Vulnerable us: The Hegemonic Beauty Standards
Hey beauties
Let's groom a li'l bit...yo...wake up, drink a glass of really cool water. Oh don't turn back...take a glass of lukewarm water, squeeze a yellow lemoooon or is it lime?...drink it...come on...
Hey, Never use soap on your face.
Yeah don't give up, exfoliate your body till it bleeds using the EXFOLIATING SCRUB which you get from BODYSHOP.
Glitter and flutter your eyelashes you Halloween people.
Now a regular reader of my blog can quickly arrive to the point that the above staccato sentences are not mine, i was just imitating the beauty bloggers. Yes sweethearts, i have spend little too much time on their blogs and vlogs; and have become one of their preys. I'm half glad that i could go through them, because some are not just fancy ones. Let me confess, few vlogs give me nausea, the way they elongate few words and the clumsy duck-squirrel-rat-cat faces they give push me to damn pothole barged by lumby beauty standards.
it is a pleasure of mine to see all the women dress up well and present themselves with grace and beauty. I am nowhere near protesting against women who uses quintessential makeup, nor am i voicing against women who loves to use makeup and accessories. But i am against the hegemonic beauty standards exultantly raised and placed towards Indian women by some foreign cosmetic companies. I had learnt from my PG classes on neo-colonialism and of course the infamous post-colonial theories on beauty standards. Even by having enlightened by all these nuances I strut and fall into the same dirty chasm again and again. Because of some bad internet influences I had craved for some beauty products and had dumped a good amount on them :( :( I wonder, what drives me into it!
I realised that one of the reasons is the AVAILABILITY. Yes, the PARABEN(carcinogenic)-rich products are cluttered around us more than organic (observe the hypermarkets and shops, most of the Hindustan Unilever products are placed on the stands with faces begging our hands on it to get them to our homes). Secondly and most obvious one is the LESS PRICE of these paraben-rich products. It is less priced than organic ones. I stopped trusting those brands which claims to be natural, they aren't as clean as they say. TV ads pouring out with fair and sexy models to entice the senseless people, yes i can be clubbed to that group as my shelf also contains HINDUSTAN_UNILEVER products which produces toxic air as well as products. You know that it is not an Indian company, they are betraying even with their name. Playing smart from the very beginning. Lakme, Fair and Lovely, Ponds, Vaseline, Dove and what not are their brands. And just notice that these are easily available in the market. Please make sure that when u buy a cosmetic product that it is free of at least paraben and titanium dioxide. Check your shelves, now!
Embrace organic cosmetics which are mostly available of Indian origin. Go for Soultree, Kama Ayurveda, Juicy Chemistry, original Khadi, Vert, Biobloom and so on. This helps the small and big entrepreneurs of our country and not the foreign tycoons. If you are free, have a look at these websites which will give u much insight on this http://merrildiniz.com/2014/11/50-beauty-brands-that-are-cruelty-free-and-all-made-in-india/ and http://www.thegoodtrade.com/lists/cruelty-free-makeup-brands.
I know what goes on your mind, aren't they costly and unaffordable. That is absolutely a pragmatic thought. For those who can't afford be ready to be delighted- YOU ARE TOO LUCKY TO BE SO, you needn't buy it, no one dies of not using cosmetics, no one gets skin cancer for not using cosmetics, all u need to do is check the ingredients of whatever products u use, if possible don't use toxic brands just because they are cheap. Also, if we resort to use less of cosmetics organic or toxic, u are not spending your hard-earned or your father's/husband's hard-earned money on carcinogenic or fraudulent makeup products that burn your skin and push u to follow their bad asses. It is better to not have all these then getting little exposed to dust and sun, they do less harm than the branded cosmetics.
The fascist beauty standards (a phrase snatched from the sketch below taken from Vimal's fb page) is true to great extent. I would love to call it hegemonic beauty standards, our brains are brainwashed and forced to follow the masses (ignore "m") so that they make profit from decaying our skin and body. Now, that I am enlightened and at least some of u are, let us say NO to their treachery. WE ARE NOT STUPIDS. WE INDIANS ARE NOT THEIR TOYS or GUINEA PIGS, isn't it men and gentleladies???
So it would be much appreciated if you don't blindly follow beauty bloggers and vloggers, be discrete and discreet in your choices regarding cosmetics. Switch to cruelty-free and paraben-free product and bedazzle yourselves beautiful Indian ladies.
Also please don't hate yourselves for not being alike the TV ad models, i know they are skinny, fair and sexy. We are Indians, and if u are south-Indian, we are dravidians, most of us like me would be plump, and dusky. Cheer up at least aren't we having proportional bodies, working limbs and has no physical or mental limitations. Let us preserve the Indianness our body possess, we needn't be like the west. Love ourselves, pamper ourselves, reduce the anxiety every time u switch on tv and flip through newspapers and view duck-faced models and actresses endorsing these toxic brands. They are branding Western Beauty Standards, let's minimise the degree to which we fall as preys and victims to the new kind of colonialism (neo-colonialism).
Wake up!
NB Your babies deserve organic products (available). Give them the best.
* the organic brands may not be familiar because they
are not business tycoons, they may not have much finance to publicise themselves, that itself shows their genuinity. Be aware of those products cosmetics, food or whatever that publicise themselves too much. Put your doubts and discrete on them
**Just as the above sketch shows, ladies and men never be frightened to look in the mirror because of the Fascist or Hegemonic or Filmy Beauty Standards.
*** I never want to be skinny or slim, my body is the sign of my hereditary and ancestors. I have taken my body shape and features from my sweet mum and ferocious achamma (father's mother) which wasn't my choice but that's what is in my genes. I am happy to have a good pedigree and family lineage. Health matters but not imitation and blind chasing of any of the set beauty or body standards. Let me live and die as per my grounds and ideals. I will value only the words of my family and not of the words of bait and marketing of the toxic-infusers and miserable TV ads or beauty bloggers/vloggers.
We spend money and buy chemicals plus toxic, they get money credited and a good business. Did u get what i meant???
But not anymore...make discrete choices and thoughts before u click BUY NOW button on the e-shops.
Let's groom a li'l bit...yo...wake up, drink a glass of really cool water. Oh don't turn back...take a glass of lukewarm water, squeeze a yellow lemoooon or is it lime?...drink it...come on...
Hey, Never use soap on your face.
Yeah don't give up, exfoliate your body till it bleeds using the EXFOLIATING SCRUB which you get from BODYSHOP.
Glitter and flutter your eyelashes you Halloween people.
Now a regular reader of my blog can quickly arrive to the point that the above staccato sentences are not mine, i was just imitating the beauty bloggers. Yes sweethearts, i have spend little too much time on their blogs and vlogs; and have become one of their preys. I'm half glad that i could go through them, because some are not just fancy ones. Let me confess, few vlogs give me nausea, the way they elongate few words and the clumsy duck-squirrel-rat-cat faces they give push me to damn pothole barged by lumby beauty standards.
it is a pleasure of mine to see all the women dress up well and present themselves with grace and beauty. I am nowhere near protesting against women who uses quintessential makeup, nor am i voicing against women who loves to use makeup and accessories. But i am against the hegemonic beauty standards exultantly raised and placed towards Indian women by some foreign cosmetic companies. I had learnt from my PG classes on neo-colonialism and of course the infamous post-colonial theories on beauty standards. Even by having enlightened by all these nuances I strut and fall into the same dirty chasm again and again. Because of some bad internet influences I had craved for some beauty products and had dumped a good amount on them :( :( I wonder, what drives me into it!
I realised that one of the reasons is the AVAILABILITY. Yes, the PARABEN(carcinogenic)-rich products are cluttered around us more than organic (observe the hypermarkets and shops, most of the Hindustan Unilever products are placed on the stands with faces begging our hands on it to get them to our homes). Secondly and most obvious one is the LESS PRICE of these paraben-rich products. It is less priced than organic ones. I stopped trusting those brands which claims to be natural, they aren't as clean as they say. TV ads pouring out with fair and sexy models to entice the senseless people, yes i can be clubbed to that group as my shelf also contains HINDUSTAN_UNILEVER products which produces toxic air as well as products. You know that it is not an Indian company, they are betraying even with their name. Playing smart from the very beginning. Lakme, Fair and Lovely, Ponds, Vaseline, Dove and what not are their brands. And just notice that these are easily available in the market. Please make sure that when u buy a cosmetic product that it is free of at least paraben and titanium dioxide. Check your shelves, now!
Embrace organic cosmetics which are mostly available of Indian origin. Go for Soultree, Kama Ayurveda, Juicy Chemistry, original Khadi, Vert, Biobloom and so on. This helps the small and big entrepreneurs of our country and not the foreign tycoons. If you are free, have a look at these websites which will give u much insight on this http://merrildiniz.com/2014/11/50-beauty-brands-that-are-cruelty-free-and-all-made-in-india/ and http://www.thegoodtrade.com/lists/cruelty-free-makeup-brands.
I know what goes on your mind, aren't they costly and unaffordable. That is absolutely a pragmatic thought. For those who can't afford be ready to be delighted- YOU ARE TOO LUCKY TO BE SO, you needn't buy it, no one dies of not using cosmetics, no one gets skin cancer for not using cosmetics, all u need to do is check the ingredients of whatever products u use, if possible don't use toxic brands just because they are cheap. Also, if we resort to use less of cosmetics organic or toxic, u are not spending your hard-earned or your father's/husband's hard-earned money on carcinogenic or fraudulent makeup products that burn your skin and push u to follow their bad asses. It is better to not have all these then getting little exposed to dust and sun, they do less harm than the branded cosmetics.
The fascist beauty standards (a phrase snatched from the sketch below taken from Vimal's fb page) is true to great extent. I would love to call it hegemonic beauty standards, our brains are brainwashed and forced to follow the masses (ignore "m") so that they make profit from decaying our skin and body. Now, that I am enlightened and at least some of u are, let us say NO to their treachery. WE ARE NOT STUPIDS. WE INDIANS ARE NOT THEIR TOYS or GUINEA PIGS, isn't it men and gentleladies???
So it would be much appreciated if you don't blindly follow beauty bloggers and vloggers, be discrete and discreet in your choices regarding cosmetics. Switch to cruelty-free and paraben-free product and bedazzle yourselves beautiful Indian ladies.
 |
| PC Vimal's Facebook Page |
Wake up!
NB Your babies deserve organic products (available). Give them the best.
* the organic brands may not be familiar because they
are not business tycoons, they may not have much finance to publicise themselves, that itself shows their genuinity. Be aware of those products cosmetics, food or whatever that publicise themselves too much. Put your doubts and discrete on them
**Just as the above sketch shows, ladies and men never be frightened to look in the mirror because of the Fascist or Hegemonic or Filmy Beauty Standards.
*** I never want to be skinny or slim, my body is the sign of my hereditary and ancestors. I have taken my body shape and features from my sweet mum and ferocious achamma (father's mother) which wasn't my choice but that's what is in my genes. I am happy to have a good pedigree and family lineage. Health matters but not imitation and blind chasing of any of the set beauty or body standards. Let me live and die as per my grounds and ideals. I will value only the words of my family and not of the words of bait and marketing of the toxic-infusers and miserable TV ads or beauty bloggers/vloggers.
We spend money and buy chemicals plus toxic, they get money credited and a good business. Did u get what i meant???
But not anymore...make discrete choices and thoughts before u click BUY NOW button on the e-shops.
Comments
Post a Comment
Drop your comments