25 Ridiculous Beauty Standards That Should Have Never Existed

The term beauty standards itself has taken on different connotations over the years. Nowadays, we have a slight aversion to the word and all that it implies because the mental and physical health impacts of it haven’t always been positive.  Recently, Redditors were discussing online the dumbest beauty standards they have heard of. From thigh gaps to freckle tattoos, these are some of the most insane fads people were hung up on and may, to some extent, still be adulating.  More info: Reddit

#1 The huge, ridiculous swollen lips--good gawd it looks silly.

Image source: Ok-Thing-2222, Gustavo Fring

#2 Freckle tattoos. Natural freckles can be gorgeous, but it is so ridiculous to see young women actually getting some tattooed on, eithet with henna or permanent ink. Yes, it is noticeable that they're fake.

Image source: 80085ntits, David Kouakou

#3 That you shouldn't have long hair if you are 40+ years old.

Image source: Entropy_Goose, LinkedIn Sales Navigator

#4 There once was a post on here about how women who don't paint their toenails are ugly... Like lmao what?

Image source: toolongforyoutoread, Andrea Mosti

#5 Height being any indication of beauty or desire. It makes no difference to the average person in life.

Image source: LFpawgsnmilfs, Agatha Zambronelli

#6 Men who say body hair is unhygienic... and don't shave their own pits.

Image source: samit2heck, cottonbro studio

#7 That having a disability means you can't be beautiful

Image source: momomeluna, Marcus Aurelius

#8 Foot binding

Image source: lovin_da_dix, Thomas Quine

#9 Fake tans

Image source: Mysterious_Ad9307, Caio Mantovani

#10 Having “pearly white teeth”

Image source: daisies-and-roses, Daniel Xavier

#11 Huge [butts]. So many women look like bumble bees now.

Image source: PottedPotheadDaisy

#12 no SMILE LINES??? back in the day we were told we were prettier if we smiled and now its UGLY???

Image source: 6teeee9, Shiny Diamond

#13 The hourglass figure. How are you meant to have a small waist/flat stomach but still be fuller of both sides of that waist unless it's genetic? For most women, this is unachievable!

Image source: kitty_mitts, Daria Klet

#14 Women need long hair to be considered feminine. Blows my mind when women make a big deal about cutting their hair "short" and its shoulder length (which isn't short)

Image source: Zestyclose-Bad7261, Andrea Piacquadio

#15 The Mayan concept of beauty was wild. Long sloping foreheads, crossed eyes, pointed teeth and hooked noses. These features were achieved artificially starting in infancy.

Image source: kinghodjii, Tamara Aguilar

#16 Thigh gaps. No offence to anyone who has one naturally but it's just odd to me that this was a literally beauty standard for a good half a decade when, unlike a lot of other beauty standards that can be achieved either through weight-loss/gain, cosmetic surgery or makeup, this one relied purely on genetics.

Image source: ThrowRARAw, Roberto Nickson

#17 “Boys don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses”. Every man I’ve dated has LOST THEIR MIND whenever I take out my contacts and put on my glasses

Image source: teine_palagi, Ali Pazani

#18

Image source: monkeyballs2, Gustavo Fring Well soo I know for some situations its a godsend that this is available.. but generally it currently fashionable and considered beautiful, to get veneers, on healthy teeth. The process of shaving down natural healthy teeth to glue prettier teeth on, is strange. Like I have one, my tooth broke, they cut it down and fitted it with a veneer. It was to fix a problem. But now cause that happen i know the new tooth is not as strong, they break they fall off, they are weaker. And the real tooth underneath has been compromised, its nerve is not as protected, it can’t handle temp as well, it is less strong. To do this to every tooth.. when they look five anyway, just so they look perfect.. it’s shocking. Its also So painful to do it. And if you don’t have a real artist doing it they could mess up and make it look like you are wearing dentures! And really you are Not not!

#19 Buccal Fat Removal

Image source: Content-Lettuce1306, cottonbro studio

#20

Image source: Thecatisright, Island of Djerba Tunisian Jew Leblouh - involves a girl of five, seven or nine being obliged to eat excessively to achieve female roundness and corpulence, so that she can be married off as young as possible. Girls from rural families are taken for leblouh at special "fattening farms" where older women, or the children's aunts or grandmothers, will administer pounded millet, camel's milk and water in quantities that make them ill.

#21

Image source: Look-Its-a-Name, Anna Shvets White people want to be tanned, people with high skin pigmentation want to be pale. It's completely idiotic how we each want what the others have.

#22 That apparently none of us should have pores at all, god forbid a blemish.

Image source: DracarysLou, Anna Nekrashevich

#23

Image source: PureDeidBrilliant, Andrea Piacquadio Skin bleaching. It's dumb and it's scary. I know that in some cultures having lighter or fairer skin is deemed "attractive" and some girls and women will shun the sun as much as possible, but smearing on chemicals to bleach your skin's natural colour? Not cool, especially since a friend of mine showed me videos of the after-effects of skin lightening "treatments" that left some pretty nasty side-effects.

#24 As a POC I used to think having blonde hair and blue eyes would make me beautiful. I love my dark hair and brown eyes now, but I had a rough time for a moment in puberty.

Image source: bluenervana, Ali Pazani

#25 Rib removal to get s smaller waist

Image source: ThenCable2793, cottonbro studio