The Distortion of Beauty

Lavish, downy lashes frame enlarged pupils, luminous in color. The eyes stand starkly against the entirely faultless skin, so silky in texture that not a single pore remains visible. Such exemplary qualities are only enhanced by a perfectly pinched nose-bridge: narrow, high and defined. Immaculate hair frames a sharply angled face. It’s exquisitely tiny, yet delicately balances the enormous eyes to a small chin. These features can be yours, easily — simply swipe open your phone lock screen and click on any social media or multimedia messaging app available. In our society, we have access to “cosmetic” alteration almost instantaneously through nothing other than social media filters.

Augmented reality filters have become a staple on multiple social media platforms since 2015 when Snapchat first released their signature face lenses. They have since pervaded other major networking corporations such as Instagram and Facebook. Realizing the feature was no longer an optional add-on, these companies are constantly updating their filter catalog. New waves are released seasonally with fresh and amusing ways to cutify their users’ appearances. With a wide array of options to choose from, from making one’s face squishy and freckled to sprouting fangs and horrendous veins, it is no wonder that people are preoccupied with filters. The relative ease of altering one’s characteristics has resulted in the task becoming normalized, and corporations are ensuring that it will stay this way. However, the seemingly harmless act of enhancing features can carry heavy consequences if one is not aware of the detrimental impacts, especially on those from younger generations.

In this era of social media, people have become obsessed with their online personas. It’s simple to fall into a routine of editing and posting; counting likes and reactions like credits of validation. However, compared to when photo and video-sharing platforms first became popular, the intensity of the process has escalated dramatically. People will go through great lengths to edit a single photo, channeling it through multiple photo editing apps to alter image characteristics. Common examples include vsco, which can shift the quality and atmosphere of a photo, and FaceTune, where blemishes are smoothed and areas of concern pinched and eliminated. Furthermore, photographers can now be booked to create content for Instagram accounts, and social media likes can be purchased in bulk. With this much effort stacked behind every single post, it’s no wonder that people become so invested in ensuring that their lives appear nothing less than perfect on the internet. Filters, therefore, spur on this obsession. Now even in short photo message exchanges, one can guarantee that they are at the height of their physical attractiveness. One can carry on the consistency of what they’ve established online.

But what about those who are younger and have seen nothing but these facades of perfection? When all you can see is the polished and primed states of those around you, it is natural to become inflicted with thoughts of low selfesteem and doubt. With this type of mindset, filters transition gradually from a choice to a necessity. Then, as augmented reality lenses typically reflect what is current of modern beauty standards, the daily post dangerously becomes the repetitive enforcement of unrealistic physical ideals. Those of us who remember a time where technology had not diffused into every aspect of life often go on social media cleanses to purge ourselves of the overwhelming influence of constant beauty expectations. But the younger generations of the digital era have not truly experienced this distinction — they are simply bombarded with it every day.

Yet, while filters and social media can encourage detrimental thoughts, they cannot be solely blamed for our society’s thirst for beauty. The need to alter our bodies had been present even before them, namely in the form of makeup. Humans have been decorating their bodies with color pigments since the prehistoric times. The Chinese invented nail polish while the Egyptians developed mascara and eyeliner, and the Sumerians created lipstick while the Germans produced foundation. Throughout time, multiple cultures spread their cosmetic products and preferences around the globe: namely a pale face with red lips, which was especially popularized in the 1500s by the English. The need to conform to this style of appearance was so extensive that the female population in England painted their face with toxic white paint, leading to skin discoloration and hair fallout. Today, we idealize a different type of face: one that is bronze and angled, chiseled by contour makeup.

The stir for this trend has not gone unnoticed by networking corporations. Social media filters typically mimic contouring and highlighting by shrinking and slimming the user’s face at a rate much quicker than if they were to go through the makeup process. Even if one did not realize the influence behind the filter, they would still feel the instinctive yearning to harbor the idealized features present upon them, increasing the need to hide behind a filter. The reason for this high demand for carved out features is arguably due to the American icon Kim Kardashian, who spurred on this makeup trend by releasing photos before and after her makeup routine. Utilizing shades both lighter and darker than her skin tone, she was able to add depth to her face in areas such as beneath her cheekbone and on her temples, creating the illusion of a sharper and slimmer face. Since then, the technique has taken the world by storm, resulting in waves of new contour palettes and highlighting powders. Highlighters in particular pop out features that accentuate the bone structure of the face, such as the cheekbones. Yet, this unfortunately means that people are craving slender features even more intensely than before, consequently relying on makeup and filters to achieve the desired look.

The usage of makeup and social media filters understandably can be considered very harmless. Since features are not being permanently altered, such acts can be seen as simply enhancing preexisting traits, which one should never blame another for seeking. With beauty comes empowerment and confidence, feelings that should be advocated for and encouraged. It’s just the excess of unrealistic beauty expectations that should , unfortunately, against. Younger generations should grow up with the knowledge that amending one’s features is not as critical as their environments make it appear to be — that there are others with insecurities they possess that they are not ashamed of and flaunt every day, shamelessly and brilliantly. People live gorgeous and flourishing lives everywhere, regardless of whether or not that is shared on social media. One should feel beautiful always: filter or no filter.

Writer Wendy Du, Stylist Emma Gray, Photographer Ariana Diaz, Models Mariam Abdul-Rashid, Jeanette Hoelscher, Madeline Wells, HMUA Vivianna Torres, Cameron Young, Layout Kelsey Jones