The Beauty Industry Has Gotten Out Of Hand
Hello readers. Today I want to talk about a content creator I found on YouTube one day who really left an impression on me. Her YouTube handle is @michailacothran and she makes videos about fashion and makeup.
While many of the comments on her videos are from old men who have negative things to say about her looks and her body, other commenters are in awe about how confident she is wearing crop tops and low-rise jeans just because her waistline is bigger than your average supermodel’s.
When people ask her “How are you so confident?” her response is “Why wouldn’t I be?” While I do commend her for being body positive, I want to go even farther with this discussion.
You see, the reason why supermodels don’t look like Michaila is not because they themselves are trying to reinforce unrealistic beauty standards for women–it’s because they would not get hired. If you don’t get hired, you have no chance of gaining any sort of following and therefore, you can’t influence anyone.
So many models and actresses talk about how they have body image issues because of the standards set by the entertainment industry. The way a person looks on screen or on the runway is very intentional, never forget that.
The other side of this coin is that there are influencers who aren’t under any obligation to look a certain way because they were not hired by the entertainment industry. Michaila and other content creators like her have the power of not having to change how they look in order to influence.
We are all very lucky that she is using her power to spread positivity, because any influencer can choose to agree with the beauty standard set for women and spread negativity instead.
And not only does Michaila use her unique power to make other women more confident in themselves, but she also chooses to be unbothered by anyone in her comments section trying to tell her she is ugly or fat. She remembers how many people are inspired by her and chooses to dress and look how she wants to.
The most important message I learned from watching her videos is that you can only be affected by the beauty standards if you agree with them. I will try every day to disagree with those standards so I can be free from them.
Another lesson from watching her videos is that fashion isn’t an unattainable trend–it’s you, being yourself. Wear what makes you confident and happy, because you will attract the right kind of people into your life if you’re being yourself.
I guess this ended up being a shorter article, but if you made it to the end, thank you for reading. Link to Michaila’s YouTube channel