Twitter is abuzz with 'nosey' selfies. Here's why
Times are changing and fashion and beauty is becoming more diverse than ever. Catwalks are suddenly full of plus-size models, Hollywood is finally starting to understand the importance of representing all races, and it’s no longer unusual to see a model with a disability or condition like vitiligo in a major ad.
But despite all this, beauty standards have lauded small noses over big ones because they fit in with the idea of women being delicate, dainty and not taking up space. But they are not. Women are bold, strong, and can take up as much space as they want, even with tneir bodies.
Now that we've seen the ulfiltered spotty skin, the stretch marks, the cellulite and the body hair all being reclaimed as our own and beautiful online. It's time we stop hiding our noses in subtle head tilts and awkward poses.
*Cue Radhika Sanghani*. A freelance writer from London, Radhika asked her Twitter followers to snap pictures of their side-profiles after she admitted she struggles with self-confidence over the size of her own nose.
“I grew up thinking that you can’t be beautiful unless you have a snub little ski-slope of a nose, like Kate Middleton or Mila Kunis,” she writes, “and I know other women have too.”
So many of us have spent our whole lives hiding from a side-profile photograph. Every time we look at the camera we know exactly how to position ourselves so our noses aren't captured on film in their full, crooked glory.
Big noses have been taboo for all too long in our society. Take the film industry. While there are plenty of larger-nosed men, there are just a handful of female celebs with strong profiles. Unlike their male peers, they’ve had to deal with criticism of their looks for years, and it’s no surprise that many aspiring female actors are rumoured to have had nose jobs before, or early on in, their career.
Following the lead of bringing in the change we wish to see, the Twitterati went on a roll about breaking the #bignosestereotype. Thus began the #SideProfileSelfie campaign. Women from all across the globe shared their side profile pictures and stories. A man even wrote: 'Broke my nose when I was 9 y/o and never had any confidence issues with it. Started high school got called beaky, Pinocchio etc and it affected my confidence.'In the age of selfies, it takes me a while until I get a flattering angle where my nose doesn't look huge.'
We hope Sanghani's campaign will help people begin to accept their bodies as they are, and change how beauty is perceived.