watercolor, ink; 20×16”
“Body image is heavily affected by the media and people can be heavily impacted by every new beauty trend that glorifies unrealistic beauty standards and can use that as an excuse to alter their appearance for others validation. Having a platform on social media is opening yourself up and people are going to say what they want to say, whether that be good or bad. There was a poll taken by college students in 2016 asking if they would change a physical feature of themselves. 76% said that they would and 92% of them were on social media. Since the internet is widely used now, children and teenagers are more likely to gain access to it, then exposing them to these beauty trends and standards causing their self-worth to diminish. Beauty standards are also displayed in ads on TV for a weight loss supplement to billboards on the sides of roads advocating for Botox to prevent aging. People should be able to feel that they don’t need to change themselves to be beautiful and be able to feel comfortable in their own skin.”
ARTIST BIO: Hannah Kinch is a Grade 11 student at Butler Tech School of Art (SOA).