In November 2018, Rimmel London marketed a campaign called “I Will Not Be Deleted.” This campaign was created for those taking a stand against cyberbullying in the beauty industry. Rimmel London used the campaign to show how women won’t let others’ judgments define them. This is a strong message because Rimmel showed the emotion strong women were feeling. Many of the hurtful comments included being attacked for the color of their complexion, the way their body looks, features on their face, being a man in makeup instead of a woman and many more. More and more you see famous people stand up to these hateful comments. People should not have to cover their blemishes, acne scars, stretch marks, complexion, unique features and scars to feel happy with a picture they just posted.
We should never feel like we need to alter our lifestyle in order to conform to societal norms. In this day and age, we need to be focusing on self-love. No more deleting posts due to the hateful comments, no more tearing ourselves down because someone else doesn’t absolutely love the way we look. Instead, we will start realizing our self-worth.
Loving ourselves comes with a duty to stick up for each other as well. This means not being a bystander while someone is being torn down. Stand with them. Let them know they are not alone. The trend of standing together has grown enormously. Marches, feminist movements and even everyday moments of justice have brought people together. Many strong men and women take time out of their days to make their voices heard. These movements are also promoted by people with a higher platform, which sheds light on the importance of the movement. When the #METOO movement was noticed at every red carpet, people became more confident to stand and speak up. This is exactly what this #IWILLNOTBEDELETED is doing for many beautiful, brave women and men.
Society seems to be clouded by the idea of a “beauty standard” and not how everyone is beautiful in their own way. We are shown every day in makeup ads, movies, tv shows and magazine articles what we should look like, but we are never shown to love who we are in our own bodies. The beauty standard makes it hard to remember what matters the most: individual beauty. Yes, there is a beauty standard, but woman and men shouldn’t be bullied for not adhering to it. Instead, differences should be celebrated. Alongside Rimmel, other companies have shed light on the differences of beauty—Aerie, Fenty Beauty, Lancôme and Dove, for example. These companies focus on diversity, body image and letting women and men express their ideas of beauty freely. With the surge of models and even high-profile women opening up about living with cyberbullying, people have become inspired to fight it globally.
Delete the picture and the hate comments will go away, right? Well, not exactly. People will always have something to say. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but hiding behind a screen to tear someone down is a problem. It is truly sad to see the effect that cyberbullying has on women. “Nearly half of women (46%) of women who have experienced cyberbullying have self-harmed either through an eating disorder, substance abuse or physical self-harm,” according to an article by The Drum. With this number being so high, we have to ask, what can we do to stop this abuse? Before #IWILLNOTDELETED women and men used to react to the hate by deleting their account, photoshopping their flaws, not trying to fight back. Now, they have a community that will stand with them. Together they empower each other to post what they want without fear of negative comments or even deleting the picture.
Behind beauty are personalities and individuality. Traditional beauty standards shouldn’t separate men and women because they don’t align with the standard. To have a major company openly support this cause sheds light on an often unspoken problem and helps fuel an important conversation. This is so critical now because it makes sure others don’t feel alone. That is what this movement and every movement is incorporating. Today, victims of bullying are no longer standing alone.
Written by Sophie Berner
Graphic by Hannah Harris