On Friday, Ball Bearings Video Editor Maya Montague and her team held an event for their newest video project, and gave us a behind the scenes look at what to expect from the newest installment of Ball Bearings’ beauty standards video series.
Last semester, Montague says the team came up with the idea to do a series on beauty standard as part of their brainstorming sessions on Ball Bearings theme for Fall 2019 –generations.
Montague says one of the big things that has changed from generation to generation is beauty standards. For years, unrealistic standards have been placed on young people in a given generation, only to shift the next year and to keep people constantly feeling inadequate.
“We chose beauty standards because everyone is affected by it in some way, no matter who you are,” Montague says.
According to Social Issues Research Centre, beauty standards don’t just cause people to feel inferior or self-conscious, they also have real word consequences. For example, conventionally attractive individuals are more likely to receive higher grades in school, be considered for jobs, and generally be perceived more favorably than those who do not fit the societal standard of beauty.
Not only that, but failure to meet strict beauty standards can lead to a poor body image, which, particularly in young people, can cause eating disorders. The National Eating Disorder Association found that having a negative body image is the No.1. contributing factor to eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
The Ball Bearings video team spent much of the fall 2019 semester exploring this concept, with past videos exploring how perceptions about height and hair can affect an individual’s life. This week, the topic was style. The team brought in students off the street to talk about how their style is intertwined with their identity, and how this contributes to their body image.
Hope Stauffer, a ball bearings video producer who worked on past beauty standards projects and was at the style video, says this episode will be a little different from their past videos. Rather than being shot documentary style with only a few sources, this video will compile many students’ perspectives together and will have more of a studio feel according to Stauffer.
Stauffer says she believes style is intertwined with who you are, and what you wear can say a lot about who you are.
“I think a lot of the time people try to conform their style to fit people’s views and all that, but when it boils down to it and you accept who you are and how you want to be viewed, then you can go forward in anything you’re pursuing,” Stauffer says.
Samantha Nower 