Watch: What Happens When Women Get Photoshopped to Fit 'Ideal Beauty' Cultural Standards?

We hear the buzz words and phrases all the time: beauty standards, body shaming, ideal weight. As [...]

By PopCulture.com Staff

We hear the buzz words and phrases all the time: beauty standards, body shaming, ideal weight. As confident as you may be in your beauty and body, it still can be difficult to shut out that little voice that makes you wonder, 'What if?'

The 'What if' is an inclusive question across many cultures of women wondering if their skin tone, body parts and overall look was a bit more like the popular celebrities. Those celebrities are often women accepted by our various cultures as a standard of beauty and even health, with so many others trying to emulate them. It begs the question, how subjective are these ideal beauty and body standards? The women of Buzzfeed Ladylike decided to put this to the test and had themselves photoshopped to fit their respective cultural beauty standards.

In the video above, Safia, of Indian heritage, has her photoshopped version with lighter skin, thinner thighs and arms as well as a narrow waist. "At first, seeing my photoshopped body was kind of an "I Spy" game of what had been changed - I noticed the size of my thighs immediately but it took me much longer to figure out the other changes. I was surprised by how similar Indian beauty standards seemed to be to American ones!" She explained, "And how so many small changes can add up to this clone-y version of yourself: where you look like a person who looks like you but not like yourself. Even though it was somewhat jarring to look at, the photoshop made me realize that I don't really need to or want to change my body to look more like it."

Of Italian decent, Kristin's digitally altered self had a thinner waist, thighs, calves, feet, arms, hands, neck, face, and butt. She also had higher breasts and tanner skin tone. She had this to say about her "new" shape based on Italian beauty standards, "Even if I was thinner, this isn't how my fat would be distributed, and you don't get to choose where your body keeps your fat. This is basically off-brand me. I am literally staring at Kirkland-brand Kristin. And while she is a perfectly good and valid fake person, I don't see myself here."

What do you think about the beauty standards and how the women reacted to their new selves?

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