Visage of Aphrodite
November 12, 2024
Writer: Marlenie Menjivar
When you think of beauty what comes to mind first? In our current society, beauty is determined by superficial, surface-level characteristics. Growing up, I sought “true” beauty through the images of people in popular magazines, movies, and TV shows: tall, slender figures with straight white teeth and blemish-free faces.
Thus began my arduous journey, at the ripe age of ten, attempting to mold myself into this vision of feminine beauty. But try as I might, I would never be “pretty” enough– not with my crooked teeth, short stature, chubby cheeks, or plump figure. My insecurities were chains keeping me trapped and bound to a world where I would never be deemed beautiful, not by society and not even by myself.
With every passing year, the beauty standards kept changing, and the list kept growing. Each new edition was just another shackle to the chain that bound me to these toxic beauty standards. It scares me now to think back on how desperately I wanted to fulfill every requirement, to be perceived as beautiful by my peers and loved ones. I caked my face in makeup to cover my acne. I stopped wanting to have my picture taken. I started buying clothes too small for my body– a messed up incentive to “help” me lose weight.
I didn't realize the harm I was doing to my mind and body just to be deemed “pretty”. If I were pretty, people would like me and if people liked me then I would be happy– what beautiful lies.
One day I came across an image of a statue of Aphrodite as I was meandering through social media. She had a plump figure, a soft, round face, and voluptuous curves. Aphrodite is described as the goddess of beauty and love, a visionary of grace and perfection cemented in history for her otherworldly beauty. But when I gazed at her statue, the only thought that came to mind was that she looked just like me– My curves, my obvious lack of a thigh gap. But if I do not even fit within my world’s beauty standards what does that say about the goddess of beauty?
The goddess of beauty herself, Aphrodite, does not fit within our Eurocentric model of beauty. She is a goddess who no longer fits the mold fabricated by the very people who used to revere her. Is that not one of the greatest ironies? To say that the goddess of beauty is not as beautiful as her stories portray her to be?
This realization was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back, it was the light that guided me to the truth. If the goddess of beauty herself, Aphrodite, does not even fit this mold, then the whole system is broken. The methods used to construct these beauty standards are arbitrary and vain, only serving to exclude people who do not fit with the majority. They do not reflect the true beauty of people or humanity.
The visage of beauty reflected by Aphrodite is one of the most beautiful depictions of a woman’s true beauty than anything manufactured by American media. She is authentically and unapologetically beautiful—no touch-ups, no Photoshop, no alterations. This supposed dichotomy between what Aphrodite looks like and what she is meant to represent highlights the subjective nature of beauty standards.
Trying to establish standards and regulations for what makes someone beautiful is an empty and fruitless endeavor. It is one that only serves to keep people like me chained to the notion that we will never be good enough, stuck in an endless cycle of trying to prove our worth to the rest of society. But I no longer believe this notion.
True beauty can not be consolidated into a set number of characteristics and qualities. True beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We can define for ourselves what the image of beauty looks like. When I look in the mirror and gaze upon my crooked teeth, my stubby stature, my hairy arms and legs, and my chubby cheeks–I see the visage of Aphrodite. And I think to myself, I am beautiful.
