As our society grows increasingly reliant on technology, we may find it playing a role in new and unexpected facets of life. There was a time when photoshopping, for example, came onto the social media scene and received jokes and criticism from people who believed it was a form of deception. Nowadays, simple editing of images can be completely undetectable by untrained eyes, and filters have progressed from smoothening faces to making someone look like an entirely new person. Live streaming in China is growing increasingly popular, with services such as Douyu (斗鱼 dòu yú) averaging 163.9 million users per year.
A particular case regarding that site that caught the attention of many was when popular streamer Qiao Biluo’s video filter glitched in the middle of her stream, revealing her to be a middle-aged woman instead of the young girl the filter made her appear. Following the revelation, Chinese netizens who were not following her previously deemed those who had given her cash gifts to be “gullible” and “superficial.” At the same time, many of her followers unfollowed her after the incident.
While some could see the case as just a funny mishap, it also reveals how many influencers are not what they seem. The issue lies in not only how these filters could be used to deceive supporters but in the creation of unrealistic beauty standards for the viewers. Those who may not recognize that many influencers have altered their features (as the current technology can be seamless and difficult to detect) may believe that the look is realistic and attainable for any person. In the words of a Beijing student, this will “mass spread [unrealistic beauty standards]to a lot of people, especially young girls, who will feel the pressure to look like that.” Beauty standards differ all over the world and even within countries. Depending on the region, many people may find many different looks beautiful. However, in the online community, there appears to be a particular face and body type that prevails.
The most popular idea of beauty for women mainly includes big doe eyes, pale white skin, a pointed chin, and a small nose. For the body, long legs, and a tiny waist. As Beijing student, Tina Cui succinctly describes, “Social media in China spreads a very unhealthy beauty standard of being extremely skinny and extremely pale.” Some women may have these features naturally, but many will go to great lengths to achieve this look of idealized beauty. Plastic surgery is one possible method, but those not willing to go to such great lengths can simply use the countless photo and video filters at their disposal. These filters can make their eyes larger, giving a look that is beautiful to some but may bear an uncanny resemblance to scary doll eyes to others. But perhaps the most dangerous result of these beauty standards is the “extremely skinny” body type, which can lead “many young women and even girls [to]starve themselves or try dangerous procedures to become skinnier, sacrificing their health.” For some body types, this is possible to do with a safe diet and some exercise. For others, it is not.
When consuming so many forms of media that depict this particular look as ideal, viewers who look different may experience lower self-esteem. I experienced this myself. In my younger teenage years, I noticed my tanned skin, small eyes, and big nose more than ever. Though I never spent much time on Chinese social media, mainly because they were blocked on my phone, its influence was incredibly difficult to avoid. It came up when my roommate at summer camp put stickers onto her eyelids in order to have double eyelids, thus teaching me that my mono lids were considered undesirable. It happened with the makeup artist who painted my face so pale she had to apply whitening cream all along my neck and arms so they would match. As I grew older, I realized that everyone had specific standards of beauty, and they could have been influenced by what they saw online or simply what they thought looked nice. I also learned that it was fine to have different standards of beauty.
On social media platforms, the most popular idea of beauty will prevail. “It sets unrealistic standards and demands that individuals to validate the way they look through the no. of likes and comments they receive,” says Beijing student Kannika Mehrotra, “[it]portrays the idealistic version and creates the urge in the users to follow the ‘same trend.’” Because of this, there is not much opportunity for diversity or deviation from the most popular standard of beauty, as those who do not follow the standard will not be as famous. However, it is not to say that we should eliminate the most widespread beauty standard. In some cases, it can be toxic, but to condemn it creates the caveat of saying that those who are naturally pale, skinny, and have big eyes are not beautiful, which is also unhealthy. Instead, the way to go is for audiences to recognize that not everything they see online is natural and authentic and for social media platforms to promote different types of beauty or even body neutrality.
Body neutrality involves accepting your body for the life functions it performs and having neither a positive nor negative opinion of it. The idea of body neutrality is incredibly challenging to implement because of the huge role beauty plays in the society we live in today, whether it comes to makeup product brands or casting in film and television. For now, body positivity is a good compromise. Social media platforms can also “provide a certain degree of diversity in allowing different people to demonstrate their beauty,” as Tina Cui states, “it can be a place to share different kinds of beauty and creativity, but that often causes negative and toxic comments.” The propagation of the current standard of beauty can be challenging to alter. Still, by including different forms of beauty and different looks and body types, social media can even be a way to showcase different perceptions of beauty. Through this, more and more people can feel more confident in their unique styles and less alone in their insecurities. Though we have a long way to go, there is still hope for social media to eventually become a positive and inclusive place.
Images: Pexels
This article appeared in the jingkids 2022 Teen Takeover issue
