“When I developed acne, my self-confidence tanked,” Ford told The Independent when asked about her battle with acne. “I felt incredibly low, and self-conscious about it. To now see other women proudly sharing their skin makes me so happy — and I am waiting for the day where it is no longer ‘taboo’ to post a bare-faced image — but completely normal and natural.”
Source: PopSugar
Ever since I was ten years old, I started getting these bumps on my face. It began with my forehead, hence why I assumed it was a skincare problem. Throughout my years in middle school and high school, nothing about my skin ended up changing, no matter what I did. My skin became slightly better when I went into college, but I still had more acne than most people I knew. A few people I knew had adult acne like me, but most of them told me that their skin cleared up with skincare products.
I began to dislike myself, especially when I got acne in places that were not considered conventional. I had some acne spots on my hip, the back of my neck, multiple spots between my chest, and sometimes, even on my butt. I tried covering the acne on my face by using a bunch of foundation on my face. Some girls from middle school made fun of my poor makeup skills back in eighth grade, not realizing that I was using multiple layers of foundation to hide my acne from the judgmental eyes of teenage girls.
Picture Source: WUNC 91.5 – North Carolina Public Radio
Just like it was mentioned in Mean Girls, the girl world is supposed to be feminine, dainty, glamorous, and aesthetic to feel confident/good enough for society. Usually, women are told to keep their voices quiet about body issues. There has always been a focus on men telling women to just “sit there and look pretty” (Baumgartner, 2020). In America, women have been told to focus on not just taking care of the children and doing housework, but also spending endless hours caring about their makeup, clothes, and hairstyles. There is nothing wrong with enjoying makeup, fashion, and self-care for women who enjoy this. The issue is that there was a failure for men to realize that women should not be put into one category and be expected to meet these ideal standards. For women with different interests, this was something that prevented them from doing what they loved.
Picture Source: Medium
The main focus is to advertise certain body images and beauty standards with advertising products. According to an article from Women’s Agenda, unrealistic beauty images are being advertised through videos on TikTok and Instagram. Even women with healthy body weight believe that they need to diet, get work done, and constantly compare themselves to other women (Hislop, 2023). Although there has been the rise/acceptance of body-positive influencers, there is still a lot of backlash and hate towards them.
Later on, I found out from my dermatologist that my acne was hormonal and genetic. Since both sides of my family have a history of severe acne on both sides, this gene was dominant. Through keeping up with unattainable trends, I kept telling myself that I couldn’t wear certain outfits at the beach or put my hair up. In professional settings, women have dealt with having their acne removed with Photoshop or other photo editing software (Mendez, 2021).
It is time to start acknowledging and normalizing realistic body images and skin conditions for women. Through empowering and accepting women for who they are, they will be able to find a support system/network that focuses on caring about their mental health. Writing articles like these through platforms like HerCampus are just one of many opportunities.
Picture Source: Good Housekeeping