COMBATING THE UN-FAIR IRONY OF COMMERCIALIZING BEAUTY STANDARDS FOR WOMEN

Women in India have diverse beauty standards which ironically is neither widely understood nor accepted. If you pick the most common form of judgment, it is the beauty pageant.

If you don't look from an eagle eye, it'll be hard for you to even differentiate between the whitewashed females out of a cosmetic box made to stand in a row for others to judge. They're all decked up with the perfect skin tone, figure, poise, smile, glossy hair, posture, etc. it's just saddening to see the country demeaning the beauty standards at great personal and social lengths making a woman feel depressed, vulnerable and less than other.

The pride for this country lies in the diverse nature it carries in its topography, culture, food, etc. it all comes back to the way we let it reflect our personality. Beauty for any woman cannot be restricted to a weighing scale or meager standards; this would not just limit the potential of appreciation but also send across a very wrong and demeaning message to the coming generations.

For the longest of years, women have combated these margins set by society and now they have had enough. Today women have not just gotten further enlightened but have also started to engage in adapting the changes sensibly, appreciating one another and standing strong for the sisters around the world. The demanding societal pressure has taken the female interface for a toll today and support of all nature makes one feel more confident and reassured.

Several factors have been responsible for making women today feel vulnerable and sad about themselves, they have been commoditized, judged based on their weight, demanded to maintain specific body shapes and accordingly valued and considered beautiful. The portrayal of women in media is the most exploited and ridiculous form that we see today. They unnecessary glamorization of an anorexic body sets unrealistic goals for young minds that put themselves across peer pressure and succumb to these hazardous demands. There have been a plethora of cases where young girls have gone into depression due to the lack of meeting the right body standards despite trying hard. The side effects are profound and saddening.

Even the weight loss industry has started to make money out of this by marketing their products by making promises of improving their lives by helping them shed weight. It is significant for a woman to understand that if her life has to get better it will even without having to fall in the trap of these evil marketing strategies. Popular clothing brands have used strategies like photo-shopping images to look unrealistically fair or slim and setting goals for a common woman that are hard to achieve and highly dangerous for health. Say for a woman who is predisposed genetically with an eating disorder would end up harming herself if she surrenders to dieting or extreme ways of weight loss. So many women every day suffer from depression, self-esteem problems, low confidence, avoiding socializing, anxiety, trauma, personal relationship problems, substance abuse and more because they never feel they are adequately meeting the right standards.

It is time now that we point to the elephant in the room, change the way media portrays a woman, work towards equalizing and respecting all natures of beauty standards. Starting from little steps, support the ones you feel are facing this crisis, help them focus on the accomplishments of their life and boost their self-esteem. A reminder of good qualities doesn't hurt now and then. If you know someone who is dealing with anxiety disorders or eating issues, enroll them in therapy classes, help them join communities and meet new people who overcame this problem. This would not just boost their confidence but push them to feel more self-assured. Let them be sure if they extend a hand, you would be there for support by all means.

The women in this country have for long battled this alone, the parameters have affected them physically, emotionally, socially and what not. It has pushed them into fatal diseases with societal stereotypes tightening its clasp around their necks each day. But no iron maiden needs to wear the crown of this stereotypical barbed wire and judge her in the harshest of ways; the fruits of liberation have been tested and are being spread generously.