started this in end of May but just remembered it a couple days ago oops. i’ll probably do my mandatory barbie review after this
If you’ve been in a retail store during this past year you probably already know the lyrics to this banger of a song, but just in case you don’t, they say: “I know Victoria's secret … she’s an old man who lives in Ohio making money off of girls like me.” The song went viral and even caught the attention of Victoria Secret’s billionaire CEO, who issued a statement saying she advocates for women, wants them to feel comfortable, blah blah blah. The lyrics surprised me because normally these sorts of messages about defying beauty standards focus on being self-confident and loving yourself, not going for the throat of a beauty industry CEO. And it’s a catchy song! 10/10 recommend. Anyway, we are talking about beauty standards, why they exist, and how they affect women.
In an article I read while researching this subject, the author states that “beauty is arguably a form of discrimination.” At first glance, this sounded like a chronically online take — beauty is just a natural part of life! Pretty people are canceled now ?? But when you examine the concept of Western beauty, which unambiguously conforms to youth, thinness, and whiteness, it kind of makes sense. Women left out of this definition are usually those of lower social or economic status. I’d agree — beauty as we know it is arguably a form of discrimination.
Beauty standards have existed basically forever. Even in very early Greek and Roman societies, fairer skin was associated with higher class. In the 1400s, colonizers introduced people in Africa, Asia, and the Americas to the idea that whiteness equals better education and economic well-being. In the slavery era of the U.S., black people with lighter skin lived in better conditions than those with darker skin. We can see this idea of lighter=better today, for example, whitewashing darker-skinned characters in media, and a lack of darker foundation colors in the makeup industry.
Throughout history, beauty has mirrored class. As many people know, fatness was idealized in the Medieval Times because it symbolized wealth and prosperity. In 19th century Victorian times, the standard was extremely thin with pale skin, representing the upper class that didn’t have to perform heavy manual labor in outdoor conditions. In the 80s in America, a fitness craze emerged and the standard became thin and athletic. This body type demanded financial resources and free time to spend exercising and dieting. The current trend is tan, thin, and curvy (BBL), which is not actually a naturally occurring body type (!). This standard requires an excessive amount of money to spend on cosmetic procedures and dieting. Clearly, there’s a link between beauty standards and wealth.
A lot of feelings we have about our bodies are a result of marketing. For example, at the beginning of the 20th century, women rarely removed leg or underarm hair. Then hair-removing cream companies started promoting the idea that body hair was bad, actually. Gillette jumped on this with a women’s razor, making sure to let women know they should be really embarrassed if they had body hair. By the 1960s, nearly every woman between 15 and 44 was removing hair.
Makeup usage was popularized by film stars in the 1920s and increased dramatically when women entered the workforce in the Second World War. Cosmetic advertisements emphasized makeup as a way to reaffirm one’s feminine identity while working and supporting the war effort. Throughout the 60s and 70s, courts upheld rights of employers to discriminate based on appearance. In the present day, it’s encouraged — expected, even — for women to wear makeup in public. (okay that’s the end of the history lesson)
This brings us to a more interesting discussion: is practicing femininity —shaving, wearing makeup, getting cosmetic surgery — harmful or empowering? Is it something we’re forced into or something we freely choose? It’s the structure vs agency debate. Structure argues that the pursuit of beauty ultimately feeds into women’s oppression and the interest of men, while agency argues that these practices increase personal confidence and happiness, and are therefore empowering.
The Miss America protest in 1968 (I lied there’s more history) confronted what women deemed enforced femininity and oppressive beauty standards. Protestors compared beauty pageants to livestock competitions and burned symbolic feminine products such as bras, makeup, hairspray, and corsets. (That’s where you get the feminist bra-burning trope in case you were wondering)
The idea of beauty standards being oppressive wasn’t actually great for profit, so the cosmetic industry rebranded the pursuit of beauty as a form of empowerment. The marketing of beauty products changed from something you have to do to something you want to do to feel good about yourself. Makeup advertisements starting talking about “confidence” and being “authentically you” and “empowerment.” As writer Glenn Doyle says, “A very effective way to control women is to convince women to control themselves.”
Is practicing femininity harmful or empowering? You can probably guess my take. I don’t think reframing socially enforced practices as empowering actually does anything. I think feminism is more than a mindset shift. Women can like wearing makeup and shaving and getting cosmetic surgery — and that’s perfectly fine — but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t examine these constructs and explore why they exist. Like, I think makeup is cool! People have devoted lives and careers to perfecting this craft. But I’m also aware that many women are viscerally afraid of being seen by others without makeup. That kind of alienation from your own body isn’t something to brush aside with “but some people like makeup.”
I’d like to emphasize that I am not shaming women who feel pressured to conform to beauty standards that have been ingrained in their skulls since birth. I can relate. I don’t want to tear down individual women and their autonomy, only the harmful ideals that women are socialized into.
In conclusion, Jax was right: beauty was made up by an old man in ohio (of course it was ohio)
Source:
https://thesciencesurvey.com/editorial/2023/01/18/women-as-the-force-behind-capitalism/
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/standard-issues-white-supremacy-capitalism-influence-beauty