How We’re Destroying the “Desired” Standard of Beauty

Even though the root of beauty has been based on problematic ideals, there has been a great deal of progress on challenging the standards that define it. This is something worth celebrating.

BY: PAYAL DASS

Growing up in Toronto, I’ve been used to seeing a diverse range of people everywhere I went ―the grocery store, my school, and neighbourhood parks. People of different socioeconomic and racial backgrounds are what make Toronto diverse. For me, diversity is the appreciation and inclusivity of differences between multiple groups of people. Culturally speaking, over 250 ethnicities and 170 languages are represented in the Toronto Region. About half of the Toronto population identifies as part of a visible minority. However, North American media seems to depict the desired standard of beauty as Eurocentric. It looked as though beauty had been colonized.

Photo courtesy of Feminism in India

I always thought my skin wasn’t light enough to be considered pretty. What was promoted to me as being beautiful looked nothing like me. My nose was too big, my hair too frizzy, and my eyebrows too bushy. The biggest message the media was sending me was that since I was not white, I would never be beautiful.

I began using skin whitening products imported from India and available at a local Asian supermarket. The product was formerly called “Fair and Lovely,” now known as “Glow and Lovely,” and promised to make your skin lighter so you would be considered beautiful. I must have been 11 years old when I began using the ‘miracle’ cream, although I stopped using it shortly after. Although this seems problematic, the judgement of skin colour is very common in South Asian communities. As soon as children are born, relatives start comparing siblings’ skin colour. Fairer-skinned children are labelled as “beautiful” where darker-skinned children are labelled “ugly.” In fact, India’s skin-whitening market is expected to achieve an annual market revenue of $720 million by 2023 compared to the annual revenue of $317 million in 2020.

Unfortunately, this trend can be seen in other countries as well. In Nigeria, 77 percent of women use skin-lightening agents compared to 59 percent of women in Togo and 27 percent of women in Senegal. However, the largest and fastest-growing markets are in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Photo courtesy of BRIGHT Magazine

The explanation behind the expansion of the eurocentric standard of beauty beyond borders would be because of European colonization throughout history. 

“The sun never set on the British Empire'' is a famous saying often used to emphasize how widespread British colonization had become, demonstrating the power of British civilization.  Britain had colonized countries in various geographical areas upon which the sun always shines. What makes this colonization even worse is that the main challenge the British faced with expanding their empire was the rivalry between other European nations like France, Spain, Portugal, and Russia. 

If one’s culture, identity, or nation had not been colonized by the British, it was colonized by another White-cultured country. Thus, expanding Eurocentric culture, norms, and perspectives on various aspects of society, including beauty.

I have found that living in North America, many people argue that this is a European-dominant society, and one should conform to these standards. If conforming to European standards does not suit you, then simply leave and go to a place where such norms do not exist. But the problem with this is that such Eurocentric standards are found in every country and affect people of all cultures and races, even my parents’ country, Fiji.

However, it is important to remind ourselves that everyone is affected by such standards. Where the skin fairness debate stands, men in India are a population that is growing larger and faster in terms of purchasing fairness products. Indian men have their own fairness cream called “Fair and Handsome.” This separate line of products for men emerged in 2005 because it turned out that men composed one-third of womens’ fairness creams users. This separate line of products is successful because it plays on the need for men to use ‘masculine’ products instead of feminine ones that have been around since the 1970s.

Fairness creams aside, the expectation of gender roles makes it harder for people to feel beautiful in different ways. Men are expected to portray a masculine and tough appearance in society, whereas women are encouraged to dress feminine and dainty. People are being told what they should and should not do to look beautiful. Dieting, makeup, clothes, skin tones, and cultural norms are some of the factors that contribute to a somewhat toxic social climate. 

Living in the world in this current age, however, may be the perfect time to observe the progress society is making in destroying such rigid barriers. Many people are making the beauty standard more fluid, empowering, and inclusive. It is no longer just about looking a certain way. It’s also about creativity and self-expression. Below are just a few of many aspects of beauty that have helped our generation move past the rigid norms of the past and towards a more accepting, self-loving concept of beauty.

Embracement of Ethnic Features

As the representation of minority groups in mass media increases, so does the acceptance of “foreign” features. Although I’m still walking on a blurry distinction of what I consider to be appreciated by others as opposed to exotified or exploited, I must admit, they both feel better than being labelled as undesired or unwanted.

Photo via Pinterest

Darker skin tones among all minority populations are beginning to be encouraged as opposed to ridiculed. The Black Lives Matter protests taking place all over the world for the murder of George Floyd have unleashed a wave of anti-skin lightening notions in India. The public began calling out celebrities who supported the international movement, yet endorse fairness products that encourage the exact opposite of equality. This has shed light on the  ongoing battle against colourism, which in turn, can translate into racism. People familiar with South Asian film industries may have begun to notice that more and more actors do not fit the fair-skinned ideal.

We will eventually learn to love our “different” noses, skin tones, and standards with more and more exposure to such a wide range of features. Through the increasing number of diversity campaigns, people from all around the world are working towards loving all types of physical features that stray away from the desired Eurocentric ones I have been raised to love.

Embracement of Normal Human Traits

Some normal characteristics have been deemed as undesired by mainstream beauty standards in which people are made to feel bad for being human. For example, you never see “perfect” supermodels with stretch marks or cellulite. Both are completely normal for people to go through, yet no normal people with these characteristics are seen endorsing such brands because such features have been consciously and unconsciously labelled as undesired for so long. 

Lately, celebrities and social media influencers have been coming out to speak about their experiences with normal, human struggles. For example, Demi Lovato posted a picture of her in a bikini on Instagram, flaunting her cellulite in 2019. 

In her caption, she wrote “A photo of me in a bikini unedited. And guess what, it’s CELLULITE!!!! I’m just sooooo tired of being ashamed of my body, editing it….so that others think I’m THEIR idea of what beautiful is, but it’s just not me.”

Photo courtesy of @ddlovato via Instagram

Acne is also another human process that everyone goes through, yet everyone feels ashamed for having it. I am currently still battling it, falling into the notion that I should hate looking at myself because of marks on my skin that will most likely fade away. However, teens in television, film, and social media always seem to be perfect. Like they never go through a rough stage in life where they can be caught on film with a pimple or two.

Keke Palmer, an actress, also spoke about her acne on Instagram:

“PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome has been attacking me from the inside out my entire life and I had no idea. My acne has been so bad that people in my field offered to pay for me to get it fixed. I tried EVERYTHING…To all the people struggling with this please know you’re not alone and that you are still so fucking fine! MY ACNE AIN'T NEVER STOPPED ME…”

Knowing that celebrities with such a large fanbase struggle with the same thing everyone else does is comforting. Rarely do we see celebrities talk about their insecurities and drop the facade of being perfect. The fact that they remain so self-confident after their revelations is what may lead to the demolition of the classic standard of beauty.

Drag - Self Liberation

I chose to include the art of drag in the article because it is the act of challenging the norms we are used to. It’s not all about makeup and gowns. For those unfamiliar with drag, or the show “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the term drag refers to the performance of masculinity, femininity, or other forms of gender expression. A drag queen (usually male) is someone who performs femininity, whereas, a drag king (usually female) performs masculinity. However, drag can be done by anyone, like bioqueens. 

Drag Queen Nina West / Photo courtesy of The Glitter Guide

Drag queens are known to be extremely glamorous and over the top in terms of appearance. This is done to enhance the concept of femininity through their looks. Where women are taught to use makeup as a tool to hide imperfections, makeup for drag queens is an expression of the self. It is art that adds a theatrical tone to their overall appearance. They do not use makeup to conform to beauty standards, they use it to create their own. It is because of this glam that many people know drag. However, this art stands for something more important. Drag performers do this for themselves. They feel liberated because it is the art form in which they are not restricted by societal norms. This liberation is seen through the personas they have built and they express these liberties with their bodies. It is a form of self-acceptance in which they are truly comfortable in their own skin.

Another beautiful thing about drag is that there is no ideal body shape to be considered beautiful. Queens can use padding to create an hourglass figure if they so please, or instead choose to embrace their “boy” aesthetic (if they are male). Drag queens and kings embrace all types of people, in which the only key factor to beauty is confidence. They can be whoever they want to be without fear of judgement. They stick up their middle finger to social norms. They teach us that beauty standards are all imaginary and prevent us all from being who we want to be. They break the boxes that society has placed us in, and for me, that is truly beautiful.

It should also be noted that people perceive drag performers and their personas according to the standards of their “own” world. It is shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” that serve as our first exposure to drag. The main battle here is making drag more visible outside our TV screens—accepting and allowing drag performers to exist in the real world.

All in all, there is still way more progress to be made in the beauty industry. I hope the few examples I have shared give you more confidence in yourself and alter the way you see beauty in the world around you. I hope you take time and notice the small challenges more and more people pose to the “standards” of beauty. We are such a beautiful world with many types of people living in it. Knowing that beauty standards do not exist naturally and are only constructs made by society may create a more accepting world for everyone to live in, making a more confident and harmonious society for generations to come. All we have to do is take steps towards deconstructing it.