Just because something is in your face all the time, is ever-present, doesn´t mean that it has to become normal or right to me. Even though that seems to happen with a lot of people. So when I look at instagram, the accounts of influencers, celebrities, stars and models, and an always larger getting part of singers I sometimes feel that I am looking at a template. It´s quite funny to think that on one hand individuality is being celebrated as something so great, even by exactly those influencers and celebrities. Celebrated as something important. As something everyone wants to achieve. We are bombarded by it by commercials. Media. Society. Be yourself. Be unique. But what I do see in reality is that a large part of especially younger people are trying to copy the beauty ideal of one template. Sometimes just with instagram filters, sometimes they go further. And this template looks more or less like that: A big booty. Facial features heavily made-up in five or so layers until the outcome looks like a sort of Kim Kardashian lookalike. (Well, I have no clue if she is the original or she copied that from someone else too?) Not to forget lips that are botoxed to a grotesque state. And then those are the same people talking in short clips to their (young) influencer community about how important it is to look natural, to be unique, to be yourself and to look after yourself and your body. They even announce that they want to redefine beauty norms. Exactly what part didn´t I get here?!
I find it impossible to consider something as “normal” just because it´s ever-present. And it makes me sad that society, no matter how hard we try to escape forced norms in order to achieve more freedom and health, still anyhow always falls into another crazy norm.
Text by Sarah K.
Photo by Catalina Morales on Unsplash
