The Ugly Truth about Influence: Body Image

Social media, the news and even in real life, we are exposed to beauty standards on the regular. But what do I mean by this? I mean when you scroll through Instagram and see models on your explorer page, I am talking about influencers such as Kim Kardashian. In my opinion, influencers are what makes the digital landscape go around.

Through lockdown we were all stuck at home having no place to go, other than having a daily walk. So what did most of us turn to when we were bored? Social media. The pandemic not only made many people suffer with mental health issues, but it was also detrimental to people’s physical health. With gyms being closed and people losing motivation to exercise, many of us put on a few pounds (which is normal).

Even before the pandemic beauty standards were this: in order to be attractive you must be white, tall, have small facial features and be skinny. Yes, all bodies are beautiful. I am not saying people who fit this description are ugly, what I am trying to say is this - ALL BODIES ARE BEAUTIFUL. Not just one body size, ALL. I struggled with my body image, I drilled it into my head that because I was chubby, I was ugly. Being fat or thick does not in any way equal being ugly.

People often have a fixed idea of what is attractive, and the pandemic has acted as a catalyst. But what do I mean by the pandemic acted as a catalyst? This is what I mean - people would aimlessly scroll through social media platforms and see influencers having flawless skin, slim body shapes whilst captioning their photos ‘sorry put on a few pounds’ or ‘not looking my best’ whilst looking perfect. Ironic, isn’t it?

Yesterday, I was scrolling through TikTok and a sponsored ad popped up on my ‘for you page’ (FYP). I was absolutely disgusted with what I saw. It was an app called ‘Pretty Up’ that was explaining how to edit your body shape into your ‘ideal body’. In today’s day and age you would often think that people would argue that ‘EVERY BODY IS A BEAUTIFUL BODY’. But I was proven wrong. Had young impressionable Megna seen that, it would have been harmful to her mental and physical health. This got me thinking, if it came up on my FYP, imagine how many young girls FYP’s could this have got on to. I was appalled by this thought. Beauty standards have influenced so many generations that an app has been designed for young people to change their body.

Changing society’s view on beauty standards is difficult, but not impossible. The year 2020, many people struggled with weight loss and gain. Putting on weight and losing weight is normal. Your body is not fixed at one permanent size, it is designed to change and adapt to your surroundings. My advice to anyone who feels insecure because of these beauty standards is this: Your body is yours for life. No matter how old or young you are, your body will go through changes. Those stretch marks are not ugly neither are those scars. They are beautiful. You are beautiful.

This blog post is the first out of a series of posts that will be discussing the topic of influence and the impact it has on beauty standards. If you are struggling with your body image please reach out, you are not alone, and help is always out there. If you have any enquiries, please feel free to email me: megnagohilpr@gmail.com