The words of the old adage “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is not foreign to any of us. At some point in our lives, those who considers themselves to be in the ‘know’, will share this bit of archaic wisdom with typical confidence that these peculiar words will cement itself onto our essentia and generate us into self-loving, beautiful people. Society however, has got other plans. Last week 19-year old photography student, Hannah Altman, unveiled a series of relatively unsettling photographs depicting the absurdity of the unreasonable female standard of beauty. By re-creating situations that would normally be considered grotesque, Altman utilised glitter to make a compelling point. The photographs features women’s bodily fluids, all replaced by glitter to represent the need of something society has very agilely been conditioning us for centuries with: to be attractive, to be beautiful.
Images courtesy of Hannah Altman
This got me thinking. Is it still just women faced with this kind of dilemma? Is it just women who feel the need to be attractive and admirable? Today’s world is changing all the time and so are old-fashioned perceptions of beauty. Men these days spend more time and money to look after themselves and although this is still something relatively ‘new’ for society to ‘accept’, we’re increasingly faced with the desire to improve the way we look. This brings into question the morality of the exceptionally well groomed, sensationally good-looking male image portrayed in the media today. We’re lead to believe that the perfect hair style or a well chiseled facade is what’s needed to be deemed attractive. We’re inadvertently prepared to conclude that shapely hairless pectorals and a flat six-pack induced stomach is what makes you a desirable man. Male fragrance TV adverts dons beefy handsome often topless (and sometimes bottomless) men while magazines publish highly commercialised declarations of miracle grooming products promoted by really good looking, wrinkle free men with somewhat barren guarantees to make you more alluring to the world. But what about the reality of it all?
In reality the true nature of the male body is entirely ignored in this ludicrous standards-setting monstrocity. Fleshy bodies, blotchy skin and floppy bellies are completely overlooked while the unquestionably higher standard of male beauty continues to smoothly add pressure to men to look better, smarter and more atttractive all the time. Now before it sounds like I’m advocating we all pack up and head for the mellow hippy playground of El Bonson in Argentina, unsexy hair and pendulous ‘man boobs’ in tow, let me just say as a grooming and beauty blogger myself, I am all for materialising things to improve the way you live and look after yourself but just like Hannah Altman’s objective with her series of photographs, I am questioning the somewhat unnatural and in some cases dehumanising way men are portrayed to us. I think we now live in a fairly superficial world carefully orchestrated by societal pressures and expectations but isn’t it time we nullify the much more prominent fear of mediocrity that silently creeps up on you each time you clock the likes of David Gandy and Jon Kortajarena getting their kit off (or on) in the name of selling a product?
Would you still buy it if these were advertised by every day men? You decide.
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