Would You Paint Your Teeth Black?

In the world of beauty, trends come and go. But have you ever stopped to think about how bizarre some of these trends really are?

Take Kim Kardashian’s infamous 17 kg weight loss to fit into Marilyn Monroe’s dress. The irony? Marilyn herself, once the ultimate symbol of beauty, would likely be considered “too big” by today’s high-fashion standards. It makes you wonder—who gets to decide what’s beautiful, and why do we feel the need to keep up?

Where Do Beauty Standards Come From?

Beauty trends don’t just appear out of nowhere. They’re shaped by a mix of cultural, social, and economic forces, often reflecting deeper values and power structures.

1. Power and Status: Beauty as a Class Marker

Throughout history, beauty has been linked to wealth and privilege. The more difficult or expensive a beauty standard was to achieve, the more it signified high status.

• Blackened Teeth (Japan, Edo Period): In feudal Japan, noblewomen and samurai’s wives painted their teeth black (ohaguro), a sign of refinement. While we spend a fortune whitening our teeth today, back then, dark teeth were the height of elegance.
• Pale Skin (Europe & Asia): Before tanning beds, pale skin was the ultimate status symbol. It meant you weren’t working in the fields. Women powdered their faces with lead-based makeup (which, unfortunately, was highly toxic). Fast forward to today, and a bronzed glow is the new elite status—signifying vacation time, leisure, and luxury.

2. Gender Roles and Control

Beauty standards often serve to reinforce traditional gender roles, shaping how women (and sometimes men) are expected to behave and present themselves.

• Foot Binding (China, 10th-20th Century): Tiny, deformed feet were considered the ultimate sign of femininity. But beyond aesthetics, it physically restricted women’s mobility, reinforcing their dependence on men.
• Corsets (19th Century Europe & America): Women cinched their waists to dangerous extremes, crushing ribs and displacing organs. Why? Because a delicate, constrained body was seen as the ideal of femininity—passive, fragile, and controlled.
• Victorian Era “Hysteria” Diagnoses: Women who didn’t conform to society’s expectations were often dismissed as “hysterical.” Some were even institutionalized for expressing independence, showing how beauty and compliance were often intertwined.

3. The Role of Media and Technology

As technology and media evolved, so did beauty trends. The rise of photography, cinema, and now social media has amplified and accelerated the way beauty ideals spread.

• Hollywood’s Golden Age (1920s-50s): Actresses like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn became global beauty icons, influencing millions of women.
• Supermodel Era (1980s-90s): The rise of high-fashion models like Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss cemented the idea that thin, tall, and symmetrical faces were the peak of beauty.
• Social Media and Filters (2010s-Present): Today, beauty standards are shaped by Instagram, FaceTune, and influencers promoting hyper-perfect aesthetics. The pressure to match digitally altered standards has led to a boom in cosmetic procedures, from fillers to body sculpting.

4. Consumerism: Beauty as Big Business

Let’s be real—industries thrive on making us feel like we’re not enough. Beauty isn’t just cultural; it’s a multi-billion-dollar business that profits from our insecurities.

• The diet industry promotes fluctuating body ideals—one decade, curvy bodies are in, the next, ultra-thin figures make a comeback.
• The skincare industry sells anti-aging as a necessity, capitalizing on the fear of wrinkles.
• The cosmetic industry constantly reinvents trends (contouring, lip fillers, fox-eye surgery) to ensure consumers keep spending.

What’s the takeaway? Many beauty trends exist not because they make us feel good, but because they create demand for products and procedures.

Are You Sure You Want to Follow These Standards?

Looking back, we shake our heads at foot binding, lead-based makeup, and blackened teeth. But are today’s beauty trends really any better?

• Extreme weight loss for a dress?
• Undergoing painful procedures for a trending face shape?
• Feeling “not enough” because an algorithm decides what’s attractive?

So, What’s the Alternative?

If beauty standards are so arbitrary, why do we still chase them? Because they’re deeply ingrained in our culture. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept them without question.

1. Challenge the Narrative

Next time you feel pressure to change your body or appearance, ask: Who benefits from this? If the answer is a multi-billion-dollar industry, maybe the trend isn’t worth it.

2. Embrace Individual Beauty

Instead of trying to fit into someone else’s mold, celebrate what makes you unique. The features you worry about now might be admired in a different era. (Remember when ultra-thin brows were the trend, and now natural, full brows are in?)

3. Unfollow Toxic Influences

If your feed is full of unrealistic beauty standards, it’s time for a digital detox. Follow people who promote confidence, authenticity, and diversity.

4. Define Your Own Standards

Rather than chasing trends, ask yourself: What makes me feel confident and comfortable in my skin? Because that’s the only beauty standard that should matter. At the end of the day, true beauty isn’t about fitting into a mold—it’s about owning who you are.

Beauty standards are always changing, but the pressure to conform remains. So before you stress about looking “perfect” in photos or fitting into an impossible trend, ask yourself:

Would you have painted your teeth black just because society told you to?

If not, maybe it’s time to start defining beauty on your own terms.