Unspoken beauty standards reveal social biases

ART By ISABELLE NUNES

What qualities define how we are perceived? Our personalities, how we interact with others, and our sense of humor are all defining factors. However, in today’s society, beauty determines everything.

As my peers have noticed, if someone is more conventionally attractive, others might view that person as preferable or goodhearted than someone with polar opposite features. Beauty is a unique concept but is frequently distorted and ruined by its traits along with its undisclosed standards.

One specific trait included in beauty is its unspoken rules or “standards.” Whether it be applying for a job or having a conversation with a peer, the perception of one’s beauty can influence not only those scenarios’ outcomes but also their underlying standards. Although this may seem just a coincidence, many continuously pointed out this observation. An explanation for this coincidence is called beauty bias.

Beauty bias, commonly referred to as “pretty privilege,” hands rewards to those that society views as physically attractive, where beauty should not be part of the criteria.

This idea is a grave problem in our daily lives because it is a subconscious decision to favor those we see as attractive. Found in a study conducted by Judith Langlois published in Developmental Psychology, young children could identify the more attractive faces quicker than the less attractive ones. She and her research team discovered higher levels of brain activity when looking at an unattractive face than an attractive one. Langlois also found that we can exhibit positive bias and positive associate events with attractive faces. Other biases related to favoring one person over the other also exist, with some being more judgemental.

A summary of a book discussing the issue of appearance discrimination, The Beauty Bias: The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law, has the central argument of how extensive this problem is present in our world. Deborah L. Rhode, who wrote the book, argues that we need to advocate against its complete acceptance by society, or else the status quo will never change. Rhode is correct as these prevailing norms usually are blindly accepted by society but are not society’s fault alone. The beauty and media industries exploit them heavily, gaining immense profits from individuals trying to escape or cover their insecurities.

The increase of social media’s presence in the last ten years has led to preoccupations with appearance have become more outstanding. That feeling of not being respected by others for not looking like society’s “beautiful” is a much more familiar feeling now amongst most, myself included. Some people have tried to achieve this beauty perfection by altering their appearances in various ways, including cosmetic surgery.

Cosmetic surgery manipulates appearances in major or minor courses, and the desire for it can become more prominent through social media usage. Often when someone gets cosmetic surgery, they do not speak about the surgery, leading others who see their adjustments to become more insecure and obsessed with fixing their image.

Although there is nothing wrong with getting cosmetic surgery, there is something wrong with why many people choose to get it. The main problem is how individuals’ values of self-worth are attached to their appearances and how they feel that they do not belong in society’s lens because of it. This obscured lens favors a few but ridicules the rest, leaving the lingering feeling of “not being pretty enough.”

Recognizing that unspoken beauty standards and bias exist is the first step in fighting this idea of beauty and eliminating these standards. Realizing that beauty involves other aspects of oneself, one’s sincere beauty, is the true lesson from this reoccurring standard. Beauty is not just about appearance, but also how kind you are to others, making small gestures for your friends, and embracing those qualities. Such qualities reflect what type of person you truly are, which is extremely beautiful.