What is beauty? Who is beautiful? Is there a beauty standard? If yes, who decides and who qualifies?

These questions came coursing through my head. While and after I had watched a cooking show with an international model, yes, a model as one of three guest judges. She was tall and thin. Light skinned with straight, long chestnut blond hair. Delicate features. Prominent cheekbones and a defined jawline. Spoke English fluently. With youth on her side. Every contestant chef on the show, from countries all over the world, stared at her unashamedly. So did I from the comfort of my sofa chair. What about the other two judges? Who? Yes, who?

Is this model the epitome of beauty? Well, I gawked and thought she was really beautiful. Question. Who got into my head with this beauty checklist that she abundantly met, and I unconsciously ticked? Why and what influenced my concept of beauty? Women and men’s magazines’ where only beautiful people are allowed to grace their covers and inside pages. Movies that portray gorgeous women and handsome men as heroines and heroes while the less pleasing to the eye are cast as villains or the evil step cousins. Runaway fashion shows that only feature attractive, leggy models with shiny and always bouncy, cascading hair. Dazzling social media influencers, who post beauty-related information and videos on YouTube and Instagram.

I realised I was appreciating this model via my conditioned lenses. Conditioned by a heavy diet of American TV and European definitions of beauty. Obviously, the many years of reading, hearing, seeing and watching all things Western orientated made me automatically accept her as the gold standard of beautiful. Don’t get me wrong. She was a stunner. It just made me wonder about beauty.

Is the beauty standard or concept of beauty evolving? I’m not sure but it appears to be a little less exclusive. There are a few more women and men of colour, who are perceived as influential and beautiful fashion and style icons. These individuals have managed to break the beauty ceiling by successfully projecting and celebrating their difference. The definition of beauty has also widened, albeit a tad reluctantly, to embrace old age, wrinkles and all; hairstyles and textures, and different body sizes. Some people have torn down barriers and prejudices to demand acceptance in society and by society. Consequently, the mature, the follicly-varied and the height and weight-challenged seem to be more visible, heard and present in social (more so) and traditional media, and movies (more so in Netflix).

I remember my husband and I visited the Karen tribe in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, some years ago. The tribal women there wore brass rings stacked around their necks to give the illusion of length in order to make themselves attractive to their men. Closer home, my paternal grandmother purposely had big earlobes because it was considered a thing of beauty. She also had tattoos on her lower arm. The big earlobes didn’t catch on so much but tattoos are still fashionable. Different people, different beauty standards.

I’m pretty sure what people generally want, including me, is to look good or at least presentable. Not necessarily waif-life, symmetrical and leggy like that model. It would be nice but it’s too tall an order. Something in the general ballpark will do just as well. Luckily, a pretty or handsome face with fewer lines or a slimmer or curvier body is still achievable. With a bit of help.

Which explains why the cosmetic surgery and cosmetic product markets are as huge as they are. For instance, it was reported that the global cosmetic surgery market size is projected to reach US$ 21.97 billion by the end of 2023. Peer pressure and changing dimensions of beauty were cited as key factors influencing the growth of the market. Also included were social and cultural factors like the influence of media, fashion and the film industry. And, social networking apps such as Snapchat and Instagram. Interestingly, there has been a rising trend of cosmetic surgeries with a hefty 40% growth with men[1].

What are people doing to look better? The most common surgical cosmetic procedures worldwide include breast augmentation, liposuction, and eyelid surgery. The most common nonsurgical cosmetic procedures are Botulinum toxin, hyaluronic acid, and hair removal[2]. Meanwhile, the value of the global cosmetics market is projected to reach about US$758.4 billion, up from US$ 507.8 billion in 2018[3]. That… is a lot of skincare, facecare, haircare, personal care and treatment products. Personal training, fitness centres, yoga and meditation retreats, healthy nutrition and supplements are equally flourishing businesses. (some of these have been impacted by Covid-19.)

Whatever the prevailing beauty standard, it does feel good to look good. Mirror, mirror…