Like I mentioned in my last post, The Social Dilemma, I started this series in relation to the issues born from the internet. Last week I talked about the very palpable social media addiction that most of us have. This week I'm going to focus on the effects of these platforms on our beauty standards and mental health.
This week's outfit is inspired by the gorgeous style of Alexandra Lapp. She's one of my newest finds and has quickly become one of my favorite influencers. I chose her for inspiration because her style is very closely related to mine and because I find her incredibly beautiful; even though, she would be considered to be outside of that 20 year-old model mold that everyone tends to follow as a beauty standard.
Throughout history, the human being has created this form of adoration for beauty. To this day, we still have no idea what beauty actually is but we're drawn to its concept as mosquitos to light. Everything we do (art, literature, poetry, music, architecture, etc.), we do in attempt to possess the beautiful.
I would definitely say that I have a complicated relationship with beauty. I'm a fanatic of art, in all of its forms, and I believe it's the closest thing we have to a definition of beauty. Nonetheless, I still don't know how beauty can be interpreted in the human form; more specifically in the decision of who is and who isn't beautiful. I know I can say when I find someone more attractive than others, but why? What makes a person beautiful? I don't know, and deep down I feel that it's almost a cruel decision. Nevertheless, inevitable.
Now, how does this conflict translate to our world in social media? Social media is such a wonderful tool when used as a tool, but it also has such a dark side when used as a mask. People tend to be their primative human self, bathed in cruelty and violence, when their identities are lost in the sea of everyone else. Which is exactly what the internet offers: a mask. A mask that decides Dua Lipa, Kendall Jenner, and Ariana Grande are beautiful and everyone outside of that is not. A mask filled with hate towards the ugly. A mask that types death on certain human beings and love on others.
I'm scared to post some of these photos because I've been taught that my profile isn't beautiful. That I'm less because I can't draw a straight line between my chin and my nose. I've struggled with this my entire life and I think it's tragic that I have zero self-love just because I don't think I'm attractive enough. I'm intelligent. I'm kind. I'm passionate. I'm even attractive. But I'm a woman and I don't fit in the most important standard of value in this society. And I'm reminded of it over, and over, and over again with a gentle and endless scroll of a screen with my own finger.
Look Diary
1) DENIM BUTTON-DOWN - Madewell Denim Oversized Ex-Boyfriend Shirt in Hutcherson Wash
2) BLACK VEST - Zara Velvet Vest
3) BLACK MINI-SKIRT - Zara Limited Edition Leather Mini Skirt
4) BLUE HEELS - Zara Tile Blue Kitten Heeled Shoes
P.S. The Blood Countess, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, was found guilty for the torture and murder of 80 (although it was thought to be 650) young girls, in attempt to remain young and beautiful, by bathing in their blood.
Stay Curious.
Jackie
Comments