The Post Lockdown Pressure To Glow Up
And how it’s destroying our self confidence
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Summer 2021 is predicted to be epic. It’s been coined ‘the #hotgirlsummer’ of all summers, for a long time now we’ve been dreaming of the moment when we can finally emerge from our homes like butterflies coming out of a cocoon. With this post lockdown phase we’re now entering comes an unrelenting pressure to look a lot better than we did in the summer of last year, in other words, it’s time to ‘glow up’. But what does that even mean? As Urban Dictionary defines it, a glow up is a ‘mental, physical, and an emotional transformation for the better.’ There's an unspoken undeniable pressure to look our best post lockdown, to glow up, and it's unbearable.
The pressure to return to our pre-pandemic selves is exhausting. We’ve spent the past year battling with our bodies, our appearance, and our confidence, amongst a whole bunch of other issues, and it's about time we caught a break. With the announcement that on June 21st life in the UK as we once knew it would resume, it felt like the country breathed a huge sigh of relief. Almost instantly the internet was flooded with memes on how we would prepare for this great return to normality, and what we should look like once it happens. Then came the notion that we needed to unveil picture-perfect bodies we could flaunt ready for when socialising becomes a thing again. Apparently, according to social media discourse, post-lockdown we should have bodies we can be proud of. After everything we’ve been through, isn’t this unrealistic ideal something we could do without?
I don't need social media to tell me how bad my skin has become, how much I may seem like I’ve aged, and how much weight I’ve gained over the course of the pandemic - I can see that all for myself when I look in the mirror. It's overwhelming when Instagram Reels and TikTok tutorials sell us a sense of aesthetic perfection, and dictate to us how we should ‘fix’ ourselves. Who says anything is wrong with me in the first place, and who says I need fixing? Comparison culture and the advent of social media provide us with more and more ways for us to find fault with ourselves, to critique flaws that don't exist. So even now when it seems like there's a light at the end of the tunnel, when things feel as if they may finally start to get better, my self-confidence is all but destroyed and my anxiety about my appearance is through the roof.
I’ve suffered with acne for as long as I can remember, it's a battle I can't seem to win whatever lotions and potions I try and however much I change my diet and exercise, things don't improve. Pandemic related stress and anxiety has only fuelled the bumps that take refuge on my skin, and I'm sure anyone else with a persistent skin condition like mine have seen their symptoms multiply with force over the past year. Because of this, and because of our fragile relationship with our personal image, our mental health has taken a turn for the worse. My entire life I've been spoon fed the narrative that I should constantly work on my appearance, that I should always seek to self-improve - but for whose benefit? Lockdown isolation gave me the time to scrutinise myself in ways I'd never thought of before, and it was brutal. I'm sure I'm not the only one who’s self-esteem has taken a battering recently, returning to reality has just exacerbated feelings I’d hoped to forget.
When we return to IRL interactions, we are bound to become more conscious of our physical appearances. Rather than thinking we need to constantly work on what we look like, we should be thankful our bodies have kept us safe and well at a time when we’ve endured one of the biggest global pandemics in history. Lockdown allowed us to become reacquainted with what we really look like, and there's something positive and wholesome we can take away from this. We no longer have to spend hours at the hairdressers loading our barnets with chemicals and dye, we don't need to rush to the nail salon when our manicure gets the slightest chip, and we don't need to spend eye-watering amounts getting the latest facial or chemical peel each month. I'm resentful of the fact that anyone feels the need to glow up post-lockdown, and I’d like to get rid of this damaging beauty ideal completely. Let’s thank our bodies for working harder than ever before, and let’s be grateful we’re able to emerge from the events of the past year in one piece.
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Twitter to see more of what I’m up to, and I’ll see you same time same place next week!
Catch you soon,
J’Nae
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
- This article by The Good Trade is a great read on how to stop worrying about what others think of you.
WHAT I’VE BEEN WATCHING:
- Why Did You Kill Me? on Netflix is a rollercoaster documentary I couldn’t quite make heads or tails of to begin with, but I'm glad I stuck it out. A must-see if true crime with a twist is your thing.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
- In Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen Renegades: Born in the USA podcast, this episode discusses the meaning of masculinity and their complicated relationships with their fathers.
WHAT’S CAUGHT MY EYE:
- The Out of Home project gave homeless people living on the streets of London disposable cameras to document their unique pandemic experience, as told by Dazed Digital.
ON MY BLOG:
- On my blog this week is a post that tackles the tricky conundrum of how to find your personal style, something I’ve definitely battled with over the years.
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