Dear Beauty Industry, Stop Pushing New Insecurities Down Our Throats

And blatantly profiting from them

I’ve recently come across the term “hip dips”. At first, I had no clue whatsoever what that meant.

After a quick Google search, I found out that hip dips are inward curves found below your hips and above your thighs. And apparently, many people want to get rid of them. The Internet is flooded with ‘how to get rid of hip dips’ or ‘exercises for hip dips’ articles and videos.

It turns out I have them as well.

Yay, another insecurity I can worry about.

If I never came across that term in the first place, I would probably spend my life blissfully unaware of “suffering” from the terribly undangerous and completely natural condition of hips dips. Unlucky me.

But these days, it feels like new insecurities are springing up like mushrooms after heavy rain. Why is that?

Self-hatred is a money-making machine

Every time I open a female magazine or scroll down my Instagram feed, I’m constantly reminded of all the wrong or ugly things with my body.

My nose isn’t small enough. My boobs aren’t large enough. My stomach isn’t flat enough. My skin isn’t cellulite-free.

And the list goes on and on.

I think it’s safe to say that I’m not even fully aware of all the insecurities “I should have”. After all, I didn’t know about hip dips for a while. Who knows what other insecurities wait for me in the Department of Made Up Yet Still Somewhat Real Insecurities that keeps being enlarged every day?

And the more things I hate about myself, the more likely I will want to do something about it. This is where the self-hatred powered industry, also known as the beauty industry, steps in.

They attack us with a myriad of beauty products, procedures, surgeries, courses and books to sell a promise of a “better you” — a version of you without all of these ghastly insecurities.

It is quite easy to sell that crap to a person that hates themselves, isn’t it?

“I’m doing it for me, not other people”

Beauty products first started being mass-marketed to women at the beginning of the 20th century. And the majority of advertising focused on the narrative that women should buy these beauty products for men.

It was socially understood that a woman must do anything possible to acquire and maintain a certain level of attractiveness for their husbands. If she failed to do so, she could risk her husband having an affair or even leaving her altogether.

Sounds like fun, terrifyingly unequal times.

But that mentality doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. After all, a woman’s value was intrinsically linked to her looks.

Later on, that narrative changed to “you’re not making yourself pretty for men, you’re doing it for YOU”. And this is still true nowadays. Most modern advertisements emphasise the fact that their product will make you feel better about yourself, for yourself. “Because you are worth it”, as the famous L’Oreal campaign slogan goes.

But are we really putting in the effort to look pretty and buy expensive products or painful cosmetic surgeries for ourselves? ONLY for ourselves? Or could it be because society expects us to do so, and if we comply, our experience within the patriarchy is much more pleasant?

I think the latter makes more sense than the “just for myself” narrative.

And if someone’s decision to alter their appearances and get rid of their insecurities is motivated by this, I get it. Society is harsh on women from the moment we are born. Almost every part of our body and face is carefully scrutinised and objectified by our family, friends and even complete strangers.

It’s easy to give in and don’t want to be laughed at or invisible anymore.

Insecurities are a powerful, relentless enemy

A hundred years ago, it was still socially acceptable for women to have body hair. It was normal not to wear makeup everywhere we go. Flat stomachs or cellulite weren’t a thing until the second half of the 20th century.

Different beauty trends accompanied by an army of insecurities come and go, but most of them stay with us for good. And if I wanted to comply with all of them, I’d go crazy AND broke.

It’s safe to assume that there is always new insecurity waiting just around the corner for its turn to appear and shit all over our self-esteem.

And then another one after that.

And another.

And another.

They will probably never stop popping up.

But what we often fail to address is that feeling insecure about yourself all the time can take a toll on every aspect of your life, from your physical health and emotional well-being to how you perform at your job.

And no amount of plastic surgery, cosmetic procedures and expensive eye creams can help with that. Low self-esteem starts in our mind. And overcoming it can only be done by replacing all the self-hatred with self-love and acceptance.

Final thoughts

Instead of patting ourselves on the back for being “empowered” women who give in to the pressure set by the beauty industry, let’s fight back against it.

Physically beautiful things are lovely to look at, but they eventually fade away.

Being beautiful on the inside won’t.

If you like my work and want to support it, buy me a cup of coffee! For more of my content, check out my other social media platforms.