BEAUTY
SUPPORTED BY
CO-EDITOR LIBBY DAWSON
The Beauty in You What is beauty? Am I beautiful? Questions that a lot of people ask themselves on a daily basis, questions that affect a lot of members of society. But what does beauty mean, what is beautiful? Beauty standards vary all around the world. When for example chin tattoos in New Zealand often define beauty, in different cultures in Africa, stretched earlobes with big earrings embrace grace. If you compare these standards of beauty with the western world or other parts of the globe, you’ll find a lot of other ideas of beauty. But not only are beauty standards different all around the world, they also change throughout time. Especially, when it comes to the “perfect” body shape of a woman. For instance, during the Renaissance, a woman reflected the status of her husband, if she was thin, her husband was considered poor. But this changed with the time when up to recently, women should be skinny with no visible fat. And this again changed to that beauty now seems to mean, having curves, with large breasts, wide hips, and a larger rear. But then, women are also expected to have a small waist and long legs with a thigh gap.
BY GLORIA DARGATZ
These beauty standards are not only unrealistic, they often impact the wellbeing of the people affected. Trying to look the way society tells you is right, frequently takes confidence and damages the mental health of especially young women and girls. Especially during puberty girls believe, that what they see in the media, the glamorous looks with full makeup and pictures taken from the perfect angles, are a reality, that these snapshots are the way, they should look, and that you are only beautiful when you reach these really specific and unrealistic beauty standards. All in all: Beauty standards really affect everyone in society, some more some less. But it all comes down to this: No matter, what society tries to tell you, what society defines as beauty, no matter, if you fit these so often unrealistic standards or not, you are beautiful and this is a fact. Because beauty comes in so many ways, and we should start celebrating uniqueness in a person rather than limiting our beliefs, our definitions of beauty on beauty standards.
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE!
31 • BE A UT Y • S TUDENT LIFE
