Unnatural is the new Beauty

< all the quotes are credits to Melanie Martinez’s song: Mrs. Potato Head >

*Inaudible whispers*

“Psst… hey, do you see the clothes she’s wearing? Can you believe her guts? She looks ugly and it doesn’t even suit her body at all!”

Yes, you heard that. Many people around us tend to judge others based on their appearance because they’ve believed that it’s what makes up a person’s personality, their heart and who they really are. In fact, we all do it without any denial or awareness that we are actually doing it. There are different factors that we look into which we have the tendency to judge others by, such as: Body, Clothes, Face and Race.

BODY

“Kids forever, kids forever

Baby soft skin turns into leather

Don’t be dramatic it’s only some plastic

No one will love you if you’re unattractive”

Our body is the temple of our soul which collects and stores all the essentials we need in order to live and prosper. Therefore, it’s only a matter of fact that we are
expected to cherish it. However, on the contrary, many people neglect this fact
and spend half of their lives looking in the mirror, inquiring themselves
whether they are good enough to be seen by others in the outside world. The world
beyond their built-up walls.

Many do not realize that stares they shoot, sniggers they make and the smirks they try to hide are such insignificantly great actions they do which others take in and see as judgments that usually find its way to building up a person’s insecurities and anxiety.

There are many times when one would look in the mirror and ask themselves: “How and why does such revolting, appalling and
disgusting creature even exist? Why can’t I be blessed with a body as gorgeous
as [insert your idol’s name]?”. Questions which will always keep lingering our minds, until we learn how to love ourselves. It’s true that first impressions last, and that this is usually based on the physical appearance of a person which catches our attention when meeting new people and getting new perspectives.

Although, this shouldn’t be the case for everyone and everything. We can’t always base our actions and decisions on the perceptions of others who will not take our
advice in return. The food which you just purged out after filling your stomach
with the emotional void you feel won’t help you in the long-run; the 500 meters
you’ve just ran because someone called you fat will only
exhaust and abuse your body.

So, why do you do it?

To fit in?

To maybe cease the name-calling and to maybe get his attention?

Well, stop fantasizing! The only person who you need to impress, get the approval of and base your decisions on is you. Everything starts with you.

CLOTHES

“If you want a little more confidence

Potatoes turn to french fries, yeah it’s common sense

All you need’s a couple more condiments

And a hundred thousand dollars for some compliments”

Fashion has morphed into our lives over the past decade quite remarkably, so much that, it has been engraved into our lifestyles. Fashion has been applied in cases of
special occasions in the past. However, this has changed drastically through
the years. Fashion has become number one priority for some people, not just for
models, fashion designers and individuals employed in fashion industries, but
by kids and teenagers who most likely should be focusing on their ambitions,
and not what they will wear to school– a place meant to educate you, to attain
compliments and stares of admiration and envy to be considered validated.

We are so absorbed in fulfilling the requirements urged on by society, that we wouldn’t even mind spending thousands of dollars on an ordinary ‘designer’ t-shirt that most likely will only be worn once, just because they feel like like they need
to fit in. We strive for validation from our surroundings by achieving the
goals set by society on us, disregarding our self priority and goals and
neglecting the concept of self love and self validation, ironically, when society
always emphasizes on the importance of loving yourself first, and yet it’s
always them who deprive people of self justification.

People are willing to dress in ways that they would never choose on their own as long as it’s trendy and avoid dissonance just for the feeling of the need to fit in, they have lost their unique individual personality and the ability of self expression, also known as deindividualisation. However, Fashion is meant to express yourself. Not about fitting in and representing wealth and value determined by your popularity,
likes, followers and comments. Accepting yourself for who you truly are is more
important than what society wants you to be, so don’t let them define your
position.

FACE AND RACE

“Oh Mrs. Potato Head tell me

Is it true that pain is beauty?

Does a new face come with a warranty?

Will a pretty face make it better?”

Whenever we see someone, our eyes always meet their face doesn’t it? And through this acquaintance, we somehow get a sense of their personality, or as we millennial call it– ‘vibe’. We are so blinded by the judgment of people’s skin color, their face features to the extent that it begins affecting our emotions and make us insecure, or sometimes others.

We have started looking for perfection in every corner of our lives yet we are oblivious to the fact that it starts from our perspective. We build our opinions based on someone’s face feature or color and it’s nearly impossible to change this. this is because our brains are hard-wired to have a tendency of using our cognitive biases and filters to form ‘snap-judgment’ which are often not accurate and based on intuitions or gut feelings.

However, we can’t always rely on these sensations. If we see a person in a gothic attire, it does not necessary mean that he/she is a worshipper of the devil;if someone has a complexion darker than yours, he/she doesn’t necessary need to be a bully or mean; if we see someone who always smile, this does not always mean that they are the happiest people on the planet; if we hear someone whose dictionary only knows the definitions of curse words, it does not necessary mean that they are cold-hearted; if someone’s skin is fairer than yours, it doesn’t mean that she thinks highly of herself because of it. These are just some of the commonly trivial and stereotypical views we see on others as based on their face and race.

Such trivial and conceited views which narrows our hearts in really looking into a person’s genuine personality and beauty.

People have a competing nature which is why they tend to judge others. The survival of the fittest states that humans need to be exceed each other which are shown through every community such as schools where the celebrated ones are those who get higher grades and in the Olympics where those who cross the end line are congratulated while others are neglected and are considered to be unsuccessful or physically unfit. Comparison is very common if you are trying to develop yourself to the best you can be which is being better than who is next to you and this is the human nature.

In the end, we all have a standard as to how one should dress or look. Mainly, the way we think, is the way the others also think. And since we know people’s mindset – we tend to follow their intuition and avoid getting judged. Body, color, face and race. Small words yet huge judgments are made through them. And that we should avoid. The famous saying: “Don’t judge a book by its cover” says it all. Although like a story, we all may have our ‘dark side’ but there’s always a good in the bad. And we should give others chances as we may end up eating our own words the moment we find out our intuitions are wrong.

A collaborate work by:

Glyn Berana

Rafia Aqeel Basit

Maria Gabriel Bassem

Fareeha Fathima Khan

Rochelle Chandiram

Shara Harish Najkani