Beauty Demands

How does facial difference interact with experiences of loneliness? Already the subject of significant discussion, loneliness has become an even more pressing topic during the COVID-19 pandemic, as we navigate unprecedented periods of separation and isolation. Critically, people with disabilities have generally been ignored in the international debate about loneliness. Our normal social interactions have been altered, our usual support networks disrupted. Our homes have become our workplaces, gyms, schools, as well as pubs and restaurants. While no two experiences of lockdown are the same, many people have expressed pervasive feelings of loneliness as they have adjusted to each subsequent phase of restriction on social activities. But loneliness is not always a negative experience, as highlighted in AboutFace PI Fay Bound Alberti’s recent Biography of Loneliness . Many have expressed comfort, relief, and contentment during periods of lockdown. Charities like Face Equality International...

Throughout February – March 2021, the #EverydayLookism campaign hosted a series of live-streamed panel discussions .  In an earlier blog post for Beauty Demands, we wrote about the first event – Body Image As A Public Health Issue. In this blog post, we discuss the second and third #EverydayLookism events. Event 2: Appearance Bullying and Lookism In ‘Appearance Bullying and Lookism’, Professor Heather Widdows ,  Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP , Martha Evans ( The Anti-Bullying Alliance ), and Phyllida Swift ( Face Equality International ) discussed appearance bullying, the most common form of bullying, and why this needs to be taken as seriously as other forms of bullying. Phyllida outlined the sorts of lookism she faces as a woman with facial scarring, and explained how Face Equality International aim to challenge the discrimination, ostracization, and vilification experienced by those with facial disfigurements. Martha discussed how the very skinny ‘heroin chic’ beauty ideal ...

  When you think of models, you probably think of long legs, designer clothing, and flawless figures. When I think of models, I think of eating disorders, self-doubt, and an everlasting feeling of dread and isolation.   (Photo by Rob Crawford) I started modelling almost ten years ago in my home country of Australia. I never wanted to be a model, I didn’t care about fashion or parties or “being cool”, but I wasn’t opposed to trying something new. I loved modelling in Australia for the most part, I did a lot of exciting jobs and I started to feel more confident and happy with who I was growing to be. Then, around the age of 22 I decided I’d move to England, I have family here and I thought I could try modelling in the European market.    I was unprepared. I visited most of the top agencies in London, and all but one rejected me. The one agency that didn’t had one condition - I had to lose weight. In Australia, I was encouraged to look lean and “fresh faced”, but th...

As the UK moves slowly out of lockdown, outdoor sports should restart in two weeks, so we revisit this interesting research from 2019 on body image in women who engage in sport and exercise.   Women who take part in sport and exercise tend to have more positive body image than other women (e.g. Hausenblas & Fallon, 2006). Positive body image in women who exercise has been linked with a number of factors including relatively greater focus on body performance rather than aesthetics, the fact that exercised bodies tend to be closer to the mainstream cultural ideal in terms of body fat levels and muscle tone, and psychosocial benefits of sport, such as autonomy and competence, that have been linked to more positive body image (e.g. Petrie & Greenleaf, 2012). Although women who take part in sport and exercise tend to be more positive about their bodies than other women, this does not mean that they do not have body image concerns, and body image concerns have been reported i...

  On 19 th February 2021, the #EverydayLookism campaign hosted the first of its live-streamed panel discussions . In this event – Body Image As A Public Health Issue – Professor Heather Widdows , Dr Antonis Kousoulis (The Mental Health Foundation) and Dr Luke Evans MP discussed why we need to take body image seriously, and reframe it as a matter of public health. The panellists began by explaining why body image is important enough to be a public health concern. They argued that a focus on body image can have significant mental health implications (such as anxiety and depression) and can also have wider effects on physical health and everyday life (for example, preventing young people speaking up in class or engaging in physical exercise).  For example, Heather cited the 2016 Girls’ Attitude Survey by Girlguiding that showed that 53% of girls between 7-10 years old think that they have to be ‘perfect’ most or some of the time, and this number rises to 84% of girls betw...

It shouldn’t really surprise anyone that the COVID-19 pandemic, and restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, have devastated mental health [1]. In the United States, for instance, nationally representative surveys have reported that the prevalence of depressive symptoms and serious psychological distress tripled during the pandemic compared to levels measured in 2018 [2-3]. In the United Kingdom, data from the Household Longitudinal Study panel shows that the first nationwide lockdown led to an increase in the prevalence of clinically-significant mental health distress [4]. With as many as 10 million people in the United Kingdom needing new or additional mental health support as a result of the pandemic [5], some have suggested that the crisis poses the greatest threat to mental health since the Second World War [6].   Illness or fear of illness, limited opportunities for social contact, the loss of loved ones, reduced access to educational and work opportunities, and disrup...

  Zac Efron’s “dad bod transformation” caused a furore on social media after his Netflix show, Down to Earth , was released. Some loved his ‘new look’, others argued that calling his physique a ‘dad bod’ shows just how far the male beauty ideal has gone . Zac Efron isn’t the only celebrity shamed and praised for his ‘dad bod’. Jason Momoa was shamed last year for holiday pictures without a six-pack. And, Jamie Jewitt and Antony Costa have been praised by fans for working on their ‘dad bods’. The term ‘dad bod’ was coined by Makenzie Pearson in a 2015 article Why Girls Love the Dad Bod , and the term quickly went viral with many debating whether this type of male body should be a source of shame or pride . The ‘dad bod’ phenomenon is just one of the beauty ideals which men try to attain. In Perfect Me , Heather argues pressures to be perfect are increasingly affecting men. “The men’s personal care industry is predicted to hit $166 billion by 2022” and men’s skin-care products ...