Many, if not all, of us strive to be happy. We as a society have created this idea that happiness only occurs after certain aspects of our lives are perfect. Some of these aspects include being financially stable ot having a lot of money, finding love, and being a physically attractive person. Money and finding love can possibly come with time and commitment. Beauty is a more complicated aspect, and in the way that it is currently defined in American society, it is only achievable to a certain extent, and for certain people.
In American society, and most other societies, the dominant group defines all the psychological and cultural aspects of that society. This group has the power to define and therefore the power to change definitions. When asked to describe beauty, many of us unintentionally will use the following description: tall, light-hair, light eyes, light skin and thin. This is the European standard of beauty, a standard followed and praised by many of us who utilize it as a source of reference and comparison. This of course is an unsafe expectation, as there are few of us who actually fit into this image. Cultural oppression occurs when a society sets unachievable expectations that deny any other kind of definition to the subject aside from the one previously set. Today, women of color face this oppression as everything portrayed in the media is a constant definition of beauty, which does not reflect them, and therefore, their beauty appears to be inferior.
In an ideal world, beauty could be admired without doubting one’s own, but unfortunately we have created a world where this is almost impossible. Marginalization occurs when a group is excluded from everyday events. Examples of this can range from the lack of makeup choices for women of color to women of color not receiving the same attention a Caucasian woman would. Simple everyday things, such as committing to the standard of beauty, can cause much more than the apparent physical rejection of beauty, as it sets a standard that will never be achieved, and therefore will affect other areas of those individuals striving to fit the standard.
Constantly being compared to this standard of beauty has negative effects on a woman of color’s entire life. As a society, we can redefine the idea of beauty which includes issues of “fat-shaming” and showing our young there are different kinds of beautiful. The word "beauty" should not be based on physical image, but rather who a person is inside. Already projects have been put into place to help prevent the effects of this idealized image of beauty. America is a very influential country, as our own definition of beauty has affected many countries. Just like we have influenced them in this way, we have the duty to take it back and create a safer society for people around the world. Everyone deserves to feel beautiful.
