Castellanos 1

Vincent Castellanos

Professor Leigh Ann Moore

ENGL 1301

14 April 2018

Introduction

The obsession with how a person looks and what society deems acceptable has always

been a part of human history. Since the early times in ancient Egypt where the ideal woman had

to be slender, to the 1800 hundreds where women wore corsets and had a full -figured body, to

the present times where the un attainable ideal body figure of 5 feet 10 inches and a weight of

110 pounds was the look to strive for (Croll). It is not until the recent years with the

advancement of technology that the obsession with personal looks and the strive for the perfect

body became more of a prominent issue for women young and old. The limitless amount of

information that is available today only fuels the problem that someone might have on how they

feel about their body and their self-esteem (Fox). Not only is body image an issue in today’s

generation but also how society looks at individuals who are stigmatized by scars, going through

body changes, or even suffering from medical conditions that makes them look different than the

rest. Scars, personal circumstances and the lyrics used in “scars to your beautiful” illustrate the

struggles that individuals encounter in their personal lives when living up to an image that

society deems normal and acceptable.

The Scars

On several occasions throughout the video, several people are shown displaying different

types of scars. Some are surgical scars while others are genetic deformities. The majority of the

scars that are displayed are clearly visible to the public, but some of the scars are not. When no
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scars are visible it gives the viewer the perception that some scars are not always superficial but

are carried by someone internally (Burgemeester). While watching the video, the viewers mostly

see women who are affected with scars. Some of the scars that are shown in the video are from a

female who had open heart surgery to a woman who had a scar form a cesarean section delivery.

This is done in order to bring awareness to the issue that women are more likely than men to

have problems with self-esteem and the way they feel about how others see them. Men may also

suffer from low self-esteem due to scars, their body or appearance, but according to studies the

percentage is much lower than women (Croll). During the video men who bear scars are also

displayed. One is missing most of one ear while another might not carry visible scars but may

suffer from a medical condition. In today’s generation someone who looks different from what

society is used to, are more at risk to being bullied and harassed which in turn affects how they

look and feel about themselves.

Personal Circumstances

As the scars in the video tell a story, so do the people that participated in it. Several

woman and some men are shown throughout the video telling their stories and their struggles in

society. Even though they do not bear any visible scars, their body and appearance tell a different

story. Some are overweight, have excessive body hair, have no hair at all, or look as if there is

nothing wrong with their appearance. As the viewer takes a closer look at the individuals in the

video, they are able to see that some are stigmatized by society by their appearance. When

people look different or stand apart from what society is accustomed to, it creates the

environment of thinking that some are better than others just by their appearance. Throughout the

video a few individuals are shown who at first glance might cause the viewers to question about

their stories. As the video progresses a woman is shown who by the sound of her voice might be
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transgender, and an African American man who looks as if he might be suffering internally. At a

first glance, the viewer might look at the female as just another female up until the point when

she speaks, or the male might suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder of some sort or can be

judged just by the color of his skin. While most people watching the video do not know is that

the singer Alessia Cara suffered from hair loss. When Alessia was younger she would lose

chunks of hair and would have to attend school with bald spots at the risk of being criticized by

her classmates (Cara). Alessia Cara does a great job with the choice of lyrics and the visuals used

in the video to show the intended audience that the issue of body image and self-esteem does not

affect just the supermodels but everyone in every walk of life.

The Lyrics

The words used in the lyrics illustrate the stories about the struggles that some women go

through when living up to an image of what a female should look like according to society.

While listening to the lyrics in the video, the viewer hears the references made of someone

cutting themselves to relive the pain they might be going through, or the fact that girls obsess

about an image of how they should look and starve themselves to the point where they risk their

health and sometimes even their lives (Ekern). The lyrics also empower the audience who might

be going through their own personal struggles. It encourages the viewers that the pain they are

going through is temporary and that there is hope at the end of the tunnel.

Conclusion

The importance of how a person looks and how they feel about themselves has always

been a part of life growing up. To some extent people are judged on a daily basis from the type

of cloth they wear to how a person may look. In today’s generation where great importance is
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given to social media, individuals will go to great extent to change who they are just so they can

be accepted by society. Not only does the video shine light on the issue of self- image but also I

brings up the subject of gender identity and harassment of individuals who look apart.
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Works Cited

Burgemeester, Alexander. “Psychology of Scars and How They Affect People.” Psychologized,

19 Oct. 2016, www.psychologized.org/psychology-of-scars-and-how-they-affect-people/.

Accessed 29 Apr 2018.

Cara, Alessia. “Alessia Cara Opens Up About Her Struggle With Hair Loss: ‘There Isn't One

Way to Look Beautiful.’” Glamour, Glamour Magazine, 26 May 2017,

www.glamour.com/story/alessia-cara-hair-loss-essay. Accessed 29 Apr 2018.

Croll, Jillian. “Body Image and Adolescents.” www.epi.umn.edu/let/pubs/img/adol_ch13.pdf.

Accessed 29 Apr 2018.

Ekern, Jacquelyn. “The Modeling Industry and Body Image.” Eating Disorder Hope, 20 May

2015, www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/the-modeling-industry-and-body-image.

Accessed 29 Apr 2018.

Fox, Kate. “Mirror, Mirror A Summary of Research Findings on Body Image.” Mirror, Mirror -

A Summary of Research Findings on Body Image, www.sirc.org/publik/mirror.html.

Accessed 29 Apr 2018.