In recent years the entertainment industry and media has molded the current idea of what beauty is. Many times the media has being accused of using unethical practices to portray the idea of “beauty” for women as a being rail thin, fair-skinned, with long flowing hair. An ideal that simply is not realistic. Methods like ‘photoshopping‘, or digitally altering, images of models or celebrities have all contributed to building this mirage of beauty in the public eye. The modeling industry as well as actors in the entertainment industry have all been affected by the unfair standards that are becoming the norm when it comes to the world’s perception of ‘beauty’.
Beauty is something that is so objective it should never be attached to any “standard”. All body types, complexions, heights, weights, and hair and eye combinations can be beautiful, as true beauty is something that exudes from the inside out, not the other way around. Every now and then celebrities speak out about the unrealistic current standards of beauty. Recently the entertainment industry was set ablaze by the alleged comments of the curvaceous Ecuadorian pop singer Christina Aguilera, directed to record company executives in an article that was attributed to Billboard Magazine in which she allegedly stated, “‘You are working with a fat girl. Know it now and get over it. My body can’t put anyone in jeopardy of not making money anymore -my body is just not on the table that way anymore. They need a reminder sometimes that I don’t belong to them. It’s my body.” Aguilera was very thin when she first made a splash on the record industry, and even though she has since aged almost 15 years and is now a mother and divorcee, the media still states vicious comments about her new heavier weight and curvy frame. Although her reps have since denied Ms. Aguilera made the comments, the meaning of them has resonated across the web, causing many people to wonder just how far is the media and entertainment industry pushing their female artists to be thin in order to be deemed ‘beautiful’.
Curvy singers like Kelly Clarkson and Jessica Simpson, and even supermodels like Tyra Banks are often the object of malicious comments about their natural curvy frames. ‘Really, what I try to instill in my fans is to be healthy and happy,” says Clarkson. “I have no desire to be super-skinny,” she said. Tyra Banks also took to her former daytime show to come out looking fabulous in the same bathing suit that she was slammed by tabloid magazines for looking fat and unhealthy in.
The idea of beauty will always be one that lies in the eye of the beholder, it is important for all aspiring talent to realize that there is beauty in everyone! As Christina Aguilera told Lucky Magazine, “Hey, if you can work it and you can own it, that confidence is going to shine through.” Well said.
