One of the most disrespected people in the world are women. Time and time again, society has not failed to find ways to belittle, downgrade, or talk down to women. With social media, this issue worsens by the minute. You don’t have to be chronically online to recognize that people feel entitled to make unnecessary and rude comments about others constantly, especially in the Hollywood industry. The number 1 target of this? Women.
A woman’s appearance has been the topic of discussions for years now, and it has only gotten more creative. Despite the many ways society and the “male gaze” want us to meet unrealistic beauty standards, there is just no way of doing so.
As of right now, the main focus on women is their age. Too many chronically online people love to find new things to criticize women for. Worrying about how old someone looks seems to be the center of attention.
The idea of looking younger or older is all based on how feminine you look. What you wear, how you do your makeup, and your hair, can all be key components in how you’re perceived. Unfortunately, the internet has a problem with looking too old or too young. Not only would you be actively called out, but then you’ll see yourself on those Instagram or TikTok accounts that nitpick every tiny detail they can find on you.
Actress Millie Bobby Brown is a victim of misogyny. Much like many other former child actors, she has been babied her entire career. Due to this, once she got older and got married, the internet turned on her.
Many people began to speak about how she grew up too fast, or that she is too young to be dressing the way she does. Why would they worry? Because they love to infantilize child actors who grow up.
Brown is one of the only child actors who did not lash out or go into a “rebellious child” phase. Regardless, she’s been the highlight of new-gen child actors who are grown now.
Photos of Brown during her early “Stranger Things” phase compared to her recent red carpet look have been circling the internet for quite some time. Many Twitter users have been sending hate towards her and her team. Saying things like “she’s too young to be dressing like that” or that she looks younger than she actually is.
Thanks to unrealistic beauty standards for women, only men are allowed to actually “age like fine wine”. Notice how many times news pages on Instagram or users on Twitter talk about a certain celebrity aging “like wine,” it’s mostly men who are allowed to get older. While the women who “age like wine” can only look good at their age if they have little to no signs of aging whatsoever. Interesting, isn’t it?
Take Pedro Pascal, for example, everyone loves him and praises him for looking so good at 50 years old. Don’t get me wrong, of course, I love Pascal, however, the distinct difference between the way men are perceived versus how women are perceived in the media is disheartening.
The hatred is deeply rooted in misogyny and a distasteful sexualization of infantilizing women.
People tend to see aging as a bad thing, especially in women. They try to find thousands of different remedies or procedures to avoid it at all costs. Many people, the majority being men, find women who look younger more attractive. The younger she looks, the more desirable she is, and the less she is, the more she is bashed online for no reason.
Ultimately, there should be no reason why we feel comfortable commenting on other people’s appearances. Yes, you are allowed to speak your mind on social media, but just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Celebrities are people too, they’re not just figures we see online every day. So we should be treating them like people, with more consciousness and consideration.
