Society's large influence on the idea of beauty

Beauty - The property, quality or state of being "that which pleases merely by being perceived" ; that which is attractive, pleasing, fine or good looking; comeliness. A combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.

We live in a world today where what we look like affects everything.

Where we are constantly judged, mainly by ourselves.Judged on our appearance.

Judged for what we can't change about ourselves.

In today's society, the media has a large influence on the idea of beauty. Forcing a somewhat unachievable vision of the ideal person into our heads.

Today, to be perfect or beautiful you need to have, a glowing clear completion, 100% femine voice straight pearly white teeth, proportionately sized boobs, long black hair, a petite figure, a big butt, long slender legs, and a flawless flat stomach. This image is unachievable for 95% of female genetics. Making false hope for girls trying to achieve looking like this constructed idea which evolves each year to be even more out of grasp for the women of today

The airbrushed, adjusted, photo shop constructed women from magazines and the internet are supposed to be the picture of beauty. What we are 'supposed to look like'. How are we supposed to computer modify our faces to look like them?

The generations today decide what beauty is and what it isn't through photographs and mirrors, not through reality; it's sickening to think 96% of girls are unhappy about their bodies and general appearance, because of the images they were fed through the media when they were children.

The amount of photos, statements and more society feed us, the more robot-like we become, following the commands, the trends, the acquired looks, crazes, make up products to make us appeal. Appeal to the eye of society.

Teenagers stand on the frontline in this war against society. Fighting to stay alive in the war for them to fit in, to be what is thought to be beautiful.

For example myself,I was guilty of believing that I have to change myself to fit the certain standards, that I'm not beautiful without the changes and procedures. But one day I thought, wait... this is me, and I can't really change myself, and I'm not going to. I was born with these features, these minor flaws, but that's what makes me, me.

I decided I was going to ignore the proposed ideas of beauty and focus on me. It sounds vain but I was tired off always thinking negative of myself, thinking that I was not good enough.

I may not be the most aesthetically pleasing person appearance wise, and I still think that now; but I'm me. At the end of the day, the shape of my body, the colour of my hair and the shape of my features have nothing to do with who I am as a person, what I believe, what I choose and what I hope to do in the future, nor will it ever. I shouldn't have thought that what I look like will affect my future in any way, what it was affecting was myself, lowering my self-esteem to rock bottom whenever I looked in the mirror. I couldn't except myself surrounded by the altered pictures of women I had embedded in my mind.

What I'm really trying to imply is, I realised that our appearance should not lessen our qualities of who we are as a people. It shouldn't affect the jobs, choices and inspirations we have in life the slightest bit.

But stripped bare, what really is beauty, in the real world, outside of the media?

How can we define beauty when we are constantly force fed the false answer?

The answer is simple.

You.

There's only one of you in the whole world. When there is one of something, it is considered rare, limited edition.

Well there's one of you. You are therefore limited edition.

Deep inside, behind what you look like and what you think is beauty; there's a person, a beautiful creation. A person who creates their own assumptions, ideas, which doesn't follow paths of pre created futures or pictures. This person has their own pen, and they draw a line wherever they want, and they choose to follow wherever that line takes them. This person is independent and strong, they might have minor flaws externally, imperfections they are insecure about, but their personality mind-set and attitude is what is most important, most recognisable and most valued, it's what's underneath.

Some people are afraid of accepting what they look like for a fear of being judged, yet another creation of our hideous society. We have the power as people to change the perceptions put across by society, to change them. After all it's us who are society. People need to realise the current idea of beauty is totally incorrect, unachievable and wrong. Being your natural self is the most beautiful you can ever be. We weren't born with make-up on, hair extensions and plastic surgery, we were born naturally beautiful and as people we need to accept that.  

Loving yourself first doesn't make you vain or selfish. It makes you invincible.