significant other or maybe it’s just the Instagram Explore page, but none of these should be a reason to get plastic surgery. The feelings towards your body can be negative, but can be tweaked in this situation, if a body part isn’t congruent to how you feel on the inside. In this way, cosmetic surgery can be seen as something less plastic, but a way to to give others another chance for a positive outlook on their bodies.
Body positivity relates to self-image, as it’s a movement that challenges the ways that society views the physical body alongside beauty standards. It helps in the mental outlook, and decides what kind of outlook we have when we are looking at our bodies. Constantly picking apart each inch of skin, from the stretch marks and freckles we might not like on ourselves, may result to having a negative outlook. Compared to the positive outlook, that doesn’t partake in body-shaming, insulting how others’ bodies look and believing in how all body types should be accepted by society.
Once the positivity settles, this…this is what feeling beautiful is. Finally, letting go of an unfulfilling want, and on the other end of feeling beautiful. The desire to please others can be over, because dressing and doing things that make you feel amazing is what real beauty is, and comes from accepting our bodies. Mustering up the courage to be ourselves, shows confidence because it’s an authentic level of confidence.