Unconventional or Just Unprofitable?

When terms like ‘conventional’ and ‘unconventional’ come up in terms of beauty standards I can’t help but sneer at the very discussion of it. To me, this binary of someone being a conventional beauty or an unconventional beauty is almost like a backhanded compliment full of contradictions and variables. The very word convention is a noun that means the way that something is done in a particular area or within a particular activity. This means that the deciding factor of conventional beauty varies from nation to nation, culture to culture, and so forth. In the United States we tend to consider a conventional beauty to be someone with rather standard Anglo-Saxon features, and inherently can lie deeply within racist history and a culture based in colonization.

 There are so many different ways that women are showing their beauty unabashed and unashamed for not fitting the standard; rather most are so proud of it. Hooked noses, unibrows, facial hair and so many features that we have been told are ‘unfeminine’ and ‘unladylike’. We’re asked to balance on this tightrope of being natural while also being beautiful, shaving unwanted body hair while making sure that we are considered pretty without makeup. Where did all of these regulations and categories come from though?

Image Courtesy: Strike Tallahassee

I believe that this belief is born from the idea of women being a commodity, that their beauty, their lives, and their very essence are meant to belong to someone else. It has not been so long now that women have felt that they no longer had to simply be a housewife for a husband. There have been large movements for gender equality in areas of education, livelihood and now with modern fashion and beauty, there has been a push to move away from a single standard for what beauty is. Rhianna has been a staple in this movement, her beauty lines, makeup, and models all coming from a range of skin tones, looks, and various ethnicities. Fenty Beauty has been a trailblazer for giving people a product that makes them happy to be themselves.

Rhianna has helped bring to light the issues of the binary categories of conventional and unconventional beauty as being a binary between something that lies in a discussion of systematic racism of the beauty community. Only providing shade ranges that are based in lighter shades and those darker shades only being available in certain pigments.

Women have learned to make a living from their looks, but in the end, it is also a balance between being oneself and being perceived and used as a commodity to men and their desires. That’s not to say that being a sex worker inherently makes one a commodity, their free will, and choices lead them to a lifestyle that they enjoy. Being an unconventional beauty is a phrase used in patriarchal systems that take a manner of saying that they were able to find a way to make you profitable to the mainstream masses.

Let’s do away with terms like conventional and unconventional, both in regard to ourselves and others around us. No one needs to hear that they have a beauty that is considered unconventional, it just seems backhanded and honestly layered in so many terrible qualities. We’re all gorgeous and amazing creatures that the world should reckon with. Taking some time and reevaluating the standards that you set for yourself and others can be a long road sometimes, but it is so important to be the change that you want to see.

Strike Out,

Writer: Cali Robins

Editor: Lexi Fernandez

Graphics: Gracyn Holloway

Tallahassee