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r/philosophy · u/jackgary118Jul 31, 2026, 8:05 PM

The Philosophy of Beauty Standards: Heather Widdows

Comments

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u/jackgary1181Jul 31, 2026, 8:09 PM
Abstract

In this conversation, Professor Heather Widdows argues that contemporary beauty ideals have become increasingly global, demanding, and socially powerful. Thinness, firmness, smoothness, and youth have become universal beauty standards: treated as signs of discipline, health, competence, and moral character. This creates a shrinking range of what counts as normal, while appearance-based discrimination – “lookism” – continues to affect employment, education, punishment, and everyday social life.

The episode also explores how social media and selfie culture have transformed our relationship with our bodies. Knowing that images are filtered does not necessarily protect us from them; in some cases, it intensifies our desire to resemble them. The result is a growing gap between the physical self and the digitally perfected “image self.”

Chapters

00:00 Why Beauty Standards Are Becoming Universal

06:23 Youth, Ageing, and Beauty Standards

10:00 Intrusive Beauty Work

12:30 Is Beauty Morally Powerful?

14:20 Male Beauty Standards, Clavicular, and the Manosphere

21:00 Lookism: Discrimination Based on Appearance

28:30 Evolutionary Explanations of Beauty

33:45 Why Beauty Standards Keep Rising

46:00 Heather’s Journey Into Aesthetics
u/FloydPinky0Jul 31, 2026, 9:32 PM
Cool, am I allowed to be depressed now?
- u/sys_dam1Aug 1, 2026, 11:10 AM
  Are you attractive enough to be depressed or do you need to bootstrap something? /s
  - u/FloydPinky1Aug 1, 2026, 4:33 PM
u/handalee2Jul 31, 2026, 11:49 PM
she’s just talking about how beauty rules control us or something
u/TheBossElJefe6Aug 1, 2026, 12:46 AM
Isn't this sociology and anthropology? She's literally just describing societal trends and explaining cultural changes, not actually presenting any philosophical arguments. What exactly is the philosophy part?