What It Means to Be Beautiful

The Stereotype of Beauty

“With a smile and a song / life is just a bright sunny day / your cares fade away,” Snow White croons to some blue jays in the midst of a forest. Many recognize Snow White as a nostalgic representation of beauty, with her pale skin and delicate voice. The classic story of Snow White is that her stepmother is jealous of her youthful beauty. Her stepmother proceeds to brew a poisonous apple and tricks her into eating it, causing Snow White to fall into a coma. However, a prince, shocked by her beauty, falls in love with Snow White and kisses her, which subsequently revives her.

Most children hear this classical story at some point in their childhood, or at least read or watched an adaptation of the story. These children get the message that beauty is associated with being a damsel in distress and that a man must come and save her to be the hero. This idea of a “damsel in distress” has been used in many action movies, where female characters appear to only be the love interest of the male hero and are often saved by the male hero.

Another stereotype that I remember vividly was that to be beautiful, you had to be blonde, blue-eyed, pale-skinned, female, and thin. Most of the main actresses in movies fit these stereotypes. I recall staring up at my television screen, watching the Oscars with my parents and seeing the nominations for Best Actress; most of them were blonde and white. My young mind thought that I, as an Asian American with brown eyes and black hair, could never be as beautiful as them.

A New Direction

A controversy last year surrounded the Oscar nominees, as if in direct response to my dilemma. The problem was that all 20 of the Oscar nominees in the main four categories (best actress, best actor, best actress in a supporting role, and best actor in a supporting role) were white. Fire erupted on social media under the tag “#OscarsSoWhite,” and many activists and celebrities chose not to go to the Oscars in response to the controversy. This lack of diversity was noticeably absent in the most recent Oscars.

In recent times, the tides have shifted. Many companies and activists are stepping up to be more inclusive, provide more diverse role models for young children, and boost the self esteem of women.

Disney has been proactive with the issue, creating diverse princesses for their movies. I grew up looking up to Mulan. She was not only beautiful, with flowing black hair just like I have, but was also tough and persevering. Nowadays, we have an even more diverse cast of Disney princesses: Jasmine (1992), Mulan (1995), Pocahontas (1995), Tiana (2009), Merida (2012), and most recently, Moana (2016).

But Disney was not the only company that changed. After 57 years of controversy, Mattel, the creator of the famous (and infamous) Barbie doll, finally gave in to the diversifying meaning of “beauty” and gave her a makeover because she had been promoting the stereotypical blonde-hair, stick-thin ideal of beauty. Over the years, many girls have been affected by this unrealistic body image and have tried to change themselves to look more like the Barbie doll in order to be “beautiful.” Mattel introduced a new line of Barbie dolls with three different body types: tall, petite, and curvy, coming from many ethnic backgrounds and with different styles of hair.

The old stereotype of beauty is out, and a new, more diverse image has been introduced: “All women are beautiful, no matter what skin color or body type they have.”

Heading Forward

We’ve come far, but it doesn’t mean media representation of beauty is perfect. Models in fashion magazines are still predominantly unnaturally thin and tall, and this has led to body image issues for many young girls who want to be as beautiful as they are. A social media trend of having a “thigh gap” has become increasingly popular, despite many people not having a body type capable of having a thigh gap. Even with the increased representation of beautiful women from minority backgrounds, there is still a disproportionately high representation of white women as being beautiful.

A core problem with beauty and its representation in media is that LGBTQ+ people are severely underrepresented. I, myself, identify as LGBTQ+, so it really upset me that there was a lack of role models that helped me be comfortable with myself and my identity. For example, there are very few transgender role models for transgender children to look up to.

Also, I often felt left out when someone said that “all women are beautiful” because as a young boy, I always wanted to be graceful, elegant, and beautiful. As I grew up, I became uncomfortable with my body image because no one would tell me that even though I was a boy, I was beautiful too. Watching television, I would see countless advertisements for makeup companies, and I would never see any guys.

I would spend countless hours staring at the mirror with discomfort and dissatisfaction. Sometimes I would be overwhelmed by emotion, and my eyes would dampen. My body image issues (along with other identity problems at the time) eventually took a toll on my confidence and self esteem to the point where I was very shy around people I didn’t know very well or trust as a friend. Thankfully, I overcame my insecurities when I came to Stuyvesant, knowing that at least some people would accept me for who I am.

Because of this, I always hope that someday the saying “all women are beautiful” will eventually become “all people are beautiful.” I hope that all children, whether they are female, male, or non-binary, know that they are beautiful and that the societal standard of beauty is simply unrealistic.