Screenshot of You Look Disgusting
The short film, You Look Disgusting, is one woman’s take on the double standard that surrounds physical beauty. Em Ford, the voice and face behind the My Pale Skin blog, recently created the film to display a collection of the comments she has received on her blog regarding images of her both wearing and forgoing makeup.
In the latter group, Ford openly displays the acne on her face which makeup entirely covers. Therefore, one may think that covering up such blemishes would reveal comments that express a polarity between beauty and ugliness. Instead of polarity, however, it is a mixed bag of suggestions that Ford is disgusting when she rejects makeup but fake when she embraces it. In short: there is no way for her to win.
Her video has spawned a BBC feature as well as the Twitter hashtag #youlookdisgusting which continues the community discussion about beauty.
Testimonials in You Look Disgusting reveal others’ views on how they struggle with appearance and, specifically, problems with acne. Some are in their teens while others are far into adulthood. People of all walks of life, of all ages, all genders and identities show the struggle and underline the fact that the double standard affects everyone. Ford is not the only person caught in this trap.
She concludes her original feature with the text, “You are beautiful. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.” Others have professed that they want to get respect for who they are and how they choose to express themselves. Notably, Twitter user Gabrielle Sunderland states outright: “I wanted to say that we shouldn’t be ashamed of who we really are, but we also shouldn’t be ashamed of the fact that we like to wear makeup to enhance the way we look sometimes.”
Quite right. There should be an appreciation for how people look. No snap judgments; just acceptance.
I wish such acceptance could spread in comments that people publish and in the personal love for individuals who struggle with their own appearance. I definitely want to love myself for who I am, for others to love me without conditions, and most importantly, for others to love themselves without conditions.
