Beauty Standards are Weird

Beauty standards are weird. There are, of course, ten billion other things in this world that are weird, but today I want to focus on beauty standards for humans. With a tilt of my head, humans can look like amazing wonders of biology, but with another tilt I realize that all humans look horrifying. Our eyes are so round and glassy, our wrinkled lips pull back to reveal the literal bones sticking out of our mouths, our fingers and toes wriggle so weirdly. Humans think humans are beautiful because they are used to how they look. But not every human has the same standard of beauty, and the beauty standards of the present are plain weird. Think about it for a moment. Why do we think certain things are beautiful?

One thing I think about is the hatred of acne- almost every teenager ever gets acne, but the presence of it is met with disgust. I’m not saying to stop taking care of your skin, but acne is so normal! Why is it hated so much? Despite how common it is, acne can have so many unique patterns- and that goes for so many other things, too. When I wash away my point of view of “Oh what on earth are human faces why do they move like that,” the average human feels beautiful. To me, beauty should not be smooth faces, even brows, and whatever else is going on; beauty is uniqueness, beauty is being human. There are so many appearances out there with so much unique character. I actually wrote a poem on this topic a while back, and I would like to share it. It sums up some of my thoughts pretty well, plus, why not? 

 On another note- one of the things that brought this up was discussing character design with a friend. We both talked about how much we love seeing regular things like acne scars, sun spots, missing teeth, bushy eyebrows, braces, picked skin, and etc on characters, but I barely ever seen such things on characters outside my own friend group. I love creating characters with all sorts of features and shapes! Not only does it make them more recognizable, but it’s also lovely to see. And also realistic. You’re telling me there’s shows with teenagers in apocalyptic settings and none of them have a single pimple? Or chewed up nails? Or intense eyebags? Or sunburn?

With that out of the way, here is the aforementioned poem.

This Is Beauty 

Rosy bumps dot your cheeks, 

   Shining in the sun. 

 

They frame your smile gorgeously, 

   but you’d rather hide them, shunned. 

 

 Why are you afraid, 

to show such common uniquity? 

   look- they have them, too, and so does she. 

 

don’t you see the utter beauty? 

 

 Treat yourself with utmost care, 

but there’s no need to run. 

    there shouldn’t be, at least- 

pimples happen to everyone. 

 

 why do the coral spots garner frowns 

      When they’re scattered like constellations? 

 

   Why do bodies attract heartless jabs 

 when they’re a part of simple nature? 

 

what is the point of conformity, 

     when there’s so much more to adore? 

 

  you grin with a charming dimple, 

And your broad teeth gleam like priceless quartz. 

 The gaps between aren’t oddities, 

they’re a perfect part of who you are. 

 

Some may be far-reaching, 

     while others may have crevices, 

 

  Perhaps some teeth are even absent, 

           Or you sport badass metal braces. 

 

  The variety of appearances 

 is nothing short of sublime. 

 

   The acne scars above your brow 

And the sunspots here and there 

         are like speckled pretty paint drops.  

 

Even the different scars embroidering your skin 

 no matter the size or shape, 

   Are like murals filled with history. 

 

From your distinguished hooked nose, 

An amazing trait of character, 

   To the bottoms of your rugged, 

running-wild soles, 

 

There’s no doubt that you’re delightful. 

 

  from your elegant, fanned ears, 

like big, perfect petals 

To the glorious deltas of stretch marks 

Spanning across your form, 

 

Make no mistake- you’re beautiful. 

 

Small, tall, large, or skinny, 

Every variation of the body, 

 

     You and your distinct features 

Are as stunning as the stars.