Beauty standards have been around for ages. As a matter of fact, some of the earliest representations of the female body are of the “Venus Figurines.” These figurines were small statues that date back to 25,000 years ago from Europe. “The statues depict the body as pear-shaped with larger breasts and stomachs. This body was idealized because it was portrayed as a symbol of fertility. During Ancient Greece, the standard was still to have a “rounder” body, though her beauty was more focused on her face. Since the face was the main emphasis of beauty, symmetrical faces were the beauty standard of the time. In the Renaissance period, it was ideal to have a curvy body with flushed cheeks, continuously portrayed by male artists of the time,” according to information gathered from The List, 2017.

We have proof that people cared about what others looked like 25,000 years back, at least; this shows that society needs to stop “controlling” how everyone looks. Some people are looked down upon or discriminated against because of their appearance. Since countries, or the entire world decided to have standards on how people should look, it causes individuals to be bullied, made fun of, rejected, etc. Instead of making expectations, society needs to change and stop caring about what every single person looks like. In this essay, I will state my opinion on people’s desires, photoshop, self, and world positivity.

Starting with people’s desires, ever since I was ten years old, I’ve had social media. Having apps like Instagram and TikTok at such a young age usually makes us think that as we grow older, we should begin to look like the people we see online. Now, this problem could be solved if parents waited to give their children a phone until they were a little older but I didn’t get a phone until I was twelve, and by then almost my entire class had phones, making me feel a bit left out. On social media, there are of course influencers that thousands of people follow and look up to. I usually follow people who have a similar personality to me or a similar body type to mine. That’s how it should be done, rather than following someone who does or says negative things. When there are TikToks of people who aren’t conventionally attractive, some people will comment something horrible to poke at the video's creator.

These are rude things to do and I don’t think that the commenter thinks about how that makes the creator feel. If the creator sees the comment, it might lead them to want to fix their “problem.” I feel like the main reason people get plastic and cosmetic surgeries is because of someone else. Also, using the website of the National Institute of Mental Health, last revised in 2021, a probable leading cause of an eating disorder is “social factors.” These “solutions” to these “problems” aren’t exactly healthy. A few fixes if someone truly can’t deal with the comments would be taking a break from social media, speaking about their feelings to a trusted adult or counselor, and just remembering that everyone has their own opinions even if those opinions are terrible.

Lastly, positivity in people and the world. In an article in 2023, in People Magazine titled “Viola Davis on Evolving Beauty Standards 'Who We Are Beyond Male Desirability,’” Davis states emphatically "What destroyed me was people constantly telling me that I was not beautiful," she said. "[You might think] why would you be upset with that? Because beauty is attached to worth and value. And I refuse to believe that I'm not worth it just based on a sort of idea and perception of what people think classical beauty is." There are individuals that we can look up to and surround ourselves with that bring positivity. Other celebrities who speak out about self-love and positivity are Selena Gomez and Rihanna. Selena openly talks about her weight gain because of her illness, lupus. On the website TIME, in the article “Universally Acknowledged Queen Rihanna Has Some Thoughts About Getting Body Shamed,” last updated May 3, 2018, Rihanna is quoted in an interview with Vogue, “You’ve just got to laugh at yourself, honestly,” she said. “I mean, I know when I’m having a fat day and when I’ve lost weight. I accept all of the bodies.”

In summary, beauty standards have been around forever and they’ll never leave. Though, I’ve explained that as the world changes, society also needs to change. I did this by describing what was usual in ancient times, what’s desired now, some solutions to get help, and self-positivity. There are many people that everyone can look up to and be reminded to mind their own business. People need to stop caring about what everyone looks like. As long as someone’s happy, don’t bother them. Quoting Rihanna again, from her interview with Vogue, 2018, “I’m not built like a Victoria’s Secret girl, and I still feel very beautiful and confident in my lingerie.” We don’t have to be copies of each other, we’re not built from the same mold and we never will be.