Do you feel ugly because you are, or because the beauty industry needs you to? (2 min read)
It might seem like a crazy conspiracy or a communist narrative to say that capitalism is damaging your self-image, but it’s not that far-fetched to suggest that some of your insecurities stem from, or are worsened by, companies selling products to “fix” them. I’m not claiming to have all the answers, or to have read the minds of those at the top; I’m just presenting a theory, in the hopes it might change the way you think about yourself and your appearance.
When you think about it, it’s pretty simple. To sell a product, there needs to be public demand for said product. Sometimes, this comes naturally without much work on the part of the seller (think of how the demand for protective face coverings rose dramatically as the coronavirus pandemic picked up speed). Other times, especially when it comes to non-essentials like makeup, this demand has to be, at least to some extent, manufactured by the seller. The buyer almost has to be made to feel they “need” this item, or at least want it so badly it’s worth spending their money on.
In terms of beauty products or services, this can be dangerous. Arguably, the best way to make someone feel they need a product which alters their appearance is to suggest their appearance isn’t naturally good enough. Your skin isn’t clear enough, so you need to buy our full coverage foundation and fix that! Your eyebrows aren’t full enough, so you need to buy this eyebrow pencil! Your eyebrows are too full? Come get them threaded! Beauty products can be used as a form of artistic expression and don’t always reflect an insecurity or lack of confidence in those who use them, but it makes sense to believe that the more insecure the public are in how their faces look, the more makeup they will be buying.
The beauty industry isn’t the only culprit. Any company that sells shapewear, dieting pills, detox teas, waist trainers, skincare, hair products or styling tools is doing the exact same thing. Cosmetic surgery is just the same – who’s going to pay for a nose job if we don’t care what our noses look like? Women didn’t used to shave their armpits. Razor companies started decided to widen their customer base, but women didn’t have beards to shave, so they promoted shaving their armpits instead, and now we are socialised to believe women should be hairless.
It’s interesting to consider how this plays a part in the immense amount of pressure we face to look “perfect”. Most women, at some point in their lives, have looked in the mirror and thought “I’m too fat” or “I’m too skinny”. Surely, there can’t be any such thing as what’s beautiful and what’s not, if almost every woman at some point in her life has wished she could change her appearance, no matter what she looks like. How is it that as someone with naturally curly hair, I want to straighten it whenever I want to look my best, but girls with naturally straight hair will curl theirs? Maybe we are all just being taught that something about us has to change, so that no one ever believes they are “perfect” enough to go without these products.
So, what is my point? Well, I want to clarify that I don’t think that buying any products to change your appearance is a bad thing. I don’t think that wanting to look different or being insecure is wrong. Just remember that a lot of the adverts you see are feeding you an image of what is “beautiful” so you’ll pull out your purse and buy whatever product will get you one step closer to that image.
Next time you feel ugly, it’s worth remembering that it’s probably not anything to do with the way you look, but more because someone out there needs you to feel that way so they can bring in a profit.
