'Unfair & Loveless' Is Exposing The Beauty Industry's Ugly Agenda

An aspect of modern digital media we admire the most is the fact that many people, who didn’t have a platform earlier, have been able to find their voices through it. This goes especially for young women coming into their own and taking a stance for what they believe in, the ideas they oppose and their attempts at initiating changes at the grassroots— we love to see it.

Nayantara Surendranath is one such individual who chooses to express such thoughts through her remarkable illustrations and art. Luckily, she was surrounded by strong female figures that not only questioned the beauty constructs themselves, but encouraged her to do so, too. Everything from light skin to hairless limbs and a snatched waist. She wonders, “Where do we get these ideas from? Are we questioning our sources enough and more prudently? Can we even question our sources at that age?”

The healthy and conversational ecosystem that existed around her led to her project ‘Unfair And Loveless’ which is a short comic that addresses what the ‘beauty’ industry truly stands for. Through her illustrations, she makes it clear that the industry thrives off of bodily insecurities of people who have been subjected to think that they need some sort of fixing to be considered beautiful. One of her main motivations, as she mentions, is providing a realistic view to people, especially kids, that lacked “the privilege of a sounding board and multiple perspectives in order to help them make sense of all the complexities of teenage living.”

Since she put her project out, she has received responses that resonate deeply with her message. She says, “It made me want to dig a little deeper and try to start unpacking all of the ways in which people, often young adults, are unfairly influenced by media, pop culture, and society at large.”

As a woman tired of the unattainable beauty standards herself, Nayantara artfully represents the thoughts of innumerable young women across the globe, and just how big money-making corporations don’t think twice before reminding them of yet another ‘imperfection’ in their body.

Check out Nayantara’s work here.

Find her on Instagram here.

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