"Fat Free" Surgery Killed Chethana Raj, How Far Will We Go For Beauty Standards?

Chethana Raj death has again raised a major debate regarding the modern beauty standards that drive people to accept extreme and dangerous transformations that often threaten their lives. Are these standards important enough to risk our lives for them?

The beauty standards over the ages have evolved; with time it has become even more toxic as people partake in fad diets, exercise regimes, and bizarre trends and those who can afford surgery do not shy away from going under the knife either. The shallow standards have forced a lot of people, especially actors, and celebrities, to live a dual life--one with filters and one without them.

Chethana Raj Death Sparks Debate About Modern Beauty Standards, Again

In the modern world of social media and virtual reality, it has become really difficult to separate reel from real. People are desperate for the approval of others and do anything to get acceptance. Hence, they live a dual life that is perfect which is far from the harsh reality everyone weathers.

The blind pursuit of perfection leads people to choose cosmetic procedures to 'rectify' their 'faults'. However, these surgeries do not always go as they are planned. Kannada actor Chethana Raj died after her liposuction procedure went wrong. The 21-year-old's parents blamed the hospital.

Although it's a personal choice to make, it is worth mulling over what prompts people to go under the knife? Do they make a conscious choice or do things go awry as they continually chase an unrealistic standard of beauty?

While only limited people have access to surgeries, some people resort to fad dieting that goes viral on the internet in no time. People blindly follow such diets without an understanding of their bodily requirements, and nutrition. Coupled with heavy exercise with no guidance, it leads to fatal consequences.

How do these fad diets become popular? What makes us so insecure that we are ready to even risk our lives to "look beautiful"?

The major reason behind it all is society. People around us keep defining and criticising people for every little thing. Too fat, too short, too dark, too white, too curvy, too flat: they judge everything and everyone. They condition people into believing something's wrong with their bodies constantly through body shaming.

People are made fun of, humiliated and bullied for their physical features. It often breaks their resolve and strength to fight back when they are constantly nagged for something they did not have control over. This leads them to believe that it is their fault that their body is like that and hence, do everything in their power to change the way they appear. But those ways are not safe and can lead to dangerous complications.

Bullying, taunts, comments, and body shaming are major causes of depression, low confidence, fear of being left out and anxiety. The pressure of a dual life, body transformations and approval is very overwhelming that cannot be handled by many people. One thing that everyone needs to know in these times is who are those people who decide for us how we look. It's our choice how we want to look, isn't it? If they have a problem with your appearance, they should just not look at you, you don't need to change yourself for something so trivial.

And if they can't accept you for who you are, they are not worth your company. They can find themselves people who suit their eyes. You are born unique and every feature of your body is special. You were not born to be perfect, nobody is perfect, embrace your imperfection because that's what makes you beautiful.

Views expressed are the author's own

Suggested Reading: Casual Body Shaming: What People Tell Women Vs What They Actually Mean