Beauty Demands

With reports suggesting body image concerns have increased over lockdown, we republish this 2017 post from Nadia Craddock on body appreciation (and how to improve yours).  We need to clear something up when it comes to body positivity. Body positive hashtags are all over the internet. On Instagram alone (at time of writing – July 2017) there are over three million posts tagged with #bodypositive, nearly a million with #bodypositivity, and almost exactly 350,000 posts with #bopo. Don’t get me wrong, it’s BEYOND exciting to think of so much self-love online against the backdrop of diet- and selfie-culture. And I’m totally here for the body positive movement and community, especially at a time where young people report to feeling under more pressure than ever before to look perfect . However, I feel like, occasionally, there is some confusion as to what the term ‘body positivity’ actually means - especially *eye-roll* when certain brands engage in the space for a heartbeat because it’...

At the time of year when we're encouraged to get "glowing holiday skin" , we revisit this thoughtful exploration of the spray tan from 2016. 3. Where possible, always shave or wax at least 24 hours prior to a spray tan appointment, as hair removal after a spray tan will remove the tan. 6. Try to avoid activities that involve excessive perspiring for 12 hours after a spray tan. 7. Try to avoid activities that naturally exfoliate the skin – such as baths and chlorinated pool swimming – for at least 12 hours after your spray tan. 12. Exfoliate from head to toe the day prior to a spray tan, paying particular attention to areas such as your knees, elbows and ankles. 21. After a shower, try to gently pat your skin dry and avoid vigorous rubbing when towel drying. From: 35 expert spray tanning tips to guarantee you’ll never get a bad tan again Pre-twentieth century, ‘pale skin was often perceived as a mark of beauty, wealth and refinement’ (Martin et...

An upcoming documentary from the UK pop star, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, acknowledges that "colourism sits right beside racism" . In this great revisited post, Ronald E Hall discusses colourism in the UK To be dark in the UK today regardless of race is to be unfairly stigmatized in failure to meet the ideal of fair skin. To be fair and/or light-skinned, on the other hand, is to be celebrated as attractive and smart in line with the fair skin ideal. This is true for UK men, UK women, UK whites, UK blacks and other UK people of color.  Black and Asian citizens of the UK in particular not only experience this penchant for fair skin from outside their racial group but within it as well. While the bias against darkness is most apparent in skin bleaching by women around the world, it is increasingly apparent to UK dermatologists who see patients requesting skin bleaching products. Gina is a dark-skinned woman in her mid-twenties and a resident of the UK, born of Jamaican de...

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...