KARACHI:
Had there been a universal standard of beauty, life would have been far easier for most. However, history has shown that the idea of beauty not only changes with time but is also “manufactured” by those at the helm in order to create a utopic vision of beauty that people can strive for. This not only gives capitalists financial gain but also psychological superiority since they create such a vision from their own image. Pointed nose, wide eyes and fair complexion with a tall height are considered as characteristics of beauty, which clearly indicate that somewhere along the course of history we have unconsciously adopted the ideals of conquerors and colonialists such as the Aryans and the Europeans.
Lauren Greenfield, in her documentary, Thin, has aptly portrayed how these stereotypes are manufactured, where “size zero” is considered to be the most beautiful and attractive size for a woman. This means that one needs to be extremely thin, zero, in order to look beautiful; imagine the absurdity of such an image. Unfortunately, our society is quick to digest such peculiar visions because they are unconsciously forced to consent to them. For multinational beauty industries, this is where the psychological element comes into play. Tools and methods such as advertisements and social media are used to convince the people that they are by themselves accepting to buy their product, while in reality they are unconsciously made to desire it.
Nonetheless, the modern age and the rise of a new moral consciousness has debunked various myths surrounding the idea of beauty. Hopefully with real education and access to information society will be able to understand the subjective nature of beauty.
Kashif Hakro
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2020.
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