Hello my lovelies
Apologies for not posting for a week as I've been on holiday with my girls in Ibiza :)
The reason I am posting this on Sunday instead of Wednesday it wasn't finished in time so class it as an uplifted weekender :)
I hope you have been enjoying the Uplifting Midweek posts I have been posting merely to boost your confidence levels. If you are wondering why I post them midweek, I just wanted to help give you that little reminder and encouragement one needs to keep going for the rest of the week :)
Today I would like to discuss body confidence and to help you realise the areas where this is most judged.
So far I have brought along with me the importance of 'society expectations' which I feel somehow links to a lot of my topics as I feel it can be one of many reasons for depression, insecurity, self harming, etc. Insecurity begins with a massive pop-up poster of a woman's face advertising a product, basically portraying what the product they are supporting should look like on us if we were to wear it. This then links in with society expectations once again.
However, because we see the person representing the brand's new release as someone we aspire to look/be like in either the beauty/body world, we forget they too are only a person who like us, has feelings of their own. Areas such as modelling, dancing, fitness are all probably the hardest things to get into due to a high level of critical requirements and how judgemental this area of work has become.
For example, in the T.V series 'The Face', girls work in teams but are still only judged on individually to see how they approach the challenges given to them each week. The pressure is real, they not only have to be favoured by the judges 24/7, but they were being broadcasted for a live television show in America where thousands of people would be watching, including England. Therefore, due to such a large audience who can help influence the judges decisions because of technology, the show encourages Twitter accounts to tweet #theface with their thoughts, there is a lot more people judging the models than perhaps one mean girl at school.
Modelling is probably quite a petty environment to be in because it's such a big competition. You can do nothing more than walk through the gates of hell with your looks hoping you've got what it takes. Therefore, because of this, jealousy gets cut loose causing arguments, especially since the contestants had to live together on The Face, they can't get along with each other as a winner's seat has been reserved for any one of them. Although, because applications had to be sent to The Face to find the most attractive girls in order to get a spot on the show, the contestants are given the challenges each week like I said earlier to see what contestant has the most natural approach.
Another example for what the judges could be looking for each year on The Face is different. Although we are often asking ourselves how to be different? It doesn't exactly have a clear definition as how we can be different? Different from what? Sometimes models can try too hard and position theirselves too much, showing desperation which isn't too pretty at times. They want to know you want it but not too much.
For example, the Apple iPhones; each time a new phone is released its always been different looking; (bigger, thinner edges etc) and different personality traits from the last model. This could be the judges definition of different, nobody wants the same looking model on the front page of their magazines, the modelling industry doesn't want their audience to get bored, just like Apple's iPhone's/iPad's. This can also be linked to 'software updates'-they want fresh, new personalities just like when we get bored with our phones software and wait for the new one to come out. However we aren't always happy with the new software, wishing we could go back to the old one and because of this, the updates are always different from the last, constantly trying to please their audience. So as the show continues, year after year, they want someone different from what they've had before making it much harder to win as the applicants are trying to find new ways to be different. This can be affected by there being good different and bad different, adding so much more pressure to the applicants.
By adding a hashtag for their show on Twitter encourages the audience to tweet their opinions so they can therefore try to give the viewers what they want, influencing the judges opinions on who continues on the show and who doesn't.
Where my last post influences girls to wear makeup only to compliment their features, not to transform them with a new face, models are probably most under pressure with this when thinking their looks won't be good enough. This encourages them to have plastic surgery to change their features completely as they urge to be what the judges want. Like some, they do this to please others in order to avoid criticism to therefore be happy with themselves.
If you think about it, we all 'transform' our faces to please those we know, however everyone knows a model once they are revealed to the world in some way rather than just school friends. This doubles the levels of pressure, anxiety and constant consciousness.
After doing some further research into modelling requirements I found on e-model.net under Modelling Requirements and Self Evaluation. They quote 'Just to be beautiful is not enough to be a good model... You will see many not so beautiful but very successful models' (1999-2015 info, advice and showcase for models).
They also give a to-the-point description of what agencies would be looking for 'if you are young, tall, slim and beautiful. If you have good teeth, long necks and full lips'.
Due to this description giving very strict guidelines, this can urge model wannabes to have work done to theirselves with the aim to be as close to the modelling description as they can otherwise they won't be good enough. This is something far more extreme than overloading your face with makeup to make you feel better about your looks. For example Emmy M. Graber says on WebMD that in order to make your lips fuller with plastic surgery, a doctor would inject a substance called dermal fillers which fills the hydraulic acid which is a natural volumiser in your lips (2012).
Modelling requirements therefore encourages young woman and men to change their looks in more dangerous ways other than with makeup, transforming themselves completely all so they can represent society's idea of 'perfection'.
The point I am trying to make here is although we see the models as perfection and a role model, they are constantly conscious about their looks and weight, striving for perfection they are supposed to be representing.
However this isn't the end, because of this, young girls constantly try to live up to the perfection displayed by the woman on the poster. If she can look like that why can't I? We seem to forget what some people who seem perfect could be going through because they are the face of a company.
There is no need to transform your beauty surgically to fit some requirements, look at other parts of yourself that others don't have naturally and use them for a good cause instead.
I would like to spread another message to help remind you of your worth:
If you are meant to do something, you will be naturally good at it, don't force something that's not meant to be.
We are all uniquely different
❤️
- 05:12
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