Day 22 – Q 2.The 21st century woman is subjected to unrealistic beauty standards and face multitude of body image issues. Comment. What according to you, are the primary factors responsible for such obsession?

2. The 21st century woman is subjected to unrealistic beauty standards and face multitude of body image issues. Comment. What according to you, are the primary factors responsible for such obsession? 

21 वीं सदी की महिला अवास्तविक सौंदर्य मानकों के अधीन है और शरीर की छवि के मुद्दों का सामना करती है। टिप्पणी करें। आपके अनुसार,  ऐसे जुनून के लिए कौन से प्राथमिक कारक जिम्मेदार हैं?

Introduction:

Our life revolves around ideologies. Ideologies have shaped our society so much so that even if women have gained rights in the legal, reproductive and socio-political ambit, are no longer restricted to the domestic space, and have over turned stereotypical beliefs about their roles in the socio-cultural space – ideologies of unrealistic beauty parameters continue to be a norm in most occasions.

Body:

Various ‘trends’ or beliefs around how an ideal woman should look have infested the 21st century. Primary factors responsible for such obsessions are:

• Size and shape: Intolerance of body diversity has a lot to do with prejudice of size and shape in our culture. Being lean toned and muscular has become associated with the hard-working, successful, popular, beautiful, strong, and the disciplined. Being fat is associated with the lazy, ugly, weak, and lacking in will-power. It’s an indication of moral character and we are conditioned to think that fat is bad.
• Social Media, Movies etc.: In this modern age of social media and weekly movies, one is constantly being bombarded with photo shopped images of perfect bodies which create a myth of an ideal beauty in the mind of people which in turn leads to body image issues. This perception is based on both self-observation and the reaction of others. Negative body image can be caused by a feeling of inadequacy towards one’s own body caused by the creation of an ideal body image that is unrealistic and unattainable. 
• Advertising by Beauty products: Products promising fairer skin and that claim to help in losing weight, also contribute to the creation of a myth that beauty lies in having fair skin and a slim body. Advertisements of such beauty products are made in such a way that they promise happier lives on achieving fairer skin and slender bodies, thereby creating set ideals of beauty. When people cannot adhere to this standard of beauty they tend to suffer from low confidence and depression.
• Narrow/Skewed societal view: Often we are told or advised to be a certain way, have a certain colour etc. to be accepted well among our own society. This narrow minded perception often results in many women having a low self-esteem about their natural selves and wanting to become ‘better’ in society’s eyes.
• Endorsement by Celebrities: Though celebrities endorse products that are for the welfare of their audience too, there are many that are a part of products that encourage women to be unrealistically perfect, rendering many women to fall prey to those products in awe of being able to reach the said standards.

Steps to prevent such obsessions:

• De-emphasise numbers: Kilograms on a scale don’t tell us anything meaningful about the body as a whole or our health. Eating habits and activity patterns are much more important. We need to appreciate the uniqueness of what we have – and work with it.
• Focus on fitness and health which is more imperative, rather than purely on looks and unrealistic patterns.
• Celebrities must be careful with their endorsements, as they impact a very large section of young people. They must break stereotypes and be inclusive of all body types so that these unrealistic beauty standards can be shattered and every body type be encouraged.
• Evaluate social media content and prioritize constructive self-development.

Conclusion:

These unrealistic beauty standards and its pressure leads to unhealthy behaviours in women and a preoccupation with appearance in every person, and it compromises the ability of women to be effective in and accepted by society. Ideologies are important for any society to grow, but only to the point where it does not harm or impact you and your surroundings negatively.