essay on unrealistic beauty standards

Beauty Standards and Their Impact Essay

Introduction.

Beauty generally refers to the mixture of aesthetic qualities such as form, shape and color that pleases the eyesight. Beauty is divided into two broad branches, that is, human beauty and beauty in things around us. Human beauty can also be classified into physical beauty and beauty of the soul. Beauty in things around us entails architecture and physical features.

Society at large has always put emphasis that beauty being admired and looked after trait. A good example in a society is a Marketing and Advertisement Industry that sells all everything by showcasing its beauty. Some countries however hold beauty more highly than others. Such countries include The U.S is the leading.

The physical beauty of a person opens ways for the person to get their soulmates without struggle. It is usually the first impression that makes the attraction to a mate much easier. It smoothens the bumps that life gives during the search for a soulmate. However, you should take into account that its importance fades away quickly with time. As you go through life, you realize that what you thought was beauty fades away. During this period, people tend to embark on the other kind of beauty which is the beauty of the soul. The beauty of the soul entails traits such as personality, sense of humor, intelligence and other factors that entail a person’s character.

The beauty of the things around us such as the works of architecture such as unique buildings, bridges and others and physical features such as mountains and water bodies are very important as they bring happiness and joy to our eyesight. They are used as sources of recreational facilities for both children and adults. Children go to places rich in physical features to break class monotony. Adults go to beautiful places while depressed or just while they need some refreshment. They are also used as sources of learning facilities for persons of all ages. Children go to learn new things in their environment and that is the same with adults.

All people need beauty but it depends on which type of beauty is in question. To explain this, children only find beauty in things such as toys and also in places they go. Adults on the other hand see the world clearly and thus they need beauty in everything they do and places they go. Some people however need beauty more than others. Women for example tend to be more obsessed with beauty in almost everything. They always look for perfection in their body and also in everything they do on a daily basis. This has consequently made them turn to cosmetics in order to look more beautiful. Some are now even doing surgery to modify their faces and other parts of their bodies. People always need beauty in their lives. This is always largely contributed by things around them. Take, for example, a beautiful compound with a wonderful house and a beautiful garden in the backyard that will always bring happiness and improve the lives of people living there.

As the say goes, beauty is in the beholder’s eyes. The perception of people on beauty is influenced by cultural heritage. For instance, American culture perceives youthfulness as beauty and European perceives flawless skin as an ideal beauty. In Africa, however, a filled-out large figure is referred to as beauty. In today’s society, beauty is people are beginning to relate beauty to be prosperous and happy. Many cultures have fueled the obsession with women being pretty and that in turn led to the introduction of cosmetics among different cultures. Almost all the cultures in the world value beauty so highly that many quantitative measures of beauty are constructed socially.

There are some types of beauty that the media have long forgotten and no longer classify as types of beauty. These include architecture and music. The media nowadays classify architecture as more of a science than art while the music on the other hand is long forgotten when they talk about those categories. Through the help of the media, our concepts about beauty can be globalized more so through social media networks as almost all the young people in this new generation are using social media networks and the information can travel faster.

There are many controversies about beauty in nature compared to that in human form. It is important that we consider all as having beauty but the one has more beauty than the other. Human being has a beauty that fades away with time while nature has a permanent beauty that never fades away. For example, take a look at the sky, the moon, the river and so on, their beauty last forever. Men are interested in the beauty of other things than that of their own while women always tend to be self-centered when it comes to beauty. Concerning your appearance is normal and understandable. In today’s society, everywhere you go be it at work, school, or interview, your personal appearance will always influence people’s impression of you.

Looking at the other side of the coin, the standards that society has put on women have enabled some women to thrive and become successful. Let’s take America for example, a country that produces many models and enables women to develop their careers in terms of beauty. It has led to many other opportunities such as selling cosmetics and fashion design.

The physical beauty of human beings fades away with time. The beauty of nature and of the soul is permanent. Society has set some unrealistic standards for women in terms of beauty which are vague and should be overlooked.

Skivko, M. (2020). Deconstruction in Fashion as a Path Toward New Beauty Standards: The Maison Margiela Case. ZoneModa Journal , 10 (1), 39-49.

McCray, S. (2018). Redefining Society’s Beauty Standards.

Capaldi, C. A., Passmore, H. A., Ishii, R., Chistopolskaya, K. A., Vowinckel, J., Nikolaev, E. L., & Semikin, G. I. (2017). Engaging with natural beauty may be related to well-being because it connects people to nature: Evidence from three cultures. Ecopsychology, 9(4), 199-211.

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IvyPanda. (2022, July 13). Beauty Standards and Their Impact. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/

"Beauty Standards and Their Impact." IvyPanda , 13 July 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Beauty Standards and Their Impact'. 13 July.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Beauty Standards and Their Impact." July 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/.

1. IvyPanda . "Beauty Standards and Their Impact." July 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Beauty Standards and Their Impact." July 13, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/beauty-standards-and-their-impact/.

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Social media and unrealistic beauty ideals, are social media algorithms perpetuating the beauty ideal.

Posted January 29, 2024 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

• People feel a lack of control over their social media use.
• Even if we do not engage with beauty content, algorithms still show us ideal beauty images.
• We need to reflect on why we are so obsessed with the beauty ideal in the first place.

Cowritten by Heather Widdows and Jessica Sutherland, University of Warwick

How often do you find you’ve lost an hour passively scrolling through social media? You only sat down for a moment, to take a break, and suddenly half the morning has gone. We scroll almost everywhere, on the sofa, lying in bed, on the bus, waiting for a bus, or, when we can get away with it, in boring work meetings or classes. A recent analysis of findings from the Millennium Cohort Study 2019 shows that nearly half of British 17-year-olds (48 percent; n=7022) feel addicted to social media. Girls reported feeling like this (57 percent) far more than boys (37 percent). This is not an accident; to work, social media must eat our attention . Social media is designed to keep us scrolling. Whether it is addictive in the clinical sense is up for debate, but what is clear is that people feel a lack of control over their social media use.

The effects of this out-of-control use are worrying. The Millennium Cohort Study finds that, amongst 14-year-olds, “greater social media use related to online harassment, poor sleep, low self-esteem and poor body image ; in turn these related to higher depressive symptom scores.” 1 This is a pretty extensive list of harms, especially if you take seriously the harms of body image dissatisfaction . The evidence shows that it’s not just teens who are affected. In a study of the relationship between social media addiction and body dissatisfaction, it was found that undergraduate women who had more symptoms of social media addiction were more aware of appearance pressure and more likely to internalise the beauty ideal. 2

With online culture becoming ever-increasingly visual (think Snapchat, TikTok, BeReal, and Instagram) rather than text-based, we are barraged with images and videos of other people and feel the demands to participate by sharing our own selfies and videos. Using social media in these image-based ways can be particularly problematic .

Social media relies on our undivided attention. It works by keeping us scrolling, liking, commenting, and comparing ourselves to others. Much has already been written about the unrealistic beauty and lifestyle standards perpetuated on social media, in part because we only ever put our "best selves" online. Whilst unrealistic beauty standards in media are nothing new, the amount of images and the time we spend looking at them is. We now spend an average of 2 and ½ hours on social media every day—and some recent not yet published studies suggest this is a low estimate.

Our attention has become a valuable commodity, and social media platforms are working hard to maximise their market share. Gone are the days when social media posts are ordered chronologically; AI -assisted algorithms curate and manage our feeds to maximise attention. The algorithms aim to keep us glued to the screen as long as possible; the algorithms sort and target information into our personal feeds by analysing our likes, comments, and shares. The more we look at certain types of images and videos, the more the algorithm delivers similar content back to us. This creates a filter bubble, an echo chamber where we see more and more similar content. Often in the case of young women, the content we receive is of idealised faces and bodies—the Instagram face, the plastically firm Barbie body, If we ever look at a beauty post, or engage with beauty content, very soon we will be bombarded with posts which promote an unachievable beauty ideal.

Even if we do not personally engage with beauty content, social media algorithms still routinely serve up ideal beauty images because this kind of content is generally popular. It is almost impossible to avoid consuming beauty content in the visual world—give it a try and see how successful you are.

But we can’t only blame the social media algorithms for perpetuating the beauty ideal. We have written previously about what the "ideal" body type on social media looks like, how this tracks onto the features of the global beauty ideal (thin, firm, smooth, and young), and what this shows us about our aspirations to be impossibly perfect. 3 Whilst the algorithms’ sole aim is to keep us scrolling, they give us beauty content because we’ve voted with our fingers and thumbs; this is the content we want to see. To tackle the harms of social media and its effects on our body image, we need to reflect on why we are so obsessed with the beauty ideal in the first place. Sure, social media algorithms are exacerbating the problem, but as yet they respond to human desires, desires they commodify and exacerbate, but not desires they create.

1. Kelly, Y., Zilanawala, A., Booker, C., & Sacker, A. (2018). Social media use and adolescent mental health: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. EClinicalMedicine , 6 , 59–68.

2. Delgado-Rodríguez, R., Linares, R., & Moreno-Padilla, M. (2022). Social network addiction symptoms and body dissatisfaction in young women: exploring the mediating role of awareness of appearance pressure and internalization of the thin ideal. Journal of Eating Disorders , 10 (1), 1–11.

3. Widdows, H. (2018) Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal, Princeton University Press, p.23.

Storm Newton. Almost half of teenagers feel addicted to social media – study . Independent. January 3, 2024.

Hannah Devlin. Revealed: almost half of British teens feel addicted to social media, study says. Guardian. January 2, 2024.

Filippo Menczer. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified that the company’s algorithms are dangerous – here’s how they can manipulate you . The Conversation. October 7, 2021.

Jia Tolentino. The Age of Instagram Face . The New Yorker. December 12, 2019.

Heather Widdows, Ph.D. , is a professor of philosophy at the University of Warwick and the author of Perfect Me.

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Beauty Is Skin Deep; The Self-Perception of Adolescents and Young Women in Construction of Body Image within the Ankole Society

Ruth kaziga.

1 Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara 1410, Uganda; gu.ca.tsum@izugnuhcumc (C.M.); [email protected] (D.A.)

Charles Muchunguzi

Dorcus achen.

2 RHEA, Centre of Expertise on Gender, Diversity and Intersectionality, Vrije Universitet Brussels, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

Susan Kools

3 School of Nursing, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 800826, 202 Jeanette Lancaster Way, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA; ude.ainigriv@h9kms

Associated Data

Not applicable.

Introduction: Adolescents and young women become increasingly aware of their bodies through images presented to them through social structures during their developmental stage. These images may drive them toward unhealthy behaviors including overeating, starving, and skin bleaching. This paper is part of a study that examined the Older Adolescent Banyankole Girl’s Response to the socio-cultural constructions of body image in The Ankole Region, Uganda. It aimed to understand the self-perceptions of adolescent girls of their body image within Ankole society. Methods: The study collected narrative interviews of 30 adolescent and young adult females (16–24) recruited from various institutions of learning as well as the Ankole community of southwestern Uganda. Results: Adolescent girls’ perceptions of beauty were influenced by pull and push factors that included beauty expectations, beauty comparisons, relationships, and dietary habits that keep them oscillating between traditional and contemporary beauty ideals. Findings suggest that young women could benefit from social shifting of focus from physical appearance to other valuable developmental assets. Conclusion: Government-sponsored programs that provide education and positive media messages may be beneficial to building the self-esteem of young women.

1. Introduction

Several studies have found significant links between well-being and positive body image in adolescent girls and young women. From a very young age, they are told that how you look is important to them and others who look at them [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Cultures all over the world put women and girls’ bodies at the center of intrigue based on connotations attached to beauty such as goodliness and sexuality. Studies have showed that young girls may obsess over their appearance making other aspects of development less important, such as education or independence [ 3 ]. According to [ 4 , 5 ], girls may adopt unhealthy eating habits such as skipping meals at school and at home so as to strive for the Western standard of beauty that values slenderness. The study reveals that when adolescent girls are still going through the bodily changes of puberty, this makes it even more challenging for them to achieve the societal standards of female beauty.

In adolescent development, there are certain aspects in society that are fixed on how young people behave rather than simply the changes of a growing body or cognitive structures. Individualistic cultures in Europe and South Africa place more emphasis on self-esteem [ 6 ]. In contrast, in collectivist societies such as Uganda, self-perceptions of body image can be based on the societal norms. Studies show that social expectations have an influence on young peoples’ ideologies [ 7 ]. The study shows that the existing beauty standards in Ankole play a role in how young girls feel about their bodies.

With embedded norms with relevance to society of how one should look, overwhelming pressure is put on girls to conform, which in turn affects their self-esteem when they do or do not meet these norms [ 8 ]. Adolescent and young women (16–24) who are at the age of self-discovery have formed their perceptions of beauty images that are usually unattainable based on societal influences [ 9 ]. Research shows that there is an association between the social environment and the behaviors, feelings, and thoughts of individuals. These thoughts are usually passed on from parents, peers, and overt messages that encourage the “appearance culture” [ 10 ].

1.1. Aims of the Study

This study focused on the first objective of a PhD study on older adolescent Banyankole Girls’ Response to sociocultural construction of body image in The Ankole Region, Uganda. Its purpose was to explore perceptions of body image and how adolescent girls responded to these perceptions in Ankole. A secondary aim was to explore the lives of adolescents and young women who are candidates for marriage and advanced society roles in Uganda, and live at the crossroads as to which society’s body image ideals they should ascribe to; either the traditional and conservative or the modern and liberal societies.

The study was guided by socio-cultural theory [ 11 ] supplemented by Foucault’s theory of the body [ 12 , 13 ] and Higgins’ self-discrepancy theory [ 14 ]. The socio-cultural theory elucidates the importance of societal norms and their influence on young people’s cognitive perceptions of the body. Adolescent girls and young women in the study are shown to react toward society’s view of appearance; for example, in the traditions put in place, we see the rural Ankole society encouraging female fattening. Furthermore, the media encourage women to adhere to expectations of beauty. Foucault’s theory of the body explains the ethos surrounding the female body image from the past notion of its sole biological purpose and sexuality, which has been used to oppress women [ 12 , 15 ]. Higgins self-discrepancy theory points out that young people’s self-perceptions are influenced by comparisons with others.

1.2. Background and Significance

In societies across Africa, female beauty ideals have been used to explain perceptions of one’s fertility, gender role identity for women, and the distribution of economic and political power in society [ 16 ]. Perceptions regarding beauty and body types vary between cultures across the world and have changed significantly across history [ 6 ]. In the past, most African countries beauty standards of women reflected a husband and father’s wealth and power, and this standard is still sought after; for example, in the Efik of Calabar cross river state in Nigeria, fat women symbolize fertility and well-being [ 16 ]. While studies underscore that many traditional societies covet fat as a sign of wealth and health [ 16 ], others show that some of the contemporary societies in Europe, Asia, and North America encourage slenderness among young women as shown through media [ 3 , 9 ].

In pre-colonial times, Ankore was a part of the Chwezi empire the ruled the Great Lake’s region of East Africa, which is now in southwestern Uganda [ 17 ]. It was a traditional kingdom that was abolished in 1967 by President Milton Obote and has not been officially restored. While the kingdom was abolished, people continue to maintain this cultural identity [ 15 , 17 ]. This society has two groups subgroups within Ankole culture with a common ancestry: the Bairu and Bahima. Both ethnic groups’ standard of beauty is characterized by a slender nose, thin lips, finely-shaped heads, fat backsides, and fat legs [ 18 ]. According to [ 16 , 19 ], in Ankole culture, the beauty standard is fat. A fat body composition for the Ankole woman has been traditionally indicative of fertility, sexuality, and morality. Body image for Ankole women is also tied to moral norms [ 18 ]. Among the Bahima of Ankore, there is a beauty ritual of female fattening during adolescence to ensure that their women develop to be fat. Fattening among women engenders a great sense of respect within and outside of the family [ 16 ]. Fattening is similar to the past practice of the Bairu in Ankole, in which for preparation of marriage, young women are bulked up to the size of a millet basket [ 18 ].

While these traditional practices looked to fatness as a symbol of beauty in Ankole, the trend for young women has begun to shift in the contemporary world. Research and the press [ 4 , 20 ] have shown that over time, beauty trends in Uganda have changed due to Westernized views on what it means to be beautiful; therefore, this has encouraged many girls and young women to maintain an unhealthy body weight, as well as the practice of fattening. The young women have adopted the global standards that idealize being thin and curvy. Women and girls are starving themselves and bleaching their skin to match the Westernized images in the media [ 4 ]. These changing trends may put young women at risk for self-hatred toward their bodies [ 4 , 5 ].

Although young women of Uganda have more recently embraced the thin ideal of beauty from the West, tradition is still an important factor of growing up [ 4 ]. Some young women, especially those in the rural areas, still look to fatness as the beauty ideal. This has led to the failure of many rural girls to maintain a healthy body size, resulting in health risks such as obesity and cardiovascular disease [ 21 ]. Research suggests that girls who struggle with a negative self-esteem are more likely susceptible to harmful societal messages and struggle with body dissatisfaction [ 1 ]. A negative body image is not only connected to low self-esteem and decreased well-being, but it is also related to serious long-term psychological consequences, such as depression, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, and poor performance in school [ 4 ].

2. Materials and Methods

A phenomenology research design was used, collecting and analyzing young women’s stories from their lived experiences [ 5 , 22 ]. By directly querying individuals about their lives, this research design allowed for the exploration of the range of subjective experiences young people have. Through triangulation of interview data with field notes of observations of the young women in their urban and rural community contexts, the researcher focused on past and current experiences of participants related to the influence of sociocultural factors and how they have influenced their thought process about their bodies over time [ 2 ].

The sample included 30 adolescent and young adult girls, both in school (high school and universities) and out of school in the age range of 16 to 24. In this study, 16–18-year-olds were considered to be in the developmental phase of late adolescence, while 19–24-year-olds were considered to be young or emerging adults. In Uganda, these ages include school-going people and those out of school and already married [ 23 ]. Young people both in and out of school were sampled, as it was assumed that those in school may be shown to be more influenced by peers and educators, while those with less or no form of formal education may be largely influenced by traditional norms and families [ 23 ]. Participants that identify as married are shown to be largely influenced by their spouse/significant other. This sample represented the nine districts of a southwestern region of Uganda. Among the participants, 5 adolescents and 7 young women were from the urban regions of Mbarara and Kampala, while 2 adolescents and young women were selected from each of the 9 rural districts of Ankole, respectively. All were of the Ankole culture.

Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants from universities, workplaces, and communities, where a notice was posted to encourage research volunteers to take part in the study. Snowball sampling was based on referrals from participants [ 24 ]. Participants from high schools were recruited by the head teacher; then, the selected students would refer other students. While recruitment from the community was based on telephone and face-to-face recruitment, those selected would then refer other participants. The inclusion criteria were that participants were between the ages of 16 and 24 years of age and had to belong to the Banyankole tribe.

Data collection procedures. Research assistants and the first author conducted semi-structured interviews in communities and workplaces of participants in the location they preferred. Interviews lasted between forty-five minutes and an hour and half. The interview questions were organized around the objectives of the study and included questions such as “How would you describe a beautiful woman in the Ankole culture?” “Considering your body and the way it looks, how do you fit within the Ankole culture beauty standards?” (see Appendix A for Interview Guide). Saturation was reached when participants gave no new information and themes were exhausted. Field notes were made on observations during the interview by research assistants and the first author, including the context where the interview took place and the nonverbal behavior of the participants in response to the questions. Observations were made on how participants approached the interview sessions and their reactions toward certain interview questions, especially those that triggered them. Observations were also made at the Ankole museum of Uganda, where different artifacts on traditional beauty in Ankole are displayed. The data were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim with participants identified with numbers to protect confidentiality.

Data analysis. Transcripts and field notes were coded manually to formulate themes using the process of thematic analysis as described by [ 25 ]. The goal of thematic analysis was to derive themes that were able to explain and address the study aims [ 26 ]. By using the six phases of thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke (2012), interview transcripts were read multiple times to develop an understanding of the participants’ experiences, highlighting information that stood out and making notes against the data.

Coding was done manually by the first author on a hard copy of the transcript. A hybrid approach to analysis was used including inductive coding directly from the data and deductive coding from a priori concepts developed from the literature [ 1 , 2 ], including relationship influences and beauty comparisons. Similar codes were color coded, categorized, and eventually merged into themes. For example, beauty descriptions of the young women were clustered into the beauty expectations theme. In this way, patterns were identified using codes and categories, and more abstract themes were developed based on inductive codes, existing literature, and theoretical underpinnings [ 25 ]. Then, they were reviewed again to assure that they were relevant to the study aims, and where appropriate, some subthemes were merged into larger themes. Lastly, the themes were labeled in a concise, clear manner.

The most salient, central theme that emerged related to the perceptions of Ankole adolescents and young women on body image was beauty expectations. It was by far the most prominent theme in participant responses. Relevant subthemes were discreet, yet interrelated and organized around the central theme of beauty expectations, including internal and external comparisons, relationship influences, and dietary habits (see Figure 1 ). The central theme and subthemes will be presented with data illustrations.

Relationship between beauty expectations and subthemes.

3.1. Beauty Expectations

Findings revealed that participants have preconceived perceptions of beauty, and these perceptions are shown to change over time because of the amount of exposure which is seen through societal influences that include media, peers, parents, and culture. Participants’ views and expectations are shown to change when they left rural areas for urban areas to work or study, while participants who remained in rural settings are shown to have been largely influenced by traditional Ankole culture. Both Bairu and Bahima participants described a beautiful woman as fat with wide hips and big buttocks and decently dressed. All participants from rural Ankole described a beautiful woman from Ankole as fat with a small waist and big buttocks. She should be dark-skinned, have short black hair, long arms with slender fingers, big legs, but also at the same time, a beautiful woman had to be decently dressed.

When asked to describe a beautiful woman in Ankole, participant 3 explains that:

She is fat! The Bahima love fat! That is why, the girl is given milk for her to become fat, get stretch marks, in the past, girls used to cut off their hair and dress up with beads to bring the allure of beauty and pride. (Participant 3 is a 19-year-old from rural Ankole)

However, 10 of the participants identified that beauty and ethics coincide together; one cannot be beautiful and yet behave badly; morals play an important role in beauty expectations. One young woman said:

Beauty is not only skin deep, but it is also aligned with proper manners and etiquette, big and beautiful women, take their time, are graceful in their walk and talk, and are not in a rush because they know what they are doing. (Participant 1 is a 24-year-old from rural Ankole)

While the two subgroups in Ankole had similar beauty expectations of a young woman, there are different traits. Participants who identified as Bairu described a beautiful woman in Ankole as one who is energetic with tough features that indicated that she worked well as a farmer. Participants who identified as Bahima explained that culturally, a beautiful woman is one with a soft and fat body, indicating that there should be no fieldwork.

Participant 8, a 20-year-old Mwiru from the Mwiru subgroup from Mitooma, a rural area in Ankole, explains that culturally, a beautiful girl is one that:

Among the Bairu, a beautiful girl that you can see must be tall. Maybe she is black or she is brown. She is energetic. By energy I mean, we usually engage in farming, so we know how to dig so we have tough hands.

Participant 3 is from Kiruhura, a rural area largely populated by the Bahima; she describes a beautiful woman as one:

A beautiful woman usually has a soft and fat body, with small baby-like fingers, usually, they will not engage in field work, they have delicate-like features, it shows that she’s well taken care of by her family.

Observations made at the Ankole museum in Mbarara supplemented participants’ perceptions of beauty expectations of a young woman in Ankole. These were shown in a historical portrait of a young woman in Ankole. These were physical traits derived from nature and the environment around. For example:

A beautiful woman in Ankole has eyes like stars, snow-white teeth, smooth and well-built arms, reed-like fingers, hair-like tree canopy, a neck of a water jar, breasts like a young fruit, a waistline of a wasp, hips of a churning gourd, legs like a banana stem and finally a baby’s foot. (A portrait of a beautiful woman in Ankole at the Mbarara Museum)

When asked if they met these beauty expectations, participants who did not fit these expectations considered themselves as not beautiful. Results show that 20 out of the 30 participants reported a lack of confidence toward their bodies brought on by the beauty expectations in Ankole. This was based on a couple of interview questions that queried their views on whether they met these standards (see Appendix A for interview questions). Participants from urban centers and contemporary Ankole reported having self-hate and low confidence because while in rural Ankole, a fat woman was beautiful, this was not the case in the cities. A young woman reported all her friends walk around with curvy bodies (in this case a small waist and large buttocks and hips). Her perception is that she is ugly because she cannot gain weight and have a body similar to those of her friends.

Interviewer: Do you think you fit in these beauty expectations in Ankole?

Participant 5 is a 21-year-old from rural Ankole:

Unfortunately, I don’t. I am a very slender girl with tiny hips and a very small bum. I have a boyish body that I hate so much. My friends and family have told me to drink a lot of milk and eat more food but until now I have not gained weight.

Most participants from towns and cities reported that beauty expectations of a young woman in Ankole meant that she had to be medium in size, have a slender nose, chocolate skinned, and long curly hair, while four of the participants described a beautiful woman as one with light skin with a slender body. All the 12 participants from the cities describe a fat woman as one that was unhealthy and lazy. Out of the 12 participants who lived in the city, seven had been born and raised in the city, while five had left the rural areas to find better jobs and education in the city.

Participant 7, a 20-year-old woman from urban Ankole, voiced her desire to be slender; she believes slenderness is synonymous to healthy. She said:

You see our parents think a very fat woman is a beautiful woman in Ankole. My parents insist that I look beautiful when I have gained weight; however, when I go back to the city my friends will make fun of me and call me a big mama so I have a hard time keeping a healthy weight. If I am not starving myself, I am overeating.

When asked about the perfect body in Ankole, the majority of participants identified a medium body as the perfect body. Participants who reported to not fit the ideal body were more likely between the ages of 20 and 22, and they described having no self-assurance toward their bodies, reporting dangerous eating habits such as using diet pills and/or overeating.

When asked if they believed they fit in the perfect Ankole ideal, participant 10, a 21-year-old from an urban area, believed that:

I don’t fit that perfect ideal body, I have always had a protruding tummy, and yet beautiful girls should have wasp waists and tiny tummies, I have tried starving myself, but a friend of my mine [said] to always drink lemon water, so I hope I see changes very soon.

However, results show that there were contradictory responses from young women and girls based on where they lived. Participants who described themselves as having the “right body” were more likely still living with their parents and had not been influenced by outside factors, such as the media. These participants perceived themselves as fat and dark-skinned, which is an ideal body sought after in rural Ankole despite their age. However, one should note that participants from urban centers who perceived their bodies as “just right” identified not too slender and not too fat but “medium” and chocolate skinned as the perfect body. This seemed to be based on influences such as the media and bodies of that of Beyoncé and Anita Fabiola (celebrities) and the fashion industry. Participant 12, a 20-year-old who lives and studies in the capital city, describes it as a place highly Westernized. She believed that everyone was aspiring toward what they see on TV and social media. She says:

I still believe that light skin is the beautiful and skinny just average weight but not very skinny, like a medium-size, small waist, and a relative bum not like mine (laughing) don’t go crazy. In terms of hair, I don’t have any preference because people look nice with short hair, long hair but I still believe in the whole light skin and the curvy body as beautiful.

In Uganda, people’s bodies are commonly described using figures to depict body figures. These figures ranged from one to nine. This is a continued and common practice for young and older people when describing one’s body. The figure one describes a slender body without curves that is usually masculine, while the figures six depicts a pear-shaped figure, while eight describes an hourglass figure, figure and figure nine refers to when one has a larger upper body than the lower body. So, when describing what is considered to be beautiful, participants had various yet similar descriptions of a beautiful woman in Ankole. In this case, when participants described their appearance, they associated their bodies with figures one to nine. Figures six and eight described the sought-after body while figures one and nine were used to describe an “ugly body”. Participants who did not identify with figures “six” and “eight” reported negative feelings toward their bodies. A “figure six” body was described by participants to mean that one has a slimmer upper body and a larger lower body with “big hips and buttocks”, while “figure eight” meant one’s body had bigger breasts a “wasp”-like waist and a large behind. Figures one and nine were described by participants as the least desirable bodies.

“Figures one and nine” are the ugliest, where one usually doesn’t have curves, hips, and a bum they’re sticks and built like boys, no man would want a woman who is built like a man or boy because then who will be the man in the relationship.

“Figures six and eight” are very feminine, my friends and mother tell me that when you have big hips, giving birth will be very easy so having big hips is very important, this is why I drink a lot of milk to ensure that my hips continue growing bigger.

Again, one should note that the results show contradictory statements from participants from rural and contemporary urban Ankole. Participants from rural Ankole identified a fat woman as the ideal body type based on images from their parents and cultural traditions, while participants from contemporary Ankole identified a slender and curvy woman as the ideal body type based on images in the media.

I think Nicki Minaj has a great body, she may be cosmetically enhanced but I think that’s what a perfect body looks like. (Participant 12)

3.2. Internal and External Comparisons

Results indicated that participants made comparisons of their bodies with what they see in the media, among friends and peers, in their homes and their community. Comparisons include the young woman’s own thoughts about how their body compares with others (internal beauty comparison), as well as those stemming from criticisms or comments from those in their social network (external beauty comparisons). These comparisons have been shown to influence their self-perceptions of beauty, in turn encouraging feelings of self-hate and lack of confidence.

When asked when body criticism began in their lives, most stated that they began to notice differences with their bodies and other girls and women when they turned 12 and 13 years old. This was usually pivotal when they began high school or started their first period. Results showed that their comparisons with friends and peers was notable to them in evaluation of their own beauty. Participants reminisced on their first time they developed a negative body image. However, it should be noted that body preferences differed with age. For example, for participants whose bodies began to change rapidly during puberty with enlarged hips and breasts, they developed a negative body image and were more likely engaged in risky relationships because such features meant that they had become women and were mature enough to engage in such behavior such as sex and drinking alcohol.

When asked when body criticism from peers and others in the community began, participant 12, born and raised in the city, reflected back when she was just 13 and how she felt about her body:

When I turned 13, my friends would point out that my hips were of a woman and that my breasts were big. Whenever I would walk back home, taxi men would tell me that my body was that of a grown woman and that I should just stay home and get married and have children. I hated walking back to school fearing that they would touch me and make more stupid comments.

Participants over the age of 16 in significant relationships who described their bodies as too thin and reported having negative feelings and self-hate toward their bodies resorting to overeating, because a small body meant that one was not feminine enough, and they were associated with children. Small breasts, small hips, and a small behind meant participants were not yet young women. One 21-year-old woman from the city described her time growing up, when all her friends started showing off their growing breasts, yet she had not grown an inch. She felt insecure when comparing herself with her friends:

When I turned 16, my breasts did not grow like the rest of my friends, I tried everything they told me for them to get bigger like I rubbed fruit on my breast every night hoping that they grow, my friends would make fun of me until they eventually came when I turned 18.

Similarly, the study showed that the perceptions of peers and others of their bodies affected the way the participants felt about their body image. Most participants reported that friends, intimate partners, and coworkers had their perceptions of a beautiful woman, and these perceptions oscillated from a fat dark-skinned woman to a slender light-skinned woman to a curvy, medium weight and chocolate-skinned woman. One young mother reported that her body has never looked the same since she gave birth. She hates that her waist has gotten bigger and when asked how her partner feels about her, she says that:

When I got married at 20, I had a very small waist and my husband made it a point reminding me that it’s one of the reasons he fell in love with me. But now I have added a few kilograms especially around my waist after having two children, I try everything from slimming pills to drinking lemon tea every day to get my waist back. It’s honestly frustrating and I hate going to parties with my friends because I don’t feel beautiful anymore.

All participants in the study endorsed comparing themselves to others, thus shaping their perceptions of a beautiful body in Ankole.

3.3. Relationship Influences

Contrary to the majority of participants being greatly influenced by their own perceptions of what a beautiful body should be, those who had positive relationships with parents and peers and relied largely on their religious beliefs did not perceive any body type as ideal but believed that a beautiful woman was one that was kind, decent, and God-fearing. These participants despite their age brackets described beauty as authentic. A few of the participants who identified as religious reported high self-assurance compared to those who did not consider themselves religious. One young woman considered herself as very religious, believing that the church can act as a solace for hope and love. She believes that her love for herself and her body regardless of how she looks is brought on by her faith in God. When asked how she feels about her body she says:

I am confident in my skin, God made us in his image, so everyone is beautiful; besides, we all can’t look the same. I always pray to God whenever I have feelings of self-doubt and hate.

Participants who listed positive relationships with their family, peers, and friends described their perceptions of beauty to be genuine and more authentic. Many participants reported having more positive relationships now that they are older. They also reported self-assurance and a positive outlook toward their bodies brought on by these relationships.

3.4. Dietary Habits

All participants reported adopting dietary habits based on the perceptions they have of their ideal body. However, it should be noted that dietary habits were consistent with expectations in the two contrasting societies in Ankole. Dietary habits of participants from rural Ankole encouraged weight gain and practices such as the all-dairy and carbohydrate diets. For example:

The Bahima girls only drink milk; fresh warm milk to be specific; they mix the yogurt with millet flour porridge, the milk will fatten the girl because the nourishment is of both carbohydrate and protein.

Dietary habits of participants from urban centers and towns in Ankole encouraged weight loss or overeating. Diets consisted of refined food, evasive diets such as juicing, plant-based diets, and no-carb diets. Participants who adopted such dietary habits were most likely between the ages of 20 and 24 years and were either working or at the university. The majority of the participants who adopted these diets reported low confidence and self-hate toward their bodies brought on by peer pressure from friends and colleagues. An example:

During the lunch break at my workplace, my boss has a habit of pointing out our imperfections, like one time she told a friend of mine that she needs to eat more vegetables because she has a big tummy, so currently she’s on a no-carb diet.

A few participants at workplaces and school described practices of skipping meals and taking part in complicated diets such as all-green diets and no-carb diets as they struggled to attain the desired body. This often led to anxiety, stress, and underperformance at school and work.

4. Discussion

This paper aimed to investigate adolescents and young women’s perceptions of a beautiful woman in Ankole and how these perceptions have appeared to affect their feelings toward their bodies. Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development (1934) and feminist theory on body image development [ 27 ] address the existing socio-cultural influences on the female body in Ankole brought on by ever-changing globalization. This is manifested in the contradictory perceptions of beauty expressed in the voices of these young women in Ankole. There are clearly both psychological and physical risks and benefits of different types of influences on beauty expectations. The long-term goal of the study is to develop an intervention to promote body positivity and high self-esteem in young women in Uganda. In order to realize this goal, the results of the study will significantly inform the conceptualization, design, and implementation of future interventions.

The socio-cultural theory posits that existing social norms such as those related to peer perceptions, parents, and the media influence behavior and thought processes among young people through the messages that are conveyed [ 11 ]. Adolescents aspire to fit in, and this may encourage their need to seek approval through adopting behavior that is supported by social agents [ 10 , 11 ].

The socio-cultural theory largely explains how young people learn from the interactions they have with important social agents in their lives, but it fails to elucidate the feelings young people develop when they make comparisons with existing beauty ideals in society. This study adopted the self-discrepancy conceptualization by Higgins (1987) that explains that when individuals, in this case adolescents, make comparisons with a person, most likely using images presented in society and find an incongruity, consequences arise. According to the literature [ 3 , 28 ], adolescent girls will modify their eating behaviors to fit the ideal standard of beauty presented in that society [ 3 ]. College students reported having developed eating disorders brought on by the slender ideal presented in the media through magazines and social media [ 28 ]. The self-discrepancy theory highlights the feelings young people develop when they make comparisons with unattainable images presented and may lead to the dissatisfaction and satisfaction they have with their body images. The study adopted the feminist theory of the body that looks to existing structures in society that have long focused on the body image of women with cultures all over the world presenting the desired image [ 12 , 26 ]. These cultures have traditional practices in place that put women’s bodies at the center of intrigue. These practices include female genital mutilation in many African states, feet binding in China, and female fattening in the northern and east of Africa.

Adolescent girls and young women’s perceptions of beauty may differ depending on what type of society they live in [ 29 ]. Beautiful women in Ankole as described by the majority of young adult girls are fat—this is shown in their description of a beautiful woman, where they compare her body to objects in nature. This finding is supported by literature [ 16 , 21 ] that claims the African cultural preference of a beautiful woman is fat. Studies by [ 21 ] show that this perception has encouraged young women to adopt unhealthy eating habits such as overeating and carb-loaded diets to attain this ideal. This has led to an increase in obesity and cardiovascular diseases among young women and girls.

However, it should also be noted that there has been a shift in paradigm where fatness was and is in some parts of Ankole synonymous with beauty. Findings show that while the perception of a beautiful woman in Ankole is fatness, this is not experienced by some in urban places in Ankole society that are more Westernized. Some of the young adult Ankole girls from urban areas described a beautiful woman as one that was medium with average-size hips and a large behind, which can be described as curvy with Eurocentric features of beauty. This was common in older and highly educated participants who reported a low level of self-assurance and confidence toward their bodies based on their descriptions. According to studies [ 1 , 7 , 20 , 29 ], there is a shift from the traditional perceptions of feminine beauty to more contemporary aspects of feminine beauty.

While the literature on some African cultures of the female body such as those of west Africa and south Africa [ 16 , 20 , 30 ] show that fatness is synonymous to beauty, this study contradicts such literature showing that some of the young adult girls from urban areas of Ankole are driven by the effects of globalization and have beauty expectations that are similar to Westernized views, which are largely Eurocentric. Many young women and girls from urban areas of Ankole have adopted a Westernized view of beauty that is the thinner and curvier body. Most of the comments made by others focus the participant on “shedding” the extra weight by adopting unhealthy eating habits such as skipping meals or adopting a no-protein diet to meet the unrealistic expectations of the body ideal.

In this study, rural districts of Ankole show that adolescent and young adult girls of the ages of 16–24 make internal and external beauty comparisons. Young women in rural Ankole may adopt the dietary habits of the Ankole society to strive for the fat beauty notion. Results showed that because slenderness is associated with being weak and unhealthy, young women who made positive comparisons to others with larger bodies adopted dietary habits that encouraged weight gain. The studies [ 16 , 19 ] look to the Ankole culture and the emphasis on a dairy diet of milk that acts as a source for enlarging their physical features. This supports the claim in [ 21 ] that women in Uganda seek extra weight to appear more desirable and similar to the rest of women in their culture, encouraging poor eating habits that may place them at risk for health problems such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

The findings also reflect how relationships in society influence beauty perceptions of young women and girls. According to [ 27 , 29 ], body dissatisfaction is greater for women in socially valued roles such as employment and romantic relationships. The finding resonates with a study on peer and parental relationships where the author found that parent and peer comments on appearance encouraged unhealthy body image [ 2 ]. Young people may dwell on such comments and in turn may flounder in their work [ 15 ]. These findings verify those of [ 2 ], indicating that young women and may internalize unrealistic beauty perceptions from significant others and employers, placing young adult girls at risk of developing unrealistic perceptions of their bodies based on the poor judgements toward their bodies brought on by those close to them.

Similar to [ 2 , 9 , 31 , 32 ], this study suggests that socio-cultural influences affect the way perceptions of body image and beauty develop. While most socio-cultural influences such as parents, peers, religion, and the media reported in the study tend to create a negative body image based on unrealistic perceptions of beauty, the young women in the study reported that these socio-cultural influences also encouraged their positive perceptions of their bodies. The authors of [ 33 ] explain that when surrounded by people who constantly focus on what is inside one’s mind and not the outside, a person’s perception of beauty tends to focus more on the mind. This finding suggests that positive relationships with affirmations may encourage positive perceptions of the body.

Limitations

The sample was limited to 30 participants in particular districts in Ankole to provide their experiences with the existing social expectations of the female body. Therefore, the findings are limited in their representativeness of young women in these areas. The participants included were purposively selected; thus, they are not representative of the larger population of all adolescent girls and young women in Ankole. Girls of 18 and below tended to be less expressive than young women older than 18, so many of the narrative illustrations were for participants above 18 years old. Therefore, the findings may not represent all experiences of adolescent girls and young women. Future research on a larger population across the different regions within Uganda is encouraged, given that Uganda is a multi-culture state with differing beauty ideals.

5. Conclusions

This study has shown that adolescent girls and young women’s perceptions of beauty largely stem from socio-cultural influences; the study shows that young people will seek to attain unrealistic body shapes and sizes largely because the societies in which they live have created these images. Perceptions of these unrealistic images are shown to be shaped by socialization to outside influences such as the media. It can be argued that perceptions born out of such influences encourage unrealistic goals of body appearance, in turn affecting young people’s self-esteem. Findings suggest the need for a reframing of the emphasis on other positive developmental assets of young women rather than on their physical appearance. Government campaigns with supportive curricula and media messages that focus on building the self-esteem of young people could positively contribute to fostering generations of young women who are full of self-confidence and national pride.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge the Mbarara University of science and technology and the Participants from the Ankole region. The author wishes to thank Alex Kukundakwe, Noreen Atwijukire and Arinatwe Rita for data management.

Interview questions (Narrative interviews) for young women and girls.

• How would you describe a beautiful woman in the Ankole culture? (Introduce the topic)
• In your own opinion with body image, how do you fit within the Ankole culture beauty standards? (Probes for positives and negatives)
• As a young person growing up in in this society, have you and other young women of Ankole compared yourselves to young women and girls in media (social media that is Facebook, Instagram, snapchat, and the local media) and the media?
• In your own experience, how do young women and girls talk about their bodies when in each other’s company? (Probe: How often?)
• As young woman growing up, have you had positive/negative attitudes about dark skin and light skin?
• Why do you think women and girls are much more likely to engage in body appearance than men and boys? (Probe: Why women and girls and not men and boys? Why men and boys and not women and girls?)
• As a young man or boy, how would you describe a typical female body you desire and dislike? (Probe for appreciation and shaming conversations over female body image: What reactions do you have to those kinds of conversations? Do you ever have conversations like this?)
• Have you ever been in a relationship? (Probe for (1) positive appreciation of her body by the fiancée. (2) Positive appreciation for self-perception of her body due to the comment made by the fiancée/partner/fiancée. (3) Shaming comments of her body made by her fiancée/partner/boyfriend. (4) Her self-perception of her body from the shaming comments made by her fiancée/partner/boyfriend.)

Facilitators and Barriers to Body Image Among Adolescents Girls and Young Women

• What was happening with your body during this time?
• What messages did you receive about your body and appearance?
• What did people say about your body?
• What kinds of non-verbal messages did you receive?
• When do you focus on the physical aspects that you think need to be changed?
• When do you feel comfortable with what you see? What traits do you like?
• How do others respond to your appearance now? Does this have an effect on your feelings of body criticism or acceptance?
• What circumstances, emotions, thoughts, or other factors might impact whether you feel positively or poorly about your body in your current daily life?
• To what extent does “body criticism” limit, constrain, hurt, or otherwise feel oppressive to you?
• Does it cause harmful body practices such as over or under-eating, over or under-exercising, etc.?
• How much time do you spend thinking about your body and appearance in interactions with others? How do you think body criticism affects your interactions with others?
• How often do you engage in conversations about body image, and how do you think they affect you?
• As a young person growing, how did your attitude about skin tone develop throughout your life, particularly your childhood?
• Is there a body shaming issue at school, in your homes, from the community and intimate relationships? (Probe: If you feel there is body shaming, what should be done about it?)
• In your own experience, because of the media, is there a specific definition of a ‘perfect body’ that young women and girls want to achieve? (Probe: What struggles do you go through to achieve this body?)
• In your own experience, does the Ankole traditional society create an unattainable body image for young women, and how do you feel about the way the media portrays women and men?
• In your own experience, what do we do about the ways we view our bodies a norm that has been ingrained into our psyche for many years?

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, R.K.; methodology, R.K.; validation, R.K., C.M. and D.A.; formal analysis, R.K.; investigation, R.K.; resources, R.K.; data curation, R.K.; writing—original draft preparation, R.K.; writing—review and editing, S.K.; supervision, C.M., S.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study has been approved for a period of one year from 25 November 2019 to 24 November 2020 and the approval number is SS466ES. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Mbarara University of Science and Technology and the Uganda National Council for Science & Technology. After recruitment.

Informed Consent Statement

Consent forms were distributed to young adults above the age of 18. They were given detailed information on the study and the minimal risks it might bring up, such as the topic of discussion may bring out memories or experiences that might trigger uncomfortable memories. It is also possible that you might get tired during the interview or find some of the questions hard or uncomfortable to answer. Assent forms were distributed to young people below the age of 18 with a parent and guardian present. The researcher described the research in detail, explaining the purpose and importance of the study. Then, consent forms were presented to the parents asking if they would allow their child to take part in the study, including interviews without the parent present to facilitate the discussion of personal perceptions. Participants were reminded that participation was voluntary and that all data were confidential and protected by assigning a unique identification number to the interview transcripts instead of their names. Assent forms were signed by the younger girls following parental consent.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Melissa Blake

Melissa Blake is a freelance writer covering relationships, disability issues and pop culture. She was born with the rare bone disorder, Freeman-Sheldon syndrome. Melissa's written for CNN, The Washington Post, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping, among others, and went viral with her #MyBestSelfie campaign in response to online trolls who criticized her appearance.

Follow her on Twitter @melissablake and read her blog, So About What I Said .

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Why I’m Speaking Up About Toxic Beauty Standards

As a disabled woman, i was taught that i could never be beautiful — and that’s a problem.

I recently started re-reading some of my old journals. I like to do this from time to time because I usually find myself seeing my past in a new light that teaches me something, especially as I get older.

Each night, I’d read several entries; some were a mere recounting of the day’s events while others expressed that all-too-common yearning of teenage crushes.

It seemed pretty harmless and just as I remembered things happening at the time.

But then I noticed something I’d never really paid attention to before: So many entries were littered with words like “fat” and “ugly” — there might have even been a “disgusting” in there too.

This is how I wrote about myself, using the cruelest of words. I wrote about how I needed to lose weight and how no one guy would ever love me because I was so ugly.

To say that I was stunned as I read what I had to say about myself is an understatement. But when I thought about it through the lens of my disability, I suppose it was inevitable that I would struggle with feelings of self-worth and loving myself, especially in the face of our society’s toxic beauty standards.

I was born with Freeman-Sheldon syndrome , a genetic bone and muscular disorder. I had some 25 surgeries by the time I turned 15 and spent my childhood and teen years in a haze of hospital stays, doctors appointments and what seemed like one surgery after another. I had surgeries to straighten joints and muscles in my hands, knees and hips as well as surgery to correct scoliosis. In a weird way, those medical days were sort of comforting; no matter how serious the surgeries were, everything turned out alright.

Plus, for the first 15 years of my life, hospitals served as a cocoon of sorts, wrapping me up and shielding me from the outside world. I knew what to expect every time I rolled through those doors in my wheelchair — I had the hospital-stay routine down to a science (no pun intended) and each time became a little less scary.

As I got older, I learned pretty quickly that my disability made me different — and for the most part, I could handle being different. I could handle all that medical stuff. I could handle using a wheelchair to get around. And yes, they might not have been the epitome of fashion, but I could even handle wearing basic, clunky custom-made orthopedic shoes. Sure, it could all be frustrating at times, but I’ve learned to adapt to the physical challenges of being disabled.

But no amount of surgeries or hospital stays could have prepared me to face life outside those white walls. Inside the hospital, I felt safe and accepted, but outside the hospital? Well, that was a completely different story. It’s a story that I’ve only just begun to unpack in the last few years. It’s a story about identity and how our society views disabled people. And, ultimately, it’s a story of a society that is harsh and unforgiving and toxic (not to mention full of mixed messages) when it comes to beauty standards.

Of course, these toxic beauty standards aren’t something I learned overnight; turns out, it was a far more insidious process, one that started when I was young. I watched Disney movies with beautiful princesses and put on elaborate fashion shows with my Barbie dolls. I even idolized models in magazines, with their flawless skin and perfect hair. Everything from TV shows and movies to the ads I saw in magazines sold this idea of beauty that women, especially, should aspire to. I kept seeing this message over and over, popping up like a neon sign that flashed, “You must look like this!”

By the time I reached my early 20s, what had started out as just an idea of beauty had turned into a full-fledged standard — and a toxic standard at that.

How you should look.

How you should dress.

How you should wear your hair.

Our society has a very narrow definition when it comes to beauty, and if you’re not flawless with perfect proportions, then you’re left out of the pretty people club. There’s no room for even the slightest deviation, which makes it all feel so oppressive sometimes.

Disabilities are never included in that definition and, honestly, I’m not surprised. When you spend your entire life in a disabled body like I have, you get a front-row seat to how society views disabilities. They’re seen as gross and unattractive — and disabled people are seen as broken. Broken, in the eyes of the world, can never be beautiful. So people like me forever exist outside the lines, far away from even being considered pretty, let alone beautiful.

Even worse, social media has only fueled the pressure to be perfect. These days, I can’t even open Instagram without seeing this quest for perfection play out in real time. People share their reality in photos and reels and the temptation to “touch up” that reality has never been stronger. A photo filter here and a full face of makeup there and — poof — reality isn’t reality anymore. Sure, I’ve found myself using a filter to get better lighting or to make my face glow. In the end, the photo may have popped more, but it wasn’t authentic and only reinforced the pressure the next time I posted.

In 2019, the last thing I expected to do was take a very public stand against toxic beauty standards, but that’s exactly what happened. After a troll commented that I should be banned from posting selfies because I was too “ugly,” I posted not one, but three selfies as a defiant response.

There it was again. The word I’d scribbled in my diary so many years ago. Ugly is how I felt for so many years, all because I’d internalized society’s definition of what beauty should be.

That nasty comment probably would have broken teenage me, but 2019 me had come a long way in loving and accepting herself. With my multiple-selfies response, I wanted to let trolls know that they wouldn’t get to me, but I also wanted to start a conversation about how ubiquitous and damaging these toxic beauty standards have become.

Thankfully, that conversation is still going strong today, and it’s even led to a book deal for me. I’m currently writing my first book called “Beautiful People” about living with a disability. In fact, there’s a whole chapter about how the words “beautiful” and “disabled” belong in the same sentence.

The truth is, our culture’s beauty standards aren’t just unrealistic, they’re toxic and unattainable. I’ll never stop speaking up about that — not just for me, but for disabled people everywhere.

And I hope that after reading this, you’ll take some time to think about how important it is to find the beauty in everyone, including people with disabilities, too.

Pretty please .

• Toxic Beauty Standards For Women — MODA MAGAZINE ›
• Unrealistic body standards create toxic environment – The Standard ›
• Toxic Beauty Standards Harm Women – The Highlander ›

Good Sex with Emily Jamea: Body Image and Sex

What is body dysmorphia (bdd), my breast reduction gave me my life back, facebook has known for a year and a half that instagram is bad for teens despite claiming otherwise – here are the harms researchers have been documenting for years, considering plastic surgery here’s what you should know., how sarah baartman’s hips went from a symbol of exploitation to a source of empowerment for black women.

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What Students Are Saying About How Social Media Affects Their Body Image

A recent article put a spotlight on how social media can fuel body dysmorphia in boys. We asked teenagers how these apps make them feel about the way they look.

By The Learning Network

Please note: This post is part of The Learning Network’s ongoing Current Events Conversation feature in which we invite students to react to the news via our daily writing prompts and publish a selection of their comments each week.

In “ What Is ‘Bigorexia’? ” Alex Hawgood reports on a social media landscape dominated by muscle-building content and fitness influencers, and how it affects the way increasing numbers of teenage boys feel about their own bodies.

As we regularly do when The Times writes about an issue that touches the lives of young people, we used our daily Student Opinion forum to ask teenagers to share their perspectives on social media and body image.

Many students said that social media has been “detrimental” to the way they feel about their looks, and that even though they are aware it doesn’t show the full picture, they still struggle not to compare themselves to the people they see online. They grappled, too, with the heart of the article: male body image issues and why boys and men might have a harder time talking about them. And others shared that sometimes social media can be a positive influence on their health, motivating them to make changes or just accept their bodies the way they are.

Thank you to all those from around the world who joined the conversation this week, including teenagers from Great Neck, N.Y.; Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas; and Taiwan .

Please note: Student comments have been lightly edited for length, but otherwise appear as they were originally submitted.

Many Teenagers Agreed That Social Media Has Been Harmful to Their Body Image and Self-Esteem.

Social media greatly affects my body image. There are beautiful people online, and with TikTok’s “that girl” or “small waist” trends, I wonder why I can’t have the same flat, toned stomach or the same tiny, hourglass waist despite all the exercising and healthy eating I do. Recently I have been feeling bad about my appearance, fully knowing that I have a healthy body and that I should be grateful to have a body that other girls want.

This leads me to another question, about the line between fit and fanatical. I have seen weight loss videos that make no physical sense, and I know girls take unreasonable measures to achieve their goals. But even knowing that it can be unhealthy, I can’t help but ask myself if just a little overexercising or a little starvation could pay off.

— Katie, Great Neck, NY

Growing up with social media in this day and age is absolutely detrimental to one’s self esteem and view of their own body. There are hundreds of influencers that are praised for having the perfect body when chances are, it’s completely edited. Which gives off the impression that you can’t feel comfortable in your skin without using FaceTune. Beyond that, for those who are blind to the amount of editing being done, are put under the impression that if you aren’t “perfectly” skinny or your stomach isn’t toned and flat then you aren’t beautiful. I have struggled with body confidence and I find myself deleting Instagram whenever it gets too bad because I am subconsciously wishing I looked like the girls on my feed.

— Sarah, Wheaton

From time to time, I scroll and scroll and subtly wish I had the charm and charisma, and in rare cases the body types of other men. Now, I do not have the most buff body type, justifying my common thought process … For example, in a post that blew up, people commented on any negative detail they could find about me. Some commented on my lanky, lean stature, which led to insecure thoughts. I thought I had to “appear” stronger so I would not have been made fun of.

— Alain, Valley Stream

Influencers share their “what I eat in a day” videos, and while their intentions may not be malicious, comparison truly becomes the thief of joy. You start wondering about how much you should be eating. Are you over-consuming? Are you eating too much sugar? Should you be eating after eight pm? Is this cookie worth it when, like they say, “summer is just around the corner?” While I admit that I have benefited from some nutritional information that has been taught by professionals on apps like TikTok and Instagram, the perpetuation of unrealistic beauty standards has been overwhelmingly detrimental for me.

— Ava, Los Angeles

I’ve been battling anorexia for almost two years, but I’ve been hateful towards my body since at least 2016. I still have marks from where my 3rd-grade self scratched the measurements of my waist and hips in pencil on my bathroom door. Back then, I was watching the YouTubers of the mid-2010s, who looked effortlessly flawless showing their midriffs in halter tops and mini skirts, when I could never feel confident wearing the same things, despite being slender.

During the pandemic, I increased my consumption of social media and began to feel “inspired” by all the ultrathin supermodels and heroin-chic movie stars of the 90s and 00s that were glorified by nostalgic Instagram pages. My explore page was tuned to my sudden interest in 1200-calorie meal plans and Victoria’s Secret ab workouts. Every time I opened Instagram, I was motivated to cut my portion sizes and to exercise even more. I felt proud of the sudden protrusion of my collarbones and ribs, the smallness of my wrists, the sharpness of my jawline. What I didn’t know is that I was slipping down a very steep slope, altering my brain and rendering myself potentially infertile.

Mr. Hawgood’s quote, “The line between getting fit and fanatical is not always clear,” is incredibly true. At some point, I crossed that line, but I couldn’t tell you when or where. All I know is that being thin became an obsession, and my relationship with food and exercise hasn’t been the same since 2020.

— LB, Hoggard High School, Wilmington NC

When I was in fifth grade I got Instagram and at first I was obsessed … It was all so new, but eventually I realized there was “no harm.” I regret thinking that. I would follow all the celebrities my friends did and it started to make me look at them differently. I would look at where they were and what they were wearing and compare it to my life. I started to feel inadequate about the way I dressed and looked …

Eventually, I couldn’t stand the unhappiness of it all and I deleted the app. At first it felt weird. I would turn my phone to check it and nothing was there, in the end I forgot about it and I am better because of it. Social media makes you feel like you are less than you are.

— Laura, J.R. Masterman Philadelphia PA

Social media does affect the way I see my body. As someone who struggles with gender dysphoria, it can be difficult to see others online who I think look better than me. For a few years now, I found out that I’m transgender. Unfortunately, until I’m old enough to start my transition, I look very feminine. I want to appear more masculine, but for now there isn’t much I can do. The ability to see so many people online, in this case, other trans people who pass more than I do or seem to have a better transition than me, can be really frustrating …

I do still struggle with my dysphoria, and I still sometimes struggle with making comparisons. But social media has also given me a place of comfort, knowing that others struggle and relate like I do and that I’m not alone in this experience.

— Ashton, HHHS

And That Men and Boys Face Unique Pressures …

I believe that there is a significant gap when talking about female’s body images versus male’s. Not only in social media but also in real world connections, males are taught differently than girls about how to think about their struggles and insecurities. People seem to notice the struggles female’s face when it comes to body image issues, but it is all too common for them to overlook the struggles that males face. Society directly talks about the negative effects of social media on female’s body images, but talks around male’s. They are often discouraged to share their struggles and sometimes even ignored when attempting to share.

— Devynne, Comets

I feel that oftentimes men are discouraged from sharing about the struggles or insecurities they may face in relation to their bodies. Unfortunately, I think society has pinned body image issues as more of a “women’s issue,” which is inaccurate. All individuals, regardless of gender, can suffer with body image issues. I think it’s important that there are safe spaces for men to discuss their own personal struggles with body image insecurities. When we help all people, not just those identifying as female, with their body image issues, society as a whole improves as it becomes more accepting of all individuals and their respective struggles.

— Sam, Valley Stream North

It is very frustrating that there still exists a negative stigma around males suffering from eating disorders and body dysmorphia. It is alarmingly common that males begin to feel a consuming, self-destructive pressure to become “jacked” from a young age. I see my own friends taking creatine, feeling guilty for not getting their daily “pump,” and force-feeding themselves obscene amounts of protein. But they’re helpless — being male and vulnerable results in ridicule. This type of isolation and struggle will ruin a person’s life and health …

— Katharine, Long Island

… and Hurdles to Talking About Their Struggles.

Before men were taught to hide how they felt because if they did they were considered less of a man. Now people want men to express how they feel but they are still ashamed for sharing their feelings, especially on social media because if they share too much they will be mocked for it by being told they’re acting like a little girl.

— Edgar, John H Francis Polytechnic HS

I feel as if men are reluctant to share their insecurities related to their bodies due to the fact that they are afraid they won’t hear any positive reinforcement. Some males feel as if it is necessary to compete with one another and I think that if they do share their insecurities, it will hurt their “ego.” I think this is all part of a more prominent issue, toxic masculinity, which makes people feel that they must be the protector and fit if they want to compete with others and succeed. Personally, I would not share my struggle with others because I don’t think my friends would care or give any positive reinforcement that would push me forwards.

— Menash, New York

For men, there is often competition to be physically strong as well as emotionally strong. Social media images of “strong” men influence younger and younger boys who change their eating, exercise, and social habits. Although acceptance of men sharing feelings of insecurity has improved, society still expects men to be strong and not subject to such feelings or influences.

— Kristina G., Miami Country Day School, FL

I feel that in a society that values qualities of strength, stability, and resiliency in men, a trend exists where they are discouraged from talking about emotions and struggles as a whole, but especially in sharing struggles or insecurities related to their bodies. Most males associate the sharing of emotions and hardships as a sign of weakness. Of vulnerability. Considering that body image and disorders are also highly associated with women and is rarely applied to men, I would believe that this would only further deter men from possibly speaking out about their issues. Men also tend to draw a connection between their physical attributes, such as height or muscular strength, directly to personal traits about themselves and other men. A man who is taller and has larger muscles is seen as more powerful and dominant, while a shorter man is regarded in an opposite manner. By admitting to issues with body image, I feel that men would see this as an equivalent to an emotional attack on their character which opens the door for what they feel are unwanted conversations and opinions.

— Sasha, Great Neck, New York

Some Said Following Body-Positive Content Can Be Encouraging.

I find that I encounter more body positive content than negative. The reason for this though depends who you follow and surround yourself with, and I make sure to surround myself and follow those who encourage me instead of putting me down. When I see body positive content on social media I find that it just makes me fell normal for the body I have. Positive content can show people that your body doesn’t define you, and that you shouldn’t worry about having the smallest waist or biggest muscles. The thing it promotes most though is that if you want to get in shape and be healthier then the only person you should do it for is yourself.

— Alexis, Hanover Horton High School

I have encountered body-positive videos on social media. I think it is very helpful to show people regular bodies and people who are happy in the body they are in. It makes me feel better and happier that people can see what everyday people look like. Not super models and not edited people.

— Lila, J.R. Masterman in Philadelphia, PA

Scrolling through my Instagram feed, I have encountered a lot of body-positive content, though the majority of it is directed toward women. A big trend I’ve seen in body-positive messaging has been the rise of “anti-dieting,” or trying to undo the harm of unhealthy, dangerous restrictions people place on their eating. I want to believe these posts and find some sort of acceptance with what I eat on the daily, but it’s difficult for my mind not to default to worry or concern that others are eating less. Though these posts may be successful in changing some viewers’ opinions on what they eat and motivating them to consider food as a pleasure instead of a burden, they are dwarfed by the sheer quantity of workout posts dominating social media. So, while I think body-positive content on social media certainly helps a small amount of people, it’s probably not going to be enough to offset the damage done by the myriad posts on the supposed glamor of dieting, modeling, and strenuous exercise.

— Jonathan, Great Neck, N.Y.

Some “body positive” influencers argue that showing their imperfections eliminates the damaging and unattainable standards for one’s body on social media and boosts self confidence of social media users. However, models and influencers continue to post perfected images of their bodies with no claims to photoshop or plastic surgery, still enforcing this impossible beauty standard on social media. These influencers might argue that if people with “imperfect” bodies are allowed to flaunt themselves on social media, why can’t they? Some even claim that the insecurities and body image issues some social media users face are not their problem, and they should still be allowed to share their bodies. My own opinion, is that these influencers do create a toxic environment on social media, and personally, I feel insecure after years of scrolling through social media and seeing the bodies of influencers and the praising comments that follow.

— Charlotte, Glen Bard West

Others Said That Influencers Can Provide Motivation for Improvement.

Social Media does not negatively affect the way I feel about my body, nor has it made me feel bad about the way I look. Instead, looking at other males who have nice muscular bodies on social media motivates me to get stronger and more confident in myself since most males I see on social media encourage others to move forward with their lives and not dwell in the past.

One message on social media that I have received … is that I need my body to look healthy and jacked in my own eyes. This is good advice for teenagers since it projects to them that they should be the ones ultimately satisfied with their bodies while staying healthy …

— Augustine, Valley Stream North

Sometimes when I scroll through Instagram or TikTok, I see influencers showing off their routines/diets for getting fit. It doesn’t necessarily make me feel bad about my body, instead it motivates me to push on and try to achieve the body I want. So far, my improvement has made me feel good both mentally and physically. I feel more energetic, confident and happy while also having a plus of being stronger.

— Julian, Valley Stream

I am constantly scrolling through TikTok and Instagram and I often come across gym influencers. When I see them I become more inspired than self-conscious, it kind of serves as a reminder of what you can achieve if you work hard enough. Also, most fitness influencers try to bring up their followers. They post their workout routines and their diets to help their following better themselves …

I relate more to Bobby in his opinion on social media, he says “Those guys made me realize I wanted to get bodies like them and post stuff like them.” I agree with what he says about social media influencers being role models for those starting out going to the gym. They can provide necessary guidance for beginners in the gym as well as a model for what they want to achieve.

— James, Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC

Social media I think has a large impact on how people seem themselves, like explained in the article when seeing all those different people and how much better or popular they are makes some people want to change. That isn’t always a bad thing though because it could just be that one little push that could help someone become healthier ad better. To me it hasn’t made me feel bad or good about the way that I look, but definitely helped me with wanting to get into shape and be better overall.

— Jameson, Syracuse, New York

Social media has not affected the way I feel about my body in any way. Yes, as I scroll through TikTok, I see many men and even teenagers with insane ripped physiques, but never have I felt anxious or inferior to them. I know that they excel in the area of bodybuilding and athletics, but I also know that I excel in different areas such as music and academics. I am proud to be who I am, but I would also like to be like those gym influencers since that would not hurt as it would only benefit me.

— Bidipta, Valley Stream North

Just Remember, Teens Warned, Social Media Doesn’t Show You the Full Picture of Someone’s Life.

I think it is important as a social media user to keep in mind that one’s account is only a glimpse in that person’s life, and for every good picture, there’s dozens of pictures that they do not like. It is a controlled platform and many use filters, photoshop, or other editing tools to their advantage. But then again, something I never quite understood with people arguing that social media is toxic for body image is that nobody is forcing you to use and scroll on that platform; it is everyone’s choice to download the app and pick who they follow. Don’t let what others look like get in your head. Do things for you and lift each other up. Same thing with working out. Make sure you take care of yourself first and foremost, and practice self love each step of the way.

— Zoe, New York

Social media gives us a certain image of how a girl or guys body is supposed to look like and sometimes that image does get in our head. Personally sometimes I do think “oh why cant I look like that” but then you got to realize we’re just all different and sometimes that social media image is photoshopped or just not even real. …

— Paulina, New Mexico

The key to successfully promoting exercise and healthy habits is to show balance: fitness TikTokers should equally promote the parts of their day where they have dessert, go out to dinner with their friends, and take days off. Vulnerable and insecure adolescents who see lifestyles purely focused on exercise and physique are doomed to fall into the trap of eating disorders and isolation.

— Maya, Great Neck, New York

It is difficult to completely blame my poor body image on social media. In reality, it was there long before I downloaded Instagram or Snapchat. However, recently I have noticed myself spending longer and longer staring at random girls that pop up on my For You Page. The simple images of these strangers allows me to compare myself to them. Rather than focusing on my best traits, I focus on what I lack, such as long legs and blonde hair.

In some ways, it gets easier and easier to make these toxic comparisons, however what I often fail to realize is that I am seeing what people want me to see. Posts on social media are typically carefully planned photos that allow people to hide, what they deem, the worst parts of themselves. What is truly the most disturbing is the amount of time I spend tearing myself down based on people I do not know and most likely will never know. Social media in my hands is a rather dangerous entity because it allows me to see the worst parts of myself. Even when trying to escape from its horrid negativity, by bouncing from one app to the next, I am always surrounded by more reasons to feel inferior.

— Grace, RI

In my case, social media has definitely affected the way I feel about myself and my body, due to the many unrealistic standards that are set on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Users on these platforms usually post at times they feel and look their best, often neglecting their usual day-to-day appearances. Social media has caused me to feel as if I have to look a certain way at all times of the day, even though it is clear that 15-second TikTok clips of gorgeous users show just that: only 15 seconds of their day.

— Nikita, New York

On social media, there are many posts disseminating negative messages. They tell you how you should eat, how many times you should exercise, how weight you should be, how tall you should be, and so on. In the end, I hope I can tell anyone who is caring about how you “should” look or having an appearance anxiety that: If you could be yourself, you are perfect.

— Sira, Taiwan

Learn more about Current Events Conversation here and find all of our posts in this column .

Changing Beauty Standards Over the Decades and the Impact on Mental Health

Since 2010, there has been an evolving perception of the consequences of expectations of beauty. Social media, especially Image sharing platforms such as Instagram, have promoted mental health issues for young and old alike. The expectations we place of people to aspire to set standards became more pronounced because everyone was sharing an ideal version of themselves online and leaving their true selves feeling bruised. 

For centuries, people have idolised beauty and demanded set body shapes while damning imperfections . Here we explore how these beauty standards have changed over time and why this new awareness of the damage media and social media has been long-awaited.

An attitude born thousands of years ago.

For Egyptians, the pressure was slim with a high waist and slender shoulders. Beauty of the face was determined by the symmetry of facial features, which was often exaggerated with makeup. Hair was expected to be long and loose braid or flowing freely.

Yet, in Ancient Greece, it was the fashion to be plumper, as it was a sign that you had wealth. If you look at the statues of a Greek goddess, soft curves, delicate facial features, and a light skin were all prized.

A period of Renaissance and then piety

The fashions for beauty very much mirrored the ideals of society. It is no surprise that the Italian Renaissance celebrated a rounder, a broader figure like the ancients. A rounded stomach was celebrated, as was light skin and high foreheads. If you didn’t have a high forehead, you probably plucked back your hairline.

In contrast, the Victorians over in England commended respectability and restraint. Therefore, pulled in waists, pale faces and a general air of delicacy was viewed as beautiful. Women felt the pressure to be thin and toned and to pin up long hair to avoid a sense of being provocative to males.

Media influence begins to kick in

In the 1920s, the first icons hit the mainstream and influenced the beauty ideal. Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Jean Harlow, Mae West, Greta Garbo and Vilma Banksy became pin-ups. While there was an abandonment of the traditional ideas of femininity with boyish looks, there was still a pressure to appear slender, healthy, and youthful that was difficult for some to aspire to.

This media-based pressure increased in the age of Hollywood when stars such as Joan Crawford and Katherine Hepburn represented beauty to the masses. The hourglass figure was more popular, though there was an expectation that you had a slim waist and toned arms and legs. 

The ‘freedom’ of the 1960s

It is easy to believe that the 1960s offered women the opportunity to opt-out of the pressures of beauty expectations. However, there were two female beauty standards: the hippy and the swinging woman. While this represents a huge variety in fashion choices, there was an expectation that you were willowy, thin, long legs and youthful. Women such as Twiggy and Ursula Andres lead as the icons of the time.

The time when weight became an issue

The 1980s and 1990s were notable because an obsession with exercise gave way to an unhealthy desire to be as slim as possible. Here the media played a massive part in shaping mindsets, as we saw the beginning of the age of the supermodel with Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, followed by Kate Moss and Tyra Banks. While understanding body image and its damaging effects started to rise in people’s minds, the pressure for perfection was high. As we entered the 2000s, the risk of being body-shamed was significant, and eating disorders were prevalent.

It is refreshing today to hear the pushback on beauty standards that can damage a person’s self-worth. There is much work still to be done, but attitudes are shifting. 

Dennis Relojo-Howell is the managing director of Psychreg.

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Unrealistic beauty standards cost U.S. economy billions each year

October 7, 2022 – The repercussions of body dissatisfaction and appearance-based discrimination are costing the U.S. economy billions of dollars annually, according to a new report .

Collaborators on the report included the Dove Self-Esteem Project , Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Deloitte Access Economics. Bryn Austin , professor in Harvard Chan School’s   Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and founding director of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) , discussed the report in an October 4 article in Insider.

“What many people don’t realize is that there’s any cost to this, because often people just think of beauty as ephemeral or a superficial kind of concern,” said Austin. For the report, she worked with economists to estimate the cost of unrealistic beauty standards, using methods like those used to estimate the cost of gun violence.

Body dissatisfaction costs the U.S. around $300 billion annually, according to the report. As Austin explained, “If someone is suffering body dissatisfaction severe enough to be showing up in our calculations, they may have a higher risk of developing depression or anxiety or an eating disorder ”—all of which can be costly to treat.

Appearance-based discrimination costs the U.S. roughly $500 billion, the team found. “People are not being hired if they’re applying for jobs and seen as living in a larger body,” Austin said. “People are not being hired with darker skin shades. They may be hired, but given lower pay.”

Children are also affected, Austin noted. Kids with darker skin may receive harsher discipline, which can lower their chances of graduating, going on to higher education, or getting well-paying jobs. “This has a negative cascading effect, not just on that of the individual and their family, but also to workplaces and to our society as a whole,” said Austin.

Austin also wrote an article about the report for MSNBC that detailed her own struggles with body image, citing “the inescapable pressure on girls to be ever-vigilant about our weight.”

Read the Insider article: A Harvard study found unrealistic beauty ideals cost the US economy $800 billion a year. Here’s how.

Read the MSNBC article: A new study puts a massive price tag on America’s toxic beauty standards

Read an Allure article: Society’s Beauty Standards Are Costing Us Billions of Dollars

This article was updated on October 10, 2022.

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Unrealistic Beauty Standards in Media

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