Unfortunately, inner beauty is underrated. Your mom will tell you that what matters is what’s on the inside – your intelligence and how you treat people – but high school is a jungle of judgement.
According to researchers at Utah State University, women in Salt Lake City spend 10x more on beauty products than similarly sized cities. Salt Lake City has the second-highest number of plastic surgeons per capita in the United States, second only to Miami and ahead of Los Angeles. The StyleSeat beauty blog collected Google business listing data and found that Salt Lake City has the highest number of beauty treatment businesses per resident (these include hair, skin, and makeup businesses).
Utah cultural beauty standards are visible on social media where teens obsessively search for the perfect hair, nails, makeup, fashion and fitness. It’s important to note that Utah has a heterogenous population where more than 75% of the population identifies as white and 76% identify as religious. People want to fit in and blend in with the majority of people. Therefore, everybody wants blond hair and artificial tans.
Utahns care deeply about their physical appearance, and it starts at an early age. This is especially true for teens who participate in gymnastics, cheer and dance, where looks are part of the sports. In addition to being some of the best dancers in the nation, Utahns are known for bleached blonde hair, year-round dark tanned skin, hair and lash extensions, perfectly polished nails, and trending fashion wardrobes. This is a costly image to maintain but the cost of beauty is not only financial, it’s physical and emotional as well.
We form opinions about people based on their appearance and while fashion can be a creative expression we should all feel good about how we look. It’s hard to make friends in high school, especially when you look different than the status quo. Makeup and clothing contribute to confidence.
Despite feeling the common pressure to look perfect, cheerleading captain Moey Evans has found a positive way to embrace her love for fashion. She dresses up to feel confident, not for anybody else.
“I believe women are often raised to prioritize their appearance above everything else,” Evans said. “Makeup and clothing trends can amplify this expectation to always look perfect and put together.”
Cheerleaders often feel an added pressure to adhere to beauty standards. However, Evans feels this does not apply much to Highland’s cheer team. Evans believes the team creates a safe environment to be as you are and the pressure, she feels to maintain the status quo comes from elsewhere.
“The pressure to look a certain way for me isn’t as much related to being a cheerleader but comes from being a young woman in general,” Evans said. “In my opinion, our cheer team’s focus is not on how we look […] My teammates are the most beautiful people inside out, and I appreciate each one of them as they are.”
This dismantles the mean cheerleader villain often portrayed in teen movies and or the popular villain in Taylor Swift’s songs.
Utah is obsessed with beauty and that immense pressure is felt by women across the state. Comparison is harmful and it’s hard to ignore social media. Society needs to see the beauty in everyone and it’s important to be kind to one another because high school is already so stressful.
“In Utah, there’s a unique and dominating culture that can make it challenging to feel like you belong if you don’t share the same values or look like the stereotypical ‘Utah”girl,’” Evans said. “Pressure to meet specific appearance standards often leads people to change themselves to fit an ideal.”
We can help build each other’s confidence with kindness. Embrace diversity and don’t judge people on their physical appearance, a compliment goes a long way, especially to people outside your social circle. Hang out with and go on dates with someone who doesn’t share the same identities or background as you. Don’t judge people based on the privilege and resources they have. Work on your inner beauty with as much effort as you do your outer beauty.
