Deeper than Skin: Questions of Traditional Beauty Standards

When I was growing up, I could not relate to any celebrity, model or actress as they were all portrayed in an image of pure perfection. When going on a beach holiday, going into school or simply stepping outside the house, people would notice the difference in my skin. And I don’t blame them; the red marks are noticeable covering my arms, neck, legs and back.

Beauty has an ideal standard which women are held towards and compared to. We are taught that beautiful women look like this in society: The perfected woman lies prone, pressing down her pelvis. Innocent, yet seductive. Her back arches, mouth open, eyes shut, and nipples erect with a fine spray of moisture over her perfectly golden skin. No stretch marks, no birthmarks, no imperfections.

Although I do not dislike my port-wine stain birthmarks, I love that they make me stand out, but it naturally made me wonder how ideal beauty standards influence society and individuals as a whole. Not everyone is comfortable with their skin/body differences displayed in the public eye. Still, I believe the more we expose skin ‘abnormalities’ as normalities, and the more these unique characteristics become ordinary.

"The body is the instrument of our hold on the world."

Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex.

Simone de Beauvoir influenced my understanding of philosophy and feminism because she believed a woman should embrace her identity as both a woman and a human being. By categorising women as the ‘Other’, de Beauvoir highlighted the struggles women faced within society and questioned what being a woman really was and still is.

De Beauvoir’s own personal political philosophy studies influenced her to start thinking of societal concerns rather than her own individual issues. This is where I wish to follow in her footsteps. By expanding on de Beauvoir’s concepts of ‘becoming a woman’, I question how such issues can be identified in societal conceptions of beauty norms.

Objectification and ‘Other-hood’ in the Fashion Industry

Though the magazine and fashion industries are slowly representing those with skin different from what is idealised, there is still a long way to normalise skin ‘abnormalities’ as a norm. Flicking through an average magazine, though vastly improved than before, there remains a limited representation of real women and their skin.

Skin, like age, can tell a thousand stories about a person, who they are, what they have experienced and what struggles they may have faced. Scares can illustrate the burning sensations one could have felt whilst stretch marks demonstrate the strength of a woman through pregnancy.

But what about skin ‘abnormalities’ that are not empirically derived but innately gifted at birth? Why has society often chosen to hide such biological normalities? Why are we shocked when we see people with beautiful, unique skin?

Many lingerie advertisements portray women as naked goddesses with flawless, glowing skin. Her naked torso, eyes shut, back arched. If such images are meant to be expressions of a rictus of ecstasy, then the reader understands from such advertisements that she will have to look like that if she wants to feel like that.

Yet, these are false impressions and objectification of the body. By the term objectification, I will maintain that a woman is degraded to the status of an object, therefore demining her human rights. The female bodies often idealised in magazines and lingerie advertisements are unreal women and hence unreal bodies. In this way, real individuals idealise these fictional bodies and compare themselves to them. Consequently, people with skin and body types that differ from these normalities are categorised as the ‘Other’.

Picture: Vogue Italia, January 2022 cover

Simone de Beauvoir described women as the ‘Other’ in The Second Sex, drawing on the phenomenon of men constructing the concept of woman from their own experience rather than from what women are in reality, stating that women are framed as the ‘Other’. Nevertheless, I claim that this notion of ‘Otherhood’ can also be related to skin ‘abnormalities’. This is as women, and men, are subjected as ‘Other’- different, unwanted, strange, unknown, and misunderstood. In this way, unique individuals with varying skin types can be portrayed as lesser and secondary to those with no skin ‘abnormalities’.

This can be especially highlighted because people with different skin types such as darker skin tones, port-wine stain birthmarks, vitiligo or scars, for example, are confined to a category and represented as different in special features of magazine covers. Such representations are not inclusive and promote seeing such differences as strange and abnormal.

Even though magazines may take a greater interest in the person behind their skin, like in Vogue Italia January 2022, by interviewing them and gaining a deeper understanding of who they are, the front cover images create a vivid picture for the audience of what is idealised and what is different. Veronica Yoko Plebani, the star of the Italian Vogue cover, radiates beauty and power in the image. The photographers did an incredible job at capturing Veronica as herself as well as unveiling her glowing skin. However, what could be an imporvement is removing wording of 'confidence' which promotes difference and abnormality. Words such as 'confidence' suggests that there is a struggle that needs to be overcome. This should be an issue in a world where there are numerous diversities around us. Instead, Veronica and others, ought to be celebrated for who they are like any other indvidual on the cover of Vogue for example.

Rather than causing happiness and joy in one’s own skin and body, the negative representations of skin ‘abnormalities’ can cause more damage than good. When categorising unique skin types as different, individuals often want to change these differences to make themselves normal, to fit in with the crowd.

For example, using treatments to lighten the skin or laser treatment to eliminate port-wine stain birthmarks. Such actions not only make physical changes to a person’s body but mentally damages their perception of themselves in questioning their beauty. This so-called ‘beauty’ objectively and universally exists in magazine representations of women (and equally men).

Women want to embody and mirror such perfections in magazines, and men want to possess women who embody it as society is taught that men battle for beautiful women and beautiful women are happier. Since magazines often lead women to be addicted to this ‘beauty’, this life-threatening addiction is not real, teaching women that they ought to suffer to be beautiful.

In this way, women feel discomfit in their own skin. Not only is discomfort in the way we feel about our skin, but the way our skin and body types are represented in the magazines as well as social media.

Instead, what ought to be promoted is that there are no beauty standards, just ideologies that we should not take so seriously. Nothing, nobody and no skin type is perfect. Imperfections are what makes each individual unique and therefore perfect.

The Problem of European Beauty Standards

However, we must not be ignorant of the European beauty standards that black women are particularly vulnerable to. These standards emphasise skin colours and hair types that exclude many darker-skinned black women.

For example, black women today, such as those with birthmarks and vitiligo, are subject to continuous messages about European beauty ideals from the media and the larger society. Hence, if young black women stand in contrast to what society dictates as attractive, they may find it difficult to accept themselves. This does not mean that they will never accept themselves; instead, it will take more self-love and inner confidence.

Nevertheless, it is not my place to discuss the experiences of black women and their relationship with the European beauty standard. Instead, I hope to point out the issues different individuals face with the concept of an ideal skin type. I believe it is necessary for all individuals to put forward their experiences of such issues. Otherwise, it is an imposition of abstract theory if other’s dictate such matters with no experience.

Conclusion

I conclude that society ought to treat differences outside the European beauty standard with more care and thought. Rather than subjecting words such as ‘confidence’ to magazines with women with skin/body differences outside the norm, they ought to treat them the same way as those who apply to the ‘ideal’ beauty standards. This would not segregate beauty standards and treat people as ‘Other’ but highlight that all skin/body types are beautiful, normal and perfect.

Find out more:

Susan L. Bryant. The Beauty Ideal: The Effects Of European Standards Of Beauty On Black Women. (2013).

Naomi Wolf. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. New York: HarperCollins e-book, 2002.

Simone de Beauvoir. The Second Sex. Translated by Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier. New York: Vinatge e-books, 2010.