“We want the bodies on the billboards, not the lives underneath them.”
-Bastille
Everywhere we go, celebrities cover our advertising billboards for different commercials: cars, food, cosmetics; to name but a few. Most of the time, when we reflect on it, we realize that the model photographed in the ad is not indispensable to the comprehension of the product being sold. The entire idea here is that, unconsciously, companies are dictating the ideal physical shape for all of society, irrespective of gender.
For men, the ideal shape consists of a tall, tanned, tattooed, and fully ripped man; his biceps are bigger than his head. For women, it consists of being very skinny, to the point we can see her ribs, big breasts and a round behind.
Some people say this is the healthy way of life, the way to feel comfortable in one’s skin. Maybe they are right about it, but does the prize outweigh the pain? Are the likes of food disorders, depression, self-hate, hugely expensive gym sessions, and unhealthy protein shakes, worth undergoing in order to get that stereotypical “summer body” we all crave for?
The quote at the beginning of this article comes from Bastille’s song Quarter Past Midnight; we all want to look sexy in the eyes of society, but we do not want the struggle and the psychological destruction underneath. It is scary to know how many people suffer of atelophobia – the fear of not being enough.
The fear of not being enough translates into the following: not being good enough, smart enough, and beautiful enough. This eventually leads to isolophobia – the fear of being alone.
Refusing to admit all of the above, people stack the latest inventions of make up on their faces hoping to hide the truth. All such tools work, but the one tool that has surpassed the test of time with an almost perfect score: a fake smile.
The world will always tell us that we are not skinny enough, not muscled enough, not cool enough, not smart enough, – just not. It will keep trying to turn us into someone we are not, and we will realize this only when we find someone who simply wants us to stay the way we are.
I will leave you with the lyrics of the song Make Up by The Script:
You don’t need make up to cover your scars up
You’re beautiful now, within and without, and never forget
You’re doing me proud
Change The Lens 