Esther Hoing, a journalist by profession, got in touch with more than 40 photographers from over 25 countries with one request – to make her beautiful. Her purpose, was to establish whether or not there was a globally accepted standard for Beauty.
The result – Each one got back with a different picture!
What she discovered, and presented to the world, is priceless. This picture epitomizes a long forgone truth that beauty has different meanings for different people in different cultures.
No individual picture can claim to be the most beautiful or the most perfect. Each one is Perfect and Beautiful in its own right.
The lady in the picture is as beautiful in dark skin as she is in the lighter tone. She looks pretty with a complete headscarf and without. She is glamorous with her hair tied up and let loose. She is lovely in her original picture and her ‘beautified’ images.
Then why is being dark skinned in South Asia such a taboo? Why is wearing a Hijab/ headscarf considered an imprisonment across the globe? Why is it not-as-pretty-as-the-girl-in-the-poster if there is no make-up? Why is it that we chase the idea of being “picture perfect” or being “socially acceptable” or even being “the model on the poster”?
Why is it that nations around the world interpose what should be worn or what should not be worn? Who is the “signing authority” on the kind of attire that is acceptable or not? Why do a minority of people dictate the terms to the majority of people?
These questions intrigue the mind whilst they are being asked, but fade into oblivion once the matter has passed. We fail to recognize that the interpretation of beauty and acceptance is expounded by the culture and social environs of a person, being blinded by a false façade created by those who don’t matter, and certainly don’t care. A masquerade created by those who are in the so called “beauty business”, as an approach to make (more) money.
We are bombarded with these fake ideals every day, every single hour. There is no escape from this incessant blitz that slowly creeps into the minds, and sticks there (Recent studies claim that 95% of the impact is subconscious! Only a mere 5% is a conscious “awareness”). Anything repeated often enough, becomes the acceptable truth.
Women, teenagers and even pre-teens are under self – inflicted coercion to “look more beautiful” and chase the idea of a near – impossible perfection in their expression of beauty. Children as young as 5 year olds awfully believe that sexuality and sensuousness are prerequisites for looking and feeling beautiful, murdering their innocence in the process.
All because of the F word – Fashion – that is used to conceal the entire act.
Styles get in and out of fashion just as frequently as daily commuters get on and off the public transport; Beauty has a new definition with each passing day; Perfection has become a daily struggle, with each toil setting the bar higher and higher, making it nearly impossible for commoners to even appreciate - or even think about - their individuality.
Societies that shun the illusion are viewed as “imposing” and “restricting” by those that “embrace” this idea, chasing a mirage every day. Sticking to the roots is a trait to be hidden from the world in the fear of being labelled “old-fashioned”. Women across the globe are inadvertently pushed to pursue perfection, whose bars are set in the name of Fashion and Acceptance in the society.
30 years ago, it did not matter what size or shape or how heavy a woman was. Today, just because some superstar-model-wife-of-a-superstar-footballer is mere bones, the concept of “Size Zero” is established. What more – the world around, women are starving themselves to near-death to achieve this “milestone”. How preposterous!
It is more prudent today, than has been any other time, that we allow ourselves the freedom to appreciate our individual ‘beauty’, in a manner ‘acceptable’ in our distinctive ideals.
Beauty is an individual choice and interpretation and not a globally accepted phenomenon. Beauty is an expression of the inner self, tranquility, posture, grace, charisma and elegance, with every individual having their characteristic beliefs reflecting in their assertion.
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
Beauty is Relative.!
Embrace YOUR Beauty.!
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