Who profits from women's insecurities?

Whenever a woman is offered to "get rid of imperfections," it's worth asking a simple question: who decided that this was an imperfection at all?

Pores, cellulite, wrinkles, gray hair, body hair, nose shape, breast size, weight – the list goes on and on. Some of these “imperfections” were not even considered a problem a few decades ago.

Today, there is a separate market for each of them: creams, serums, procedures, supplements, diets, hardware cosmetology, plastic surgery.

This doesn't mean that cosmetics or self-care are bad. A woman has every right to dye her hair, get injections, use cosmetics, or do nothing at all with her appearance.

The question is different: Where does personal desire end and imposed need begin?

A problem that may not exist

The mechanism is quite simple: first, a natural feature of the body must be identified as a flaw. Then, convince the woman that this flaw affects her attractiveness, success, relationships, or even professional life, and finally, offer a product that promises to fix the problem.

This is how ordinary pores turn into “imperfect skin texture”, wrinkles into “signs that need to be fought against”, and cellulite into something that is supposedly something to be ashamed of.

The attitude towards aging is particularly telling. Getting older is a natural process that cannot be avoided. However, female aging is often presented not as a part of life, but as something that needs to be fought against. Women are encouraged to stay young as long as possible, to hide the signs of age.

And here a paradox arises: If a problem has no final solution, it can be sold indefinitely.

You can't beat aging forever. You can't make your skin look like a TikTok mask. You can't guarantee a body that stays the same throughout your life, so there's always the next "flaw" that needs fixing.

Why does this primarily affect women? 

Pressures about appearance do not only affect women. However, it is women's appearance that has historically had a much stronger influence on how society views women.

She was expected to be more than just competent, educated, or professional. She had to be attractive, young, slim, well-groomed – and preferably meet all of these requirements at the same time.

Gray hair can add "solidity" to a man, while a woman is often advised to hide it. Age can add authority to a man, while as a woman ages, she is often judged primarily by how young she looks.

Therefore, talking about the beauty industry is talking about why a woman's appearance is so often perceived as a social resource that she must constantly improve.

If a woman gets used to thinking that her value depends on her appearance, she will spend more time, money, and energy on it. And the more resources are invested in fighting “imperfections,” the harder it is to admit that some of these problems were simply sold to us.

The beauty industry capitalizes on the fear of not being beautiful enough.

Fear of aging. Fear of gaining weight. Fear of losing attractiveness. Fear of looking “unkempt.” Fear of not meeting your partner’s expectations. Fear of receiving less attention. 

The more fears that can be associated with appearance, the more products can be offered as solutions to them.

That's why advertising often doesn't sell a jar of cream or a cosmetic procedure. It sells a promise: You will become more confident, more successful, more desirable, younger, happier — if you buy this.

Women are starting to change the system 

The social media spotlight on cellulite, body hair, acne, stretch marks, gray hair, and age-related changes has become a way to bring back naturalness to where it had long been displaced by retouching and filters.

Body positivity, body neutrality, and the natural aging movement are emerging. Brands are starting to use different body types, skin features, and appearances in their advertising.

Destroying the myth of beauty doesn't start with giving up all cosmetics. It starts with taking a critical look at what women are being sold.

And that is why today it is important to talk not only about accepting your own body, but also about a woman's right not to consider herself a problem that needs to be constantly fixed.

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This article was made possible by the support of the Norwegian people through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway (MFA of Norway) within the framework of the project “Building a Gender-Inclusive Recovery with the Women’s Movement of Ukraine” (GEN-Recovery). Responsibility for the content of the information lies with the NGO “La Strada-Ukraine”. The information presented in this article does not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway or the Government of Norway.