Striving for perfection
The fight just to be ourselves.
In the past week I have straightened, curled, dyed, waxed, plucked, erased and enhanced. I have sucked it in with control pants and lifted them up with a padded bra; I've eaten food to be good to my body and chocolate to be good to my soul. I've dieted and exercised, been lazy and ate a whole loaf of bread with nutella on the couch and told myself I love me anyway. I've read about Puerto Rican girls who get plastic surgery at 15 years of age and the plus size model who was never happy with her figure until she reached a size 16.
I've modelled and felt amazing, confident and attractive and I've spotted photos of an ex's new girlfriend and got the “I'm a fat mess” feeling.
And I know I'm not the only one. Perhaps it’s a huge generalisation (I don’t think so), but we women are in a constant battle with our body image. Many of my friends would not dare set foot outside their house without some make-up and their hair done; many have entered the worlds of extreme dieting or binging and most would trade everything to look like their favourite celebrity.
I'll tell you a secret though: we ALL have good and bad days, the good ones where that top you bought makes your boobs look just perfect and the bad ones where the pair of jeans gives you a muffin top and make you feel guilty for that tub of Ben and Jerry’s you ate last week.
Backstage at a fashion show, before the film première, the celebrities you aspire to look like are having the exact same conversations as you and your friends before a night out on the tiles. Phrases such as “That spot is huge”, “How do I cover that scar”? “I've put on weight”, “I've eaten junk food everyday this week” and of course “Does my bum look big in this? are regularly uttered at such events.
The beauty industry is the biggest industry in the world. It preys on our physical insecurities and makes us feel inadequate if we don't meet the ridiculous standards we see in the media; but most of it is fake really. If you had the make-up artists, clothes, lights-and my personal favourite-photoshop, you'd easily look that amazing too.
Sometimes you're left looking at celebrities wondering how much of the original body is left, with all the treatments available now. If you removed the fake tan, hair extensions, veneers, breast implants, gel nails, make-up and every other product available to aid fitting into the 'beauty mould', what would the person actually look like?
Take a look at any glossy magazine and you'll see beauty doesn't really come in all shapes and sizes; it has symmetrical features, flawless skin, nice hair and a lean physique. And, with so many ways of artificially attaining beauty (especially if you have the money to go under the knife). in a few years time we'll all be beautiful.
Designer babies will put an end to any undesirable genes we have floating in the pool; no more weak chins, frizzy hair or perhaps any body hair at all. Everyone could be supermodel tall with a hint of J-Lo’s curves. One wonders if in years from now we won’t have to worry about what we eat, since liposuction will be so cheap we'll be going twice a year to get our figures back. As for muscle tone, forget the gym, implants will do the trick.
We're heading into clone territory really. We'll be like Sims, the same basic model with a few variations of hair colour or skin tone.
One day though, someone will come along with a mole or a gap in their teeth and a whole new beauty revolution will begin.
By: Rachel Lally
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