For decades, the fashion and media industries have promoted a narrow and unrealistic definition of beauty: tall, thin, fair, flawless. White skin in particular has been showcased as a form of privilege and superiority, often equated with success, desirability, and even worthiness. This bias has not only shaped cultural ideals in Western societies but has also spread across countries like India and regions of Africa, where people of color are pressured to aspire to lighter skin tones.
The beauty industry has played a powerful role in reinforcing this narrative. For years, global makeup brands launched foundation shades designed almost exclusively for fair skin, ignoring the diversity of human complexion. Women of color were forced to wear shades that did not match their skin, as if to suggest their tones were “less valid.” Only recently, with the groundbreaking launch of Fenty Beauty’s 40 diverse foundation shades, has the industry begun acknowledging that beauty exists in every shade of skin.
Gender, Race, and the Media Lens
The media industry often portrays women as objects—props designed for visual appeal or sexualization—while men are depicted as confident, strong, and purposeful. Women are expected to meet impossible beauty standards: thin waists, large breasts, and curvy figures. Men, meanwhile, are pressured to appear lean, muscular, and “manly.”
But even within these male ideals, harmful stereotypes persist. For example, Asian men are often stereotyped as “less masculine” due to cultural assumptions about body type or sexual capacity. Such damaging portrayals not only create racist hierarchies of masculinity but also contribute to shame, self-doubt, and identity struggles.
These stereotypes reflect what scholars describe as white supremacy and otherness—where whiteness is framed as the norm, and all others are placed outside of it (Bakhru, 2019). The message is subtle but constant: if you do not meet Eurocentric ideals, you are “less than.”
Exploitation Through Insecurities
Exploitation today is no longer only about colonial dominance—it is deeply embedded in consumer culture. Industries profit by making individuals feel insecure about their appearance and then offering products as a “solution.”
Hair discrimination remains prevalent. Black women have been punished at work or school for wearing their natural hair. Many hair products marketed to Black women are unsafe and linked to health risks such as breast-ovarian cancer.
Sexualization of women of color continues in music videos, magazines, and pornography, where Black women, in particular, are often depicted with animalistic themes or dehumanizing labels.
Pornography, a multi-billion-dollar industry, normalizes unrealistic body ideals and unhealthy sexual behaviors. For vulnerable adults and teens, this can distort body image, intimacy expectations, and ideas about consent.
Body Image, Weight, and Aging
Obesity or even being slightly overweight is often equated with laziness or unattractiveness. People living in larger bodies are mocked in the media, cast in negative roles, or used as comic relief. In reality, these depictions reinforce fat-shaming, which has been linked to depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and even suicidal ideation.
Similarly, aging has been stigmatized as something to “fight.” Anti-aging creams, Botox, and plastic surgeries are aggressively marketed, sending the harmful message that growing older is undesirable. In Lebanon, for instance, plastic surgery has become so normalized that banks even provide loans for procedures.
The documentary “The Illusionists: The Globalization of Beauty” highlights how industries create fear around natural processes like aging, weight fluctuation, or cellulite—only to profit from “solutions” that rarely work long-term (Rossini, 2015).
Toward Healing and Redefining Beauty
While some progress has been made—such as the inclusion of plus-size models and greater ethnic diversity in advertising—the larger cultural narrative of beauty remains narrow and harmful. As counsellors, we see the impact of these ideals every day:
Young women struggling with body image disorders.
Men battling insecurities about masculinity.
Individuals of color internalizing racism about their skin or features.
At Inner Gateway Counselling, we believe healing begins by challenging these toxic norms and learning to:
Embrace diverse definitions of beauty.
Recognize media manipulation and unrealistic portrayals.
Build self-worth based on inner qualities, not appearance.
Develop resilience against body-shaming and racialized stereotypes.
The word beauty has been twisted into a marketing tool to exploit insecurities. But true beauty lies in diversity, authenticity, and self-acceptance. As a society, we must unlearn harmful ideals, support inclusive representation, and empower individuals to reclaim their confidence.
Counselling can help individuals process body image struggles, heal from societal pressures, and foster a healthier, more compassionate relationship with themselves. The change may take decades, but every small step toward acceptance brings us closer to a world where beauty is no longer defined by oppression, but by authenticity.
Written by Prabhjot Mehndi
References & Resources
Bakhru, T. S. (2019). Reproductive justice and sexual rights: Transnational perspectives. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Rossini, E. (Ed.). (2015). The Illusionists – The Globalization of Beauty. Retrieved from Kanopy.