LOVE this article & reading through the comments. Been sort of strange to recognise that I participate in this behaviour, but without the concept of "beauty negotations" to frame it, I may have never have recognised that it forms a big part of my own relationship to my physical appearance.
My parents are a mix of south east Asian, Austral…
LOVE this article & reading through the comments. Been sort of strange to recognise that I participate in this behaviour, but without the concept of "beauty negotations" to frame it, I may have never have recognised that it forms a big part of my own relationship to my physical appearance.
My parents are a mix of south east Asian, Australian & Middle Eastern. I was "blessed" (trying to reframe for myself) with a very defined jawline and large masseter muscles and dark body hair. I've negotiated that I my looks therefore *must* be aggressively "femme" (aka always have exceptionally long hair, dress like a stepford wife & remain waif thin at all costs).
I think this got a lot worse for me (and a lot of people with these features) when the masseter reduction injections came onto the cosmetic enhancement market, which gave me a label for the muscles for the first time. "MY MASSETERS!!!" (a term I had probably never heard before an instagram ad telling me how easy it would be to get rid of them of) were obviously an offence against my ability to be good looking and suddenly I began to declare that I hated these very important muscles (even though I'd probably never really thought about them specifically in the overall list of things I'd change if I could). AH thank you for everyone who has contributed to this thread. Reading through the comments & writing my own has felt like shedding a layer. Thanks for letting me be a little freer! x
LOVE this article & reading through the comments. Been sort of strange to recognise that I participate in this behaviour, but without the concept of "beauty negotations" to frame it, I may have never have recognised that it forms a big part of my own relationship to my physical appearance.
My parents are a mix of south east Asian, Australian & Middle Eastern. I was "blessed" (trying to reframe for myself) with a very defined jawline and large masseter muscles and dark body hair. I've negotiated that I my looks therefore *must* be aggressively "femme" (aka always have exceptionally long hair, dress like a stepford wife & remain waif thin at all costs).
I think this got a lot worse for me (and a lot of people with these features) when the masseter reduction injections came onto the cosmetic enhancement market, which gave me a label for the muscles for the first time. "MY MASSETERS!!!" (a term I had probably never heard before an instagram ad telling me how easy it would be to get rid of them of) were obviously an offence against my ability to be good looking and suddenly I began to declare that I hated these very important muscles (even though I'd probably never really thought about them specifically in the overall list of things I'd change if I could). AH thank you for everyone who has contributed to this thread. Reading through the comments & writing my own has felt like shedding a layer. Thanks for letting me be a little freer! x