Jameela Jamil, an actor and host of body positivity podcast I Weigh, is pretty well-known for sharing her thoughts on the pressures women face to look a certain way.
So perhaps it’s not surprising that she recently wrote an Instagram post about “how weird it’s going to be when soon all women on television look the same but men have so much variety.”
The post said that women are getting “the same nose, the same cheekbones, the same jaw, the same eyes, the same eyebrows, the same eyelids, the same lips and are starting to aim for the same forever age and body.”
This sounds similar to other body positivity advocate’s concerns about “Instagram face,” an identikit appearance a lot of women on social media seem to share.
Jameela pointed out that men as visually different as Timothee Chalamet, Pedro Pascal, Paul Mescal and Micheal B Jordan are “RIGHTFULLY celebrate[d]” for their looks, she doesn’t think women are afforded the same flexibility.
“Can you imagine a world in which every man feels RESPONSIBLE to have to save up for painful, expensive surgery to look exactly like Cillian Murphy?” she asked.
Though she stresses she respects women’s choice to pick whatever look they like, she asked “how much choice is it when you’re being bombarded with a ‘beauty standard’?”
The Good Place actor then said that though the ’90s were not exactly less punishing for women, at least Uma Thurman, Naomi Campbell, Meg Ryan, Halle Berry and more had “room for variety.”
“I’m jealous that so many men are so embraced and celebrated for what makes them different,” Jameela continued. “I want that for us.”
The actor also said she’s annoyed at the amount of money being made off of women’s insecurities, often by men, adding she noticed the beauty standard narrowing during lockdown.
“Variety is choice. Variety is agency. Variety is freedom,” she shared before a carousel of beauty trend-based images and a picture of Lindsay Lohan’s “done” face.
People were divided
Lots of commenters agreed with Jameela.
“100% agree. And why are everyone’s teeth neon white lately?” one commenter wrote.
“My 10-year-old told me I should get Botox on my jaw to look sharper, the other day. I hate social media. It is ruining our kids,” another lamented.
“You’re not alone. This conversation needs to be loud. A new trend every year, cosmetic surgeries are normal now!! It’s so sad thinking women feel pressured to get them to be considered beautiful,” yet another Instagram user opined.
Still, some thought the actor was a little off the mark.
“I feel like this exact conversation was had over 20 years ago and was a way to bash women for what they wanted to do with their bodies,” a comment reads.
“I disagree. I don’t think Kate Winslet looks like Davina McCall. Or that Dawn French or Oti Mabuse look the same,” someone else shared.
Still, most of the comments seem to be in line with a top response, which simply says “PREACH!”.