By – Devendra Kumar Budakoti
When Vance Packard published, ‘The Hidden Persuaders’ in 1957, it was a powerful critique of the advertising industry and the “motivation research” it employed to sell everything—from products to ideas, attitudes, candidates, goals, and even states of mind. Packard identified eight compelling needs that advertisers promise their products will fulfill: emotional security, reassurance of worth, ego gratification, creative outlets, love objects, sense of power, roots, and immortality.
The “beauty ecosystem” is an interconnected web of institutions, individuals, industries, and influencers—symbiotic and mutually reinforcing—that shapes and sustains modern beauty standards. It is a complex machinery where everyone, knowingly or unknowingly, becomes a cog.
Women, in particular, have internalized the idea of beauty so deeply that they have not only become consumers of beauty products but also consumable products themselves. Men, in turn, consume this ‘product’, seeking to own, possess, and display it. The portrayal of women in advertisements reinforces this disturbing idea—reducing the female body to something marketable and consumable.
In the relentless pursuit of beauty and youth, people increasingly turn to cosmetic surgeries, medications, and aesthetic treatments, refusing to age naturally. Men too, despite hearing all their lives from their mothers, “Mera laal kitna khubsurat hai”, are now equally trapped in the beauty race.
The tragic death of American model Cheslie Kryst in 2022 is a stark example. A beauty queen, attorney, television host, and media personality—Cheslie had all the attributes society idolizes. Yet she died by suicide after struggling for years with persistent depressive disorder. The trigger? Public comments about her appearance and the pressure of turning 30—feeling she was running out of time to matter in society’s eyes.
Back home, Bollywood actress Shafali Jariwala is reported to have died due to complications from medications meant to maintain her youthful appearance. The desire to be perpetually beautiful takes a heavy toll on mental health, and alarmingly, this pressure begins at a very young age.
Body shaming often starts within the family. Remarks like “Kitni gori hai”, “Kaali hai”, “Moti hai”—commonly made by mothers or relatives—set the tone early. Advertisements featuring women selling cosmetics, clothes, jewelry, perfumes, or toiletries subtly and overtly promote standardized notions of beauty: ideal body shapes, sizes, skin tones, and facial features. Over time, these standards are internalized—not just consumed.
From a young age, girls are drawn to beauty pageants, fashion shows, and glossy advertisements that promise validation through appearance. The beauty industry is massive, with enormous money and big names from film, fashion, sports, and media—many of whom, ironically, become its victims, suffering from addiction, anxiety, depression, and identity crises.
This ecosystem chips away at women’s sovereignty, self-esteem, and sense of self-worth. Recall how the family “parlour aunty” insists on threading and grooming as soon as a girl reaches puberty. Or how female relatives comment, “Banke nahi rehti”, reinforcing narrow expectations of beauty and femininity.
In Western cinema, characters like Laurel and Hardy were used for comic relief due to their body types. Similarly, Bollywood had Tuntun and others whose appearance became the butt of jokes—normalizing body-based ridicule.
Children, too, face body shaming in schools, alongside academic pressure. These early experiences can cause deep psychological wounds, impairing their mental health and overall performance—often without recognition.
With this daily bombardment from the beauty ecosystem, how do we confront body shaming? When “hidden persuaders” in advertising continue to nourish this ecosystem, how do we protect the young from its harmful influence and long-term mental health consequences?
This isn’t just an individual issue anymore—it’s a public health concern that society and the state can no longer afford to ignore.
The author is a sociologist and is associated with the development sector.
Email: ghughuti@gmail.com
