WOMEN’S NATURAL BEAUTY AND HEALTH

Woman; a word used to identify a female human. There are different types of women in the world, based on their race, age, class etc. These are only few distinctions as personality, background and environmental factors also distinguish one woman from another.  Women often experience difficulties where they compare themselves based on the myths that exist in the western world. There is this standard of beauty that women often strive to attain, but the issue lies in the methods they go through to achieve them. The problem is that women are scared of what is behind the mask they put on. They have no confidence that their natural beauty is enough to impress the world. Their biggest fear is someone seeing them in the morning and most cannot leave their homes without a makeup bag. The reason for their fear is because of the media’s portrayal of what true beauty is.

SO WHAT? This shows how women have come to have a belief in some specific ideas about beauty myths. Most of these ideas may include what the ideal weight of a woman should be, as well as the height, hair color and texture she should have. Women end up trying to change their appearance and end up using methods that could be detrimental to their health such as using corsets as a way of cinching their waist. People who do this are not being judged but just asked to understand their worth without all these methods as their health may be affected by some of the means.

NOW WHAT? When such methods are used, the only way to stop this is first trying to explain to the women that they themselves need to change what they believe is the general beauty myth created by the Western world.  Many women undergo surgeries to fix what they are not satisfied with. Some buy products without understanding the side effects while some use products to whiten their complexion. The biggest misconception is that having fair skin is beauty. All colors are equally beautiful and the inability to accept it is a grave issue in many societies.

The health of a woman is important, not only does it affect her but also her family. Some chemicals used to lighten the skin, penetrate into the pores on the skin and have been linked to cause skin diseases. These chemical reactions from within one’s skin, affect other parts such as the liver, kidney and stomach. An example is the Johnson baby powder that women used on both themselves and their children.

SO WHAT? Some of the body image problems that women have involve their weight, height, skin etc. and these contribute to them not feeling good enough to appeal to society
Women may be forced to perform acts they may end up regretting. They end up undergoing surgeries like tummy tucks to flatten the tummy. They are exposed to some of the dangers associated with plastic surgery.


NOW WHAT? What I would love for the readers to take home is that women should be comfortable in their own skin. Beauty is not something that should be based on others opinion but theirs alone. Surgery should not be the solution to every method of losing weight. A healthy diet can be a better choice, as long as one is aware of their limits. No one should feel the need to go through surgery in order to be beautiful, unless their health is in danger. An example is being overweight, which in most cases can lead to diabetes.

A challenge women might face is being unable to talk to each other about feeling beautiful because it feels foreign. However if they try it again and again there would be a change in their thoughts about themselves. To say “I AM BEAUTIFUL” may seem hard today but by tomorrow it is a fact. The reason why women are afraid to believe that a change can occur is because they are scared. They are terrified that what they personally believe in without the media’s portrayal may not be right, but I say no. One must believe in one self for another to believe in you. Women should be willing to accept themselves and other women. They need to be patient with others who look different and be ready to encourage them by saying ‘We are the same and nothing is different between you and I. I can guarantee that when this is done women would be able to accept themselves willingly. No matter what the world claims, women are going to always be unique beings that deserve acceptance.

As a fellow woman the need for change begins today. I am aware that we as women are scared and fearful of what the public thinks but if you start today the public would follow suit because you gave them the courage to continue. To my fellow women who are ready to face the world in their natural state, I ask that you spread the word by sharing and commenting on this blog. The more these words spread the more lives we can change.

Please comment below and vote on the top right hand corner of the blog. Thank you!!
BY BANWO ODUWOLE
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
                                                       

                                                                 References


Inoyori, R. (2013, April 30). Cancer-Causing Agent Found in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powders. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com.au/cancer-causing-agent-found-johnson-johnson-baby-powders-1308344

Lubitow, A. (2008, Fall). Revealing the toxic truth: A case study of the campaign for safe cosmetics. Women & Environments International Magazine, , 27-29. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/211606433?accountid=14771

Comments

  1. Hi Banwo, interesting write up. I think that the first thing for women to realise is that there is no need to impress anyone but themselves. It is so important to feel secure and understand that beauty fades but character and a good legacy last forever. It is up to me to be the best version of myself and while i'm on that journey of discovery, i choose not to feel second best to anyone. Thanks for sharing and keep shinning!

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    1. Thank you for your comment and i love your mention about how beauty fades and a character lasts longer. I agree with it because there is too much of a focus on the outer part of beauty. Appearances are not all that humans can be.

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  2. I really enjoyed this write up because it made me realize a lot. I am responsible for my own idea of beauty and what matters most is what I think of myself. The other thing I do want to mention is that while we women dont need make up to feel beautiful, it shouldnt be frowned upon for a woman to want to look beautiful on the outside. I believe that also shows a level of confidence and self love. Thank you for your wonderful blog! Please write more xoxo

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    1. Thank you for your comment and I am glad that makeup is not something you find to affect you. I agree that there is nothing wrong with using makeup but women should still be cautious about what they apply on it.Our body is the only thing we own.

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  3. Banwo, I really enjoyed this post. You’re right, the more we speak these words to ourselves "I am beautiful" the better we will feel and know that being beautiful is not dependent on what society defines as beautiful. This reminds me of when I put makeup on for the first time, I was so surprised. I thought "how can makeup change my face this much", it was an interesting experience. But I felt unconformable when in public, because I felt that the world was not seeing me for who I am. So, thank you for reminding me about how important it is to love myself.

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    1. You are welcome. Your point about you not feeling comfortable because of the use of makeup when you go out is the first I ever heard. I am surprised by this thought and amazed at the same time because the idea of wearing make up is to give more confidence. Thank you for sharing such an interesting point.

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  4. Really nice write up ! Personally for me, I don't wear makeup regularly and that's okay. However, when I wear make up, I see my reflection in the mirror and my acne scars are covered, the lip stick adds some colour to my face, and because I am wearing make up, I will put in the extra effort to dress nicely. Ordinarily I am self conscious and shy,without makeup I don't feel ugly, but wearing makeup and dressing nicely makes me feel more confident. In fact, on days when I have presentations, I wear makeup, and I dress nicely. This allows me to make eye contact with my audience which is an essential part of any presentation... Finally, I think that although the media influences beauty standards, your definition of beautiful starts with you as an individual. Thank you!

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    1. Thank you for your comment. I agree that makeup can be used as a tool in giving confidence and that that an individual has a right to their own form of what they believe beauty is, but it can be a cause of concern were ideas are being forced on women of what true beauty is.

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  5. Hey Banwo nice post. "No one should feel the need to go through surgery in order to be beautiful" I agree however, most people have surgery to FEEL beautiful, to feel confident and to make themselves feel better about themselves. I really want breast augmentation. One of my boobs is 2 cup sizes bigger than the other. Most people, including my doctor, have told me that its natural, its ok, but I'm sooo self conscious about it. If I weren't so scared of surgery I would do it in a heartbeat. I think people who are overweight are actually the wrong canidates for surgery because they're a high risk for not waking up (can't remember the science behind it). I think for them, its better to lose weight by eating right and working out.

    As for makeup, well I love make up. Make up application is to enhance a woman's features and its fun. You can play around with it. Change your features drastically, cover up your scars, but also make your self look good. Yes there's people that are afraid to leave the house without it but thats because of their own insecurities and as much as we blame the media we also have ourselves to blame. How many of us have been guilty of staring or making comments about that state of someone's skin? Or making comments about someone's nose being too big, too small, too narrow, too out or eyes too small, too big wtc. We ourselves have to be more accepting of a variety of facial features and accept other imperfections. I leave the house without make up all the time, but when I wear I do feel more pretty. But you are right, i should just as pretty without makeup, or without hair extensions. But we also need to keep in mind that fashion and how we come across to people play a huge role in society. We live in a shallow world. There's a perception that women who are fit, dress nicely and wear some make up are seen as put together and take care of themselves. We as women just need to find the right balance.

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    1. Thank you for your comment. I agree with your point about how you claim that women are not accepting of each other. I believe this is one of the biggest worries because women tend to judge one another a lot which I find problematic. This gives women worries and causes them to feel the need to conform to what the western world claims beauty is. I myself have heard that being overweight shows sign that I do not know how to take care of myself which is not necessarily true.

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  6. Banwo you must be absolutely courageous to post this. I congratulate you for this. I totally support your ideas about women appreciating who they are in their natural state. I was listening to a sermon addressing unmarried couples. The preacher said that it is important for men to know the natural state of their fiance before getting used to the mask on her face. Why? This is because when the mask on the face is suddenly taken off, it will hit him so hard what she has been covering up and how the make up has disfigured the face. Ladies beauty starts from the inside. If you feel beautiful inside you will feel beautiful outside and the use of make up will be irrelevant.

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    1. Lol the preacher has an interesting point. Beauty is not something that one can really understand because there are different ideas of what beauty is. The most important point is that it starts from within a person. I agree that accepting yourself as you are makes it easier for the world to accept you to.

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  7. Hey Banwo, I definitely agree with that you are saying. I feel that society has set an image that each male and female should about beauty. I see so many ads that try to sell skin lightening creams, and i know so many people including members of my own family to always say that they want to have fair skin because its more beautiful. So that goes to show how media has a huge influence on society in terms of what beauty means. We should all boycott certain products that are firstly extremely harmful for the skin and secondly try to promote negative messages of beauty

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    1. Thank you for your comment. The media is one of the causes of what people believe as the standard of beauty and I second the motion of boycotting harmful products. The best solution is finding materials that are less harmful in creating this products.

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  8. Hey Banwo,

    While I (mostly) feel confident in my own skin and body now, I admit there was a time when I wasn't - due to a combination of immaturity and insecurity stemming from ignorance about the ways in which my ideas of what was beautiful were shaped by consuming media that wasn't inclusive. That's why I find it difficult to comment on another woman's insecurities as it is a deeply personal experience that individual women must negotiate and come to terms with on their own.

    That said, I applaud what you're doing and your attempt at deconstructing the ways in which women of colour conform to a eurocentric beauty ideal and women in general submit to unrealistic and damaging beauty myths. The fact that many black women are unconsciously swayed into thinking that sewing another woman's discarded hair into their heads (a little gross, to be honest) or lightening their skin will make them more "beautiful" often comes from colonial legacies coupled with the pervasiveness of eurocentric beauty standards disseminated through Western media. It is only through deep reflection and evaluation that we'll be able to begin to challenge those ideas and heal, so thanks for this! One thing I am optimistic about is the current movement towards self-love within the black community that we can see in the natural hair movement and things like blackout day.

    All that said, I do think we need to make room for makeup and hairstyling as a means of self-expression. Sometimes, it isn't that deep (haha). However, when using makeup/styling your hair a certain way stems from a place of deep-seated and unexamined insecurity, that's when it becomes problematic.

    Anyway, keep up the good work girl!

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    1. Thank you for your comment. I believe that black people's concept of beauty is sometimes saddening. As a fellow black woman I have had my fair share of how important the use of weaves can be. The amount of money I wasted on finding the perfect one is still baffling. One of the reasons I decided to cut my hair was because of this.

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