
Skims' most recent launch is their most depressing yet
The pressure on women to look 'perfect' has never faded. It's something that started to seep into the lives of millennial women during the days when Jessica Simpson was mocked for being a size 12, and we thought eating nothing but Special K would help us lose weight.
It then joined us as we entered our twenties, and we bleached our hair, plucked our eyebrows, and slathered our faces in Dream Matte Mousse.
And now, as we enter our third decade on the planet, the immense societal pressure to look flawless feels stronger than ever.
Kris Jenner recently spent €175,000 on a facelift, proving that pressure, especially for those in the spotlight, never fades away.
But aren't celebrities like Jenner and the Kardashian family driving these excessive beauty standards? Can't we just look like normal people and stop fretting about snatched jawlines and wrinkle-free faces?
Kim's latest Skims launch proves just how heavy an influence her family has on women. Skims recently launched a face wrap that supposedly helps 'snatch your chin' and has been described by Kim Kardashian as a "must-have addition to your nightly routine."
Speaking about the product, the Skims team claimed the face wrap is something you can easily wear at night or just around the house.
As disheartening as it is to see such a product exist, the response to the Skims face wrap has been somewhat reassuring.
Many people have slated Kardashian and the company for profiting off of women's insecurities and for enhancing the already extreme beauty standards in our society.
One person wrote, "Gotta give Kim credit, she’s always at the forefront of identifying new things for women to be insecure about and profiting off them.”
One medical professional said, "As a doctor, this is ludicrous."
Another added, "This is embarrassing for Skims. TRULY embarrassing. This isn’t empowering for women, this is trying to profit from your insecurities."
One asked, "When do we see the men doing this? When do they strap their heads, tape their mouths, and restrict their breathing with corsets? When? Release products that empower women, not restrict our bodies from nature. We aren’t all meant to be “one size fits all”.
Can't we just let people, especially young women, look like themselves?
If we continue to fall for this consumerism, for this pressure, for these foolish beauty standards, then we'll end up losing the most interesting parts of ourselves.
Do we really want younger generations to be clones of a famous family with all the character stripped from their faces? The thought of our future daughters and granddaughters panicking about not having perfect jawlines or high cheekbones is the most depressing thing to think about.
We should be striving to let bodies be bodies and to let women look like themselves.
The Skims face wrap is just another example of the world's meek obsession with women's appearances.
As many people have already said, can we please stop profiting from female body-shaming?