“I spend too long pulling at my skin in the mirror silently abhorring my body without which I couldn't exist, and I wish I could see the beauty in the way my joints fold and unfold but all I see is the line across my stomach and a decade of hiding at the swimming pool.” This is a poem written by a girl named Brooke. Many people have felt this way at least once in their life and some people always feel this way. Today's beauty standards and even before now are and were too high. They are everywhere even though many people don't notice. For instance an article called “Standards of Beauty” in the late 18th and Early 19th Century England and America” which was last edited on September 9th, 2022,  Norfolk Towne Assemble says that in order to be known and labeled as “pretty” ladies had to have pale skin with rosy cheeks and crimson lips. Crimson is a deep red yet almost purple color. The most popular eye color was to have as the article described “black, chestnut, or blue; clear, bright, and lively.” As for hair, it was to be bright blonde or dark; black and brown. They had a small waist with rounded shoulders, a small but round shaped head. The trending shape of their fingers was long round, and soft. They had to be angelic with every move they made and every word they said. They were taught as young girls how to move and act with grace. 

Obviously back then the standards were much different and more so required than how it is now but besides that. In brief I will be talking about what today's online standards are. Secondly, the different mental health disorders that people can get because of how society expects people to look, dress and act. Last but least, who the people are that set these standards for example influencers and models.

Social media creates many different trends from the shape of a person's body, to the way to do makeup and how to dress. Some of the most popular trends are things that can’t even be changed about someone. How can someone make something that is unchangeable a trend?  A trend is something that comes and goes. For example some people put makeup under their eyes to make it look like they have dark circles under their eyes. I have seen many videos of people with natural dark circles complaining about how all of a sudden it's trending. They have been bullied about their circles for years and now it's considered a trend. Some of the most trending unchangeable things in the past few years would be having a flat stomach, sharp jawline, and a small button nose. Depending on how an individual dresses and their style, trends can differ quite a bit. Some of the very popular trends that fit into almost all styles are crop tops and low rise jeans. Girls put themselves through so much trying to attain the edited look. When in the long run, all this is doing is destroying their mental health. 

At this point I will be talking about different disorders that people can get because of social media's beauty standards. The standards are pretty harsh, causing mental health issues to both people who exceed today's looks and those who don’t. It can go from body dysmorphia (BDD), to depression, to anxiety, and even eating disorders. These disorders affect people doing simple everyday things. For example for those with depression, they can lose interest in things they used to enjoy spending time doing and sometimes even struggle with just stepping out of bed. They are always comparing themselves to others, for instance picking outfits that cover their stomachs rather than what they think is cute. Some girls are so affected by their weight they count calories and say things to themselves like “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels and looks.” There are even multiple different apps for scanning foods and then it calculates  how many calories they intake each day.  Lots of people spend hours looking at their reflection in the mirror wondering what they can do to change how they look. That shouldn’t be the case, people should be able to look at themselves and think good things. They shouldn’t need to hear it from other people. Depending on how someone sees themselves in the mirror is whether they have a positive or a negative body image. According to Solstice East which was last edited on december 1st 2022 says that around 88% of teen girls feel negative towards the way they look. Body image isn't necessarily just about body weight. It can really be about anything on the body. Skin for example, say there is a skin infection or someone could be insecure of their race due to things people have said or done. Deepening how people look at themselves is whether someone has a positive or negative body image. 

Today's standards girls see everyday both online and in person cause loss of confidence and self-esteem. Leading them only to find ways to fit into the beauty trends. Many people do not realize that what they see online is not completely real. Most of the influencers are edited at least a little to look the way they do. With their glowing skin and almost completely flat stomach. No one is truly perfect although many appear as if they are on the internet. Some of the most popular influencers of today's time would be Kim Kardashion, the Damelio sisters , Addison Rae, and Emma Chamberlain plus so many more. An influencer is someone who influences people to buy products. They often get sponsors and make videos using their products and recommend them to people. Some influencers are for skin care, some are clothes, and others just a little bit of everything. Influencers are also people who start and set trends. They post pictures at local coffee shops, on vacation, and videos of their sponsorships. They also do lots of captions that include questions so that way they get more interaction on their accounts. Many influencers on Instagram also have a Youtube account.They post lots of “GRWM” videos, which stands for “get ready with me” or daily vlogs in general. There are multiple ways that today's beauty standards are started and influenced.  TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube are the biggest platforms that they start on though. Calendar Canada reports that girls as young as 9 or 10 years can be affected by social media.  When a girl goes onto instagram or some other form of social media they see all these other girls with flat stomachs, cute clothes, and confidence.

I mentioned in the first paragraph a poem written about a girl being insecure in her skin. The poem written by Brooke just proves that there have always been toxic beauty standards around and that it affects mental health on teens and young girls. I talked about what the current trends are. These include having an hourglass figure, a button nose, and a sharp jawline plus the different makeup and clothing trends. The second thing that I mentioned was the different mental health disorders gained because of the internet. The main disorders that people get from this would be having depression, anxiety, BPD, and eating disorders. The last thing that I talked about was Influencers and the different things they do on social media. The influencers that I talked about from our time are Kim Kardashion, the Damelio sisters , Addison Rae, and Emma Chamberlain. Everything I just went over are my reasons to say that the beauty standards are too high. I think that we need to change our mind though and be more realistic.