I admit, I am one to consume a lot of media. I am on so many platforms and I am absorbing whatever any of them has to send my way in terms of content. Recently, I have been seeing edits out the wazoo of so many different actors and musicians, and I have noticed two repeating themes: the celebrities almost never look the same, and the comments are flooded with either praise or criticism towards the celebrity’s attractiveness.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is a very common saying that we have all definitely heard once or twice from our mother’s mouth, but for celebrities, it is in the eye of casting agents. It is a well enough known idea that celebrities are held at a standard significantly higher than the average person, especially considering they are meant to be a face that is recognizable worldwide. Industries cannot be having poor representation in any way, so when it comes to aspects such as looks, they can be nit picky. Depending on what is trying to be marketed, they may hire someone depending solely on matters like their gender, maybe their ethnicity, or possibly their reputation. At the end of the day, there are filters in terms of their appearances that play a major part in whether or not they could get the job they are searching for, and that leads me to the question, what role does a celebrity’s looks play in the media?
History of Beauty Standards
The standard of beauty is something that has been evolving for thousands of years. Dating back primarily in pieces of art, scientists and discoverers were able to uncover various beauty trends that have come and gone throughout the years. With extensive research included in an article by Nikita Johnson and Jacqueline Howard, the following has been discovered about beauty ideals:
- 17th/18th century: The ideal body was full and voluptuous with rounded curves; this brought about the invention of the corset to help emphasize a shapely body. Makeup tended to be very pale with heavy blush (this was a way to show status by giving the impression of someone who is not outside doing manual work, as well as it created the idea of weakness which aligned with the gender norms at the time).
- 19th century: The body standard changed as the decades progressed. In the 1920’s, flappers became more popular, and they brought with them a body type that was slender and straight, giving a “boyish” look. As the 1930’s came in, so did the Great Depression, and due to the economic turmoil, a body that was full and rounded rose up again because it represented a symbol of status, saying “In this economy, I not only have enough money to nourish myself, but I can keep myself womanly.” The 1940’s and 50’s kept with the idea of that full figure, and at this time, celebrities became far more than just people who provide entertainment, but they also took on the role of someone enviable. When stars such as Marilyn Monroe came about and Playboy magazine was released, the curvy pinup girl was officially in. The 1960’s and 70’s soon came along, and when women such as Twiggy made names for themselves, so did their slender body type; it was around this time eating disorders began to rise, with everyone dreaming of getting that stick thin shape. The 1990’s and early 2000’s remained similar to the two decades before, but now, the body coined the term “heroin chic”, mimicking the rise of substance abuse in the industry and the effects those drugs took on people’s bodies.
With years worth of fluctuation with what is considered the “desired body type” according to society, we have found ourselves currently in a place of limbo with body types, and the modern day standard is a bit of everything.
Modern Day Standards
Today, we see different looking celebrities everywhere. With the recent body positive movement (as well as the emphasis on the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”) there is representation as far as the eye can see. There are different body shapes and face structures that get love and notoriety every day; with the modeling industry getting better at the contribution of various body types, almost all sizes can be seen in various campaigns, overall contributing to a more positive experience for the individuals. The world of Hollywood and Los Angeles has discovered a new light on the idea of what makes a person physically beautiful. However, this new trend of all over love doesn’t completely extend to society’s beloved actors and models.
How the Beauty Standard Affects the Talented Folk
The talent industry, although I have no personal experience with it, is a cut throat one. To some degree, a celebrity is required to be an image of admiration and, in some cases, enviable. So, in order to meet these requirements, one cannot be some average Joe. A celebrity is a person of status and they have to have something that gives them that status; in some cases, talent is not required to achieve that level of fame.
We live in a day and age where just about anyone can have a following. With social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, virality is not very hard to achieve. Just one’s ability to look good while lip syncing some new and popular song can get them millions of views and thousands of followers, and this is something that has been going on since the rise of both apps. With this new and easy way to rise to fame, a genuine talent and/or ability is no longer necessary to be adored by the public.
So, with that being said, some people who have been deemed as attractive have found a way to climb up the ladder of status rather easily. They no longer need to be able to sell something, sing something at a certain note, write something in a way that is compelling, or even be able to put on a show of acting. So that brings me to question, when those who rise up and are meeting the beauty standard, are they actually talented, or are they known because they appease the eyes?
What I Have Seen
As I said at the beginning of this article, I am a chronic scroller on social media. I see people regularly “blowing up” for nothing more than a video of them with a catchy song behind it.
Viewers of content made about celebrities do not often leave comments about the performance actually being made, and instead they focus on the state of the performer’s appearance, and that makes me wonder, are her following gathered together for her beauty rather than skills?
For some platforms who cater to their appearance, it is not odd for their following to consist of only people who find them pleasing to the eyes. However, for those who are major celebrities that have gained their traction through a certain talent or ability, it is odd in my opinion to find a percentage of their viewers are only there for the way the look. Because typically, when someone blows up and finds fame in their music or acting or any other branch of Hollywood’s recognized talent, they have to actually be talented.
A person’s audience completely dictates whether or not a celebrity is a person of enough ability to be given attention. So when someone comes along for one skill and are only met with attention for their good-lookingness, you have to wonder the effect that this may have on the person being recognized, if their praise for their face or body at all hinders the content they produce, or even their esteem when it comes to their talent. And given the fact that (as we have seen from above) beauty standards are always changing and coming in and out of popularity, how can someone rely solely on their looks for their status?
It is a very complex relationship between an artist and their following. The artist wants to follow their hearts and their dreams and create what they desire, but an audience determines if an artist is deserving of attention and fame. So when someone becomes mainstream with a dream in mind and receives attention for their face, it can affect how that artist perceives their work and themselves. The support of the followers can make or break a person with aspiration, and when followers rely on something as ever changing as their beauty, celebrities are at stake for having notoriety in however many years it may take for the next beauty fad to enter mainstream media. So to answer my initial question of the role a celebrity’s appearance makes in the media, it is both largely important and also one of no matter at all. Because as a person makes fame from their looks, before anyone knows it, they may suddenly have a face that is simply no longer in style.
It is important to remember that not only is the beauty standard ever changing, but no two people will always find the same things alluring. There is nothing that one’s looks can do to stop them from being loved, from being admired, from being smart or driven, or from being talented. And if there is a want strong enough in any person, a dream can so easily become a reality.