Beauty has always been socially constructed. What has changed is the speed and intensity with which it reaches us. Filters, algorithms, and influencer culture now deliver beauty standards in real time. We are no longer comparing ourselves only to celebrities. We are comparing ourselves to curated, edited, monetized versions of ordinary people.

This shift matters.

In clinical practice, I see how hyper-visible beauty standards intersect with body image, self-esteem, and eating disorders. When the “ideal” is constantly refreshed and digitally perfected, it becomes increasingly unattainable. For many people, especially those prone to perfectionism or shame, comparison becomes chronic. The body turns into a project that must be managed, improved, and monitored.

One of the most harmful myths is not that beauty exists, but that a very narrow, culturally constructed standard of beauty is a prerequisite for worth. Thinness, youthfulness, Eurocentric features, and specific body proportions have been elevated as if they represent beauty itself. They do not.........

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