We are constantly bombarded with numerous kinds of media all telling us subtly or explicitly what we should look like. We are taught again and again to dislike our normal selves. While it is common knowledge that Indians have herd mentality, this is now further extended even to our physicality. People of certain age groups belonging to a certain place all dress and look alike.
The fact that so many of us have been brainwashed into detesting our appearance has numerous effects on how we will live our life.
What matters is what’s on the Outside not in the Inside
Thanks to media and social networks, a majority of the “broad-minded, educated, progressive” youth have become more superficial than ever. People pout in strange ways, have hair-styles that hardly suit them, put all the possible filters to make themselves look fairer, angle their bodies to make themselves look more desirable.
Even barely shallow people in real life, feel compelled to “go with the flow” when they find themselves amidst large virtual social circles. Dating, Love, and Relationships are exclusively based on physical appearance. This indirectly shames people for not adhering to conventional standards of beauty.
Interviewers and recruiters are far more casual and immature when it comes to hiring for their entry level positions. Even surveys have stated – better looking candidates fair much better when it comes to getting hired or promoted. Even as practical an industry as the Job market has succumbed to the superficiality prevalent all over the world these days.
Pathetic Standards of Human Resource
Since people are more worried about what they look like than what they genuinely are like, very few are putting efforts into their education and employability. In our quest for having the most insta-worthy moments we’ve lost sight of our education and academic qualifications. What we have now is a whole self-obsessed little world of highly literate but uneducated people.
Exams that hitherto had voluminous syllabi are now being trimmed to suit the requirements of spinless young adults who can’t take failure. Teachers have to spoon feed even the simplest of things and nearly everyone’s taking tuitions. Education has been made a far bigger deal than it is and it definitely isn’t as complicated as it is made to be.
People complain of not getting well-paying jobs but rarely realise they don’t even possess skills worth a decent paycheck because they were too busy looking away from the camera for the perfect candid shot.
It continues to be a man’s world
Feminism has deluded women all over into believing radical changes in terms of the attitude towards women have taken place. People are as sexist as before if not more. While even decades ago there were actresses in movies setting standards of beauty, these standards were easier to achieve. The women looked far more natural and aged gracefully. Being dark or fat was not taboo and wrinkles were just another phase of life.
Today, women go to insane lengths to attain the perfect physique, they’re ready to harm themselves for it. It is curious how we seldom find cases of boys being troubled by their appearance and desperately wanting to change themselves.
While it would be ideal to have no group of people suffer any kind of pressure, imposing unnatural standards on just one half of the population is grossly unfair. Women are mostly commended on their intellect, work, or talent only if they manage looking good as well. Men and boys world-over are given more freedom to look like themselves.
Over To You
We complain about superficiality and double standards but don’t realize a lot of these negatives are propagated by people like us or us ourselves. Many a time, it is we who fail to look past someone’s looks, accent, or public image. Being shallow has been so deeply ingrained into our personalities we barely realize it.
If you feel you’re ugly, remember, so is everyone else. Embrace your ugliness! Next time you take a picture screw that filter that makes you whiter. You don’t needs abs and a forlorn expression to appear sexy. Whatever you look like, make sure you look like yourself. Stand straight and look into the camera as if to dare the world – “Yes I look hideous, so what?”
