The Camouflaged Body: Who Are We Becoming Beautiful For?

Beautiful Misfits: Fragments

Becoming beautiful is neither mere self-indulgence nor a simple act of self-expression.

At times, it is a survival strategy—an act of camouflage shaped by the structure of society.

Some, exposed too early to the desires of others, have learned to use visibility itself as a form of defense.

When the means to say “no” are stripped away, the body adapts—learning to present itself in ways that avoid being chosen, avoid being exploited.

Others pursue idealized images to be liked, to be protected.

Both are strategies for self-preservation.

The problem arises when beauty becomes separated from the inner self.

When the body is shaped to mirror someone else’s desire,

when one begins to believe, “If I look like this, I’ll be loved,” or “If I look like this, I won’t be controlled.”

This is not beauty for oneself.

It is a trap—one in which we offer ourselves up as consumable,

without resistance to the unseen gaze.