Crossed Boundary

      Society has this picture of beauty every woman is expected to reach. In the Western world, light skin, small noses, and long hair tend to be the ideal. Obviously, not everyone can fit into these standards. I guarantee that it isn't just me I who feels anxious and furious about these beauty standards.

      I’ve never once detested the fact that I was female, but was always disheartened when beauty was discussed. I despise the existence of so-called “beauty standards”, where white skin, symmetrical faces, and perfectly proportional bodies are considered beautiful, while everything else is not. We are required to meet these standards whether we like it or not, because they have become what every woman is expected to meet. This means that anxiety lies in every thought. Teenage girls hate their imperfections and even their own selves just because the thought of being criticized makes them feel embarrassed.

 Body hair is seen as disgusting and shameful, thus shaving, plucking, or waxing becomes a weekly or monthly routine women have to do. Pimples and breakouts are constantly being made fun of, so they had to get them treated to conceal it. Size and shape is also called out, so women have to lose or gain weight, even if it means drastically changing diets and forcing themselves to endure pain.

Young ladies nowadays are particularly into social media. They look at the outer beauty more; they follow their idols like celebrities and supermodels to imitate them because they feel that to be accepted in society is to be like these beauty icons. They use the same cosmetic brands their idols endorse, they follow the same diets they do, and sport the same hairstyle they have. Women are convinced that they should be like the people in advertisements, encouraging other women to use products that don’t even give the same results, for the sake of society’s approval. We change ourselves to become what society wants us to be. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way. 

Yes, society is cruel, but their words do not define us. Every single one of us is different, we’re different and we’re unique, and society refuses to make us view beauty as it is. But beauty does not have to be held to a singular standard. As Margaret Wolfe Hungerford said in one of her books, “Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.” Every woman is perfectly imperfect, they’re perfect with their flaws and they’re perfect just the way they are. No matter what standard society wants you to be, remember that you are your own master, you are the master and main character of your own life. Don’t let anyone give you a reason to change yourself, the people who care about you like you for the genuine and unfiltered you.