57 Things Women Did To Their Bodies As Teens Because Beauty Standards Said They Should

Unrealistic beauty standards have always existed.

Take 13th‑century China, for example, where tiny feet were considered beautiful and women went through the painful practice of foot-binding to get them. Or the Victorian era, when the “tuberculosis look” was all the rage — pale skin, red lips, and super tiny waists were considered the height of beauty.

Today, with screens right in our pockets, being able to see what other women from around the world look like just makes it worse. Constantly comparing ourselves to celebrities and influencers can make us feel like we’re not measuring up.

The recent “Slavic” trend online is a glaring example of this. Women are being pressured to look ultra-feminine and soft, yet strong and distant or mysterious — basically fitting all the impossible beauty standards.

The internet has been full of videos like ‘How to Be a Slavic Doll’ or ‘How to Date a Slavic Woman’ — the trend which quickly went viral openly promotes unhealthy beauty ideals, stereotypes and fetishization of Eastern European women.

But then again, why do we feel like we have to meet certain beauty ideals? And who decides what’s “beautiful”?

Being considered good-looking can open doors in ways most people don’t even realize. While this has been true throughout history — Edward Thorndike even described it in the 1920s with his Halo Effect — the idea of “pretty privilege” became popular more recently, especially in online feminist conversations and social media platforms.

Research shows that looking a certain way often feels linked to being accepted, confident, or successful — so it’s easy to feel like you have to meet those beauty standards just to feel valued.

Experts say these standards are learned from culture, family, and social norms, not naturally hard‑wired.

Compliments on how you look or comments about body shape during childhood can deeply affect how you look at yourself later in life.

Trying to keep up with a trend or comparing yourself to unrealistic body images can leave a long-lasting impact. It can even lead to serious physical or mental health issues, such as anxiety and eating disorders.

It’s easy to feel conscious or unhappy with your own body when you believe you need to look a certain way to be seen as attractive or even accepted in the society.

Such beauty standards can affect people’s overall well‑being — lowering self-esteem, and even keeping them from hanging out with friends or getting into relationships.

Knowing the difference between what is real and what isn’t, especially when it comes from an online source, can make a huge difference when it comes to self-confidence and body image.

Following more body-positive celebrities and influencers is one of the ways to stop yourself from feeling insecure.

At the same time, it’s also important to surround yourself with people who value you for who you are, instead of how you look — people who don’t constantly comment on your appearance, or give unsolicited advice on diet and exercise.

Some experts also give pointers on how not to fall prey to unrealistic beauty standards.

“Talk to older people and ask them what trends were popular when they were younger. You’ll realise that aspirations were very different even 10 years ago, and will therefore likely change in the future,” professor of psychology Phillippa Diedrichs told The Guardian.

But if you find yourself going deeper and deeper into the wormhole, it is important to reach out to a therapist to understand the thoughts and emotions that can stem from the pressure to meet impossible beauty standards.