Beauty Hijacked!

Omneya Ayad

Young people especially teenagers are struggling to live up to Hollywood standards of beauty and fame. Zero size models in dazzling breath taking display outfits which reveal more than they cover. It has become very hard to counteract the preconceived notion of being cool, hip and beautiful if we are haunted by magazines, newspapers, movies; TV shows shoving down our throats one sugar coated definition of beauty.

Therefore, it should not be surprising that young people are obsessed with plastic surgeries. They want to look younger, cooler, and more beautiful and it is a nonstop open ended effort because one can not get enough of all that. One always seeks to beat others in this illusionary beauty pageant, so one would go under the knife countless number of times, and yet satisfaction would be an aim hard to get.

But why are people so keen to look beautiful instead of appreciating their inner beauty?
Why are they obsessed with purchasing the most expensive clothes instead of enriching their souls?
Why do they follow someone else’s standard of beauty instead of defining their own?

People, especially young ones, are trying so hard to “fit in” with the “cool people”. They are so afraid of being outsiders as no one likes to be all alone. So, they apply the old saying “if you can’t beat them, join them”. Therefore, even young people who might be having their own reservations on the preconceived notion of beauty will think twice before they voice their opinions as they can be easily labelled as outcasts.

The inner desire of belonging to a group and sharing common interests is the driving force behind young people’s submission to media standards of beauty. The dire need to gain acceptance of others is the reason behind cheerleading for this false notion of beauty.

The automatic downgraded look that people give to someone who does not fit the standards of beauty is not only harsh, but inhuman as well.

Who gets to decide that this standard is what beauty is all about?

Who says that if one is not starving oneself to remain thin, not wearing heavy make up every morning before going out, and not dressing in latest fashion, then one is not beautiful?

A reality check says that very few people can actually fit perfectly into these criteria so where does that leave the rest of us? We don’t need someone other than ourselves to define beauty for us. Beauty comes from inside not otherwise. It ekes its way from one's inner beautiful soul and personality to reach the surface . The real evidence is that even those who are seen as beautiful by the book, fail to see themselves as such. This is exactly what Dr. Phil once demonstrated in his show as he was explaining that while the extreme makeover program works on the outside, it leaves the inside with an emptiness that no number of plastic surgeries can fix.

An Example in Case

TV talent shows are gaining unprecedented popularity and an increased rating among the shows that are most viewed. Part of the reason why these shows are gaining ground is that the people have had enough of watching movies that provide no sense of reality.

Unfortunately these designed movies which are considered blockbusters are subliminally confining our minds to predefined standards of who deserves to be the prom queen, who is considered the coolest guy in high school, and who is the one who will end up in the street begging his way to get his next fix.

Suzan Boyle, the 47 year old woman who comes from a small village in Britain, managed to dazzle an audience who before she sang, was ready to boo her because she failed miserably on their beauty score sheet. However, once she started to sing, the situation took a different turn. The downgraded looks cast at her turned to utter surprise, and looks of admiration.

She dazzled them with her beautiful voice, but more importantly she shocked their standards of beauty and slammed their inhuman laws across the wall. She proved that she is a lot more than what the eyes can see. The cheering, the constant applause and the ratings that she gained because of the number of people who watched, exceeding 54 million people across the world, is solid proof that beneath the callous shell lies a real pearl.

This is an outcry for those who are so adamant to confine beauty to some frivolous standards which fail miserably in capturing the real essence of beauty. If the outer beauty is the real one , then no number of plastic surgeries can do the job for us. If having a zero size dress is the name of the game then more than 80 percent of women in the world are ugly plain and simple.

Moreover, if there is only one standard of beauty which is the outer beauty, then we would all simply be copycats of each other with no distinctions or individual merits. The truth of the matter is that beauty has many manifestations, but all of which stem from the inside. People would find someone beautiful if he or she has a kind heart, caring personality and great ethics. This is the kind of beauty that would actually appeal to the heart rather than catch the eyes.

Given that, all the people can simply be beautiful because ethics becomes the requirement, and personalities develop but looks do not. We can not be judged by things we don’t have and we are not responsible for. True standards are the ones based on real achievements and genuine efforts, but grading based on eye level perception are not meant to last for more than a look.

We need to think twice before passing instantaneous judgement on others because they can simply fail our notion by dazzling us with a standard of beauty that is more superior than the artificial standard designed by our media.