COLUMN: Who Decides What ‘Ideal Beauty’ Is?

COLUMN: Who Decides What ‘Ideal Beauty’ Is? Categories: Columns Opinions COLUMN: Who Decides What ‘Ideal Beauty’ Is? Alexis Bialeschki, Columnist • October 11, 2026 Olivia Clardy Junior journalism major Alexis Bialeschki poses for the camera in Buzzard Hall on the Eastern Illinois University campus in Charleston, Ill., on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Bialeschki is an opinion writer for the Daily Eastern News. The media that we consume influences what we view as beautiful.  Whether it’s the movies and TV you watch, the magazines you read, the songs you listen to or the social media reels you scroll through, beauty standards have been shaped by the media for years.  When you start looking at movies and media through that perspective, you realize just how often society’s standard of beauty shifts.  Old Hollywood stars had their glamorous movie roles, flashing their big hair and fancy cars.  The fashion industry gave us supermodels and eventually the extremely thin “heroin chic” look of the 90s.   The 2000s had their own obsession with being thin, with thin waists and low-rise jeans being a popular fashion trend.   Now we have TikTok trends, filters and AI editing apps that introduce a new ideal of beauty before we even have time to keep up with the last one.  Think about classic movie makeovers. “The Princess Diaries,” which takes Mia from frizzy, unkempt hair, glasses and thick eyebrows to a polished princess.  “She’s All That” famously expects us to believe that taking off a girl’s glasses and changing her hair and clothes somehow makes everyone realize she’s been beautiful all along.   Apparently, glasses were not considered attractive in the 2000s, which is why I cried in fifth grade when I was told I would need them.   A ten year old should not be worried about their appearance because of how movies have influenced them.  “The Devil Wears Prada” follows a similar pattern. Andy begins the movie not fitting into the high fashion world of the magazine, and the people around her make sure she feels it.  Once her wardrobe, hair and overall appearance change, the way she is perceived by others changes as well.   Obviously, these movies are more complex than just saying, “Get a makeover and people will like you.” But when the same idea appears repeatedly on our screens, it’s worth asking what deeper message audiences take away from it.  Television gave us its own version of what ideal beauty was supposed to look like. Reality shows like “America’s Next Top Model” literally turned people’s appearances into something to pick apart over a bowl of popcorn.   In “Friends,” time and again they used Monica’s former weight as a joke in flashback scenes. Adult Monica is thin and portrayed as attractive, yet “Fat Monica” is often played for giggles, as if she isn’t the same woman in the ways that matter.  “Mean Girls” shows how appearances can become closely tied to popularity. Regina George and the Plastics portrayed a specific image of the beautiful, popular girl that seemed to be everywhere in early-2000s movies.  They were thin, fashionable, usually rich, and conventionally attractive, and those qualities were tied directly to their position in the school’s social hierarchy.  The movie makes fun of those expectations, but it shows how powerful they can be on young people’s self-image.   For decades, people saw celebrities staring back at them from magazine covers, advertisements, and billboards.  What people fail to realize is that those images were chosen, styled, and often edited before the public ever saw them.   We don’t get to see the raw versions of those images, and yet people still idolize that version of beauty. Then social media came along and made that comparison almost impossible to escape.   Instead of comparing ourselves only to celebrities on our screens or models in magazines, we now have social media, filters, and AI editing apps right in our back pockets.   Social media has made beauty trends change rapidly. One feature can become sought-after overnight because someone with a huge following has it, and suddenly thousands of videos are explaining how to recreate the same look.   We are constantly being sold ways to lose weight, look younger, alter our appearances, or somehow become a “better” version of ourselves.   Filters can change the entire appearance of someone’s face. AI editing apps can alter bodies and faces.  Celebrities and influencers promote skin care, cosmetic operations, GLP-1’s, and anti-aging routines.  Instead of one beauty ideal lasting for an entire decade, the internet can seemingly create a new one every few months, even overnight.   The technology has evolved, but the message sounds too familiar: You would look better if you changed your appearance.   Media and entertainment are not solely to blame for societal ideals of beauty, but I do think they have a lot more influence over it than we sometimes realize.  When we see the same types of faces and bodies displayed as favorable repeatedly, those ideals can start to feel normal. When someone doesn’t fit that image, social media has historically had a habit of making those people the punchline of a joke.   The entertainment industry didn’t create our desire to be attractive, and social media certainly didn’t either, but they both have played a role in showing us what “attractive” is supposed to mean.  Maybe the most important thing isn’t figuring out which beauty trend you want to hop on, or which celebrity or fictional character you want to idolize.   It’s realizing just how much the media influences something that feels as personal as our own reflection in the mirror.  If society’s definition of the “perfect” appearance can change so rapidly, maybe beauty really is subjective, and there was never one correct version of physical beauty to begin with.   Alexis Bialeschki can be reached at [email protected]. View Story Comments 0 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Email this Story Print this Story Leave a Comment Tags: beauty beauty standards movies television More to Discover More in Columns COLUMN: Why VIP 10 is worth the drive COLUMN: It's okay to take time away from school COLUMN: The policies of the Trump Administration oppose most conservative principles COLUMN: The 70s and 90s were the best decades for music COLUMN: Why South Quad Dining Takes the Crown COLUMN: Stevenson is the best dining hall on campus More in Opinions Editorial: The News speaks out against White House press censorship COLUMN: Oversimplification is killing company branding COLUMN: U-Court is better than the dorms, and it's not even close COLUMN: The best third spaces on campus Meet the fall 2026 editors COLUMN: Making a good, modern-day adaptation is no easy feat About the Contributor Olivia Clardy, Photo Editor Olivia Clardy is a sophomore journalism major and can be reached at [email protected].