Week 10- The Self: Mind, Gender and Body

 As a young woman in 2021, I can definitely speak on the ideal female beauty.

As a young woman, there is a lot of pressure to fit the standard of beauty, especially in the age of the internet when there are filters, photoshop, influencers, and celebrities receiving augmentations, fillers, and surgeries behind closed doors (I just feel there should be more transparency; I am not shaming), there is a real sense that you are not "perfect." When you see beautiful models across social media and TV, it is hard to feel good sometimes when they are so perfect, when in reality they were not born like that and defiantly did not "wake up like this" as Beyonce once said. 

Bella Hadid's before and after rhinoplasty that has been denied to have happened.

There is hope on the horizon though. As referenced in the chapter, there has been a push for body positivity and feeling good in the skin that you are in. This is a means to rid of fattism, or the discrimination or dislike for overweight people, as well as an embrace of "imperfections."

This is a huge step forward, however retailers and brands have more far more growth to go. Alienation of larger women has been prevalent as they have been treated as "after-thoughts."

Although this movement is happening and it is awesome, body shaming or verbal dislike for any type of body is oppressive. Through my own observations in life, I have seen petite or skinny women and girls shamed for how they look as well, and that should not be okay either. As a society, we can do better to be inclusive towards everybody and create space for everyone to be and feel beautiful in each of their own ways.