False Perfection – Living Up To Celebrity Body Standards

Written for LE CULTUUR (Magazine Project for university)

Sex sells.

That’s what everyone says, isn’t it. So when we’re too sexy, why do we complain?

We endlessly work to make ourselves more desirable and it’s getting out of hand. Our reasons for doing it: celebrities. We all have an idol we want to look like. Selena Gomez or Beyoncé, Ryan Reynolds or Jamie Dornan, there’s someone for everyone.

Splashed on the front of tabloids and social media feeds, celebrities show us how to look like them. The Daily Mail’s top showbiz story is constantly about a celeb’s body or outfit, but not always praising it.

Take Little Mix; last November when they performed on The X Factor people weren’t talking about their new single, Shout Out To My Ex, or the performance. The topic of discussion was what they wore. Leather, skin-tight leotards, tiny shorts and knee high boots; trends high street brands are selling. The girl band were labelled “too sexy for family TV”, yet if they had more clothes on the public would have said something different.

With summer around the corner, outrageous diets and exercise regimes will be here. The “how to look bikini ready in two weeks” articles will be published so you can look like your favourite celebrity (unachievable and drastic for little time).

For those in the limelight it’s hard to be normal, eat junk food without judgement, yet still be expected to look good in next to nothing. These idolised individuals have to sell themselves to stay popular. They have to look “right” for the part. Most work their bodies to the bone and draw up a new dietary craze for the world to see how they get a killer physique.

The way celebrities are portrayed in the media affects all of us, especially millennials. Our constant doubt and need to be identical to our favourite celebrities can lead to unhealthy levels of dieting and exercise.

Take the Kardashians for instance; the focuses of their bodies are their big bums and tiny waists, but God-forbid they put on an ounce of weight. It would be the end of the world as we know it (even when they are pregnant). During her first pregnancy, Kim Kardashian expressed how she disliked her body and the way the media portrayed her because she felt a pressure to still look sexy.

Some celebrity women embrace their flaws, like model Chrissy Teigen, who has posted pictures of her stretch marks on social media, or Kelly Clarkson who has fought back at constant negativity about her weight gain.

Celebrities are constantly watched, so how they present themselves is always up for debate. What’s worse is how they are sexualised. The young, the old and in-between are all sexualised over their outfit choices, how much skin they show and the way they deliver their craft.

Over-sexuality is not the fault of the celebrity but really of whoever has the power in their career. This never comes to mind when you look at the latest image of your favourite famous individual (most lack accuracy, thanks Photoshop).

Though stars have battled against photo fixing on magazine fronts, fans still see something they are not. When photographers use Photoshop, it’s never just for the premise of light balance – they fix imperfections. So even the celebrities deemed “most perfect” or “goals” are never untouched.

Yet girls and women alike are feeling the pressure to conform to social expectations that have become the new norm.

Tilly Green, 16, from Southend, wore a waist trainer under her school uniform everyday to get a figure like her idol Kylie Jenner and she wasn’t the only one. For a young woman whose body is still developing, this can be dangerous. The belts should only be worn for a few hours.

Tilly said to the Daily Mail, “I love my waist trainer. It’s helped me define my figure and given me confidence. Lots of my friends use it and we’ve seen the results Kylie Jenner and her sisters have achieved.”

Waist trainers gained worldwide popularity after celebrity endorsements on Instagram profiles. The owner of Waist Trainer New Zealand Australia, Iyai Lui, took her idea and turned it into a $3.3 million business in under a year.

Make-up has always been a way to cover flaws and imperfections, but cosmetics are being taken a step further. The focus on shaping your eyebrows to look perfectly full has become a new trend, no more thin or bushy but artistically painted on.

The next is lips. Plumped, full lips faultlessly pout-ready for selfies. Little devices branded “lip plumpers” are being sold everywhere, which use a sucking motion on the lips to make them swollen. If you want a more permanent result, you can pay a couple of £100 for lip fillers; a new hot topic.

Cosmetic surgeons inject liquid into the lips, which plump them for up to six months, then you have to re-inject again. For some it’s worked wonders, for others has resulted in swelling and bruising. Yet people continue to go through the procedure to get the look they want.

Products are not only directed at women, equivalents have been created for men. One of the world’s greatest footballers, Cristiano Ronaldo endorsed “Six Pad”, a unisex abs belt that can be used during workouts or just sitting down at a desk. It pulsates on your abdominals to work it out and supposedly give you the six-pack you’ve always desired.

According to consumer analysts, Mintel, sexualisation of celebrity males in the media and adverts, “hunkvertising” as it has been coined, is leading men to feel just as self-conscious as women feel.

Kit Harrington of Game of Thrones said being labelled a hunk is “demeaning”. With the amount of nudity or sexual clothing in the entertainment industry increasing, we find it “normal” for men to be topless. It shouldn’t be.

We want to look like a Victoria’s Secret Supermodel or David Beckham in a quick minute so we lose sight of how to look after ourselves. We cannot be expected to look like celebrities; they’re paid to look good.

We forget we can’t be like them and are continually unsatisfied. We have to learn to love ourselves in a society that makes it near impossible to do so.

The pressure to be “perfect” has grown and there’s a constant comparison to something we’re not. Rather than looking at the talents we have to offer or our personalities, we’re books judged by our cover.