They start us off pretty young. Barbie, for example, has long, skinny legs and a tiny waist. Ken has a six-pack and sculpted arms. Even G.I. Joe’s plastic body is bulging with muscles.
As we grow older, this pressure surrounds us. It’s in magazine spreads, commercials, advertisements and even mannequin displays at stores. Some clothing companies go as far as to change their sizing system to target certain groups of people. Some TV shows only employ actors who look like runway models. They all have the same stereotypically perfect body type and facial structures. It’s not realistic.
Before you lose faith in humanity, check out all the people who are taking a stand and challenging our culture’s definition of beauty and perfection.
Many producers, for instance, are realizing that we want to see more realistic and relatable shows and movies. They’re starting to embrace the fact that real people don’t look like airbrushed models, that they’re all different in their own way. Shameless, Girls and Modern Family are all incredibly popular shows that feature more normal-looking people in realistic, day-to-day situations.
Celebrities are standing up for themselves too. Just because they’re famous doesn’t mean they’re perfect, and they’re tired of everyone pretending that they are. In 2003, Kate Winslet spoke out about her photo on the cover of GQ, which was completely photoshopped without her consent: “The retouching is excessive,” Winslet said. “I do not look like that and more importantly I don’t desire to look like that.”
Jennifer Lawrence discussed this issue with Yahoo in November.
“Shows like Fashion Police put values on all the things that are wrong and (think) it’s okay to point at people and call them ugly and fat,” Lawrence said. “We need to… (stop) calling each other fat and stop with these unrealistic expectations for women.” Lawrence was recently featured on the cover of Flair magazine, photoshopped to look much thinner than she really is.
Pro Infirmis, an organization located in Switzerland, approached this in another light. They created a series of mannequins sculpted from the bodies of a diverse group of physically disabled people, and displayed them them in front of a clothing store. The project, and rather emotional Youtube video on it, is aptly named “Because Who is Perfect?”
“It’s special to see yourself like this,” said one of the video participants, “when you usually can’t look at yourself in the mirror.” It’s devastating that someone would think that way, but this inspirational organization aims to change that.
It’s something that all companies need to start doing. They may have been successfully selling their products by manipulating their consumers in the past, but people are starting to catch on.
Dove, a well-known and successful company, has set a great example and has shown that standing up for what’s right won’t hurt your company, but help it quite immensely. In one of their campaigns, they encourage women around the country to post selfies of themselves with no filters or edits, and explain what beauty means to them. In the moving video for the campaign, a girl tells her mother she is beautiful and needs to embrace her age. Girls of all ages start listing their insecurities, and by the end are agreeing that they are beautiful in their own way. Shortly after, Twitter exploded with responses to the campaign, with the trending tag #BeautyIs. Undoubtedly, it boosted the self-esteem of thousands of women and girls everywhere.
You could take the extreme route and choose to never buy these fashion magazines or watch these shows ever again. Although that might do everyone some good, it’s a little unrealistic to avoid everything in the world that exploits this desire for perfection because it’s everywhere you look. Instead, be aware of how you take it all in. Know that it’s just a sales tactic. Know that media’s version of perfect is not accurate because perfection is different for everyone. Most importantly, know that your differences are what make you unique, and being unique is one of the most beautiful and sexy qualities a person can have.
Follow Andrea Harvey on Twitter @andrearharvey