Break Free

Actor Taapsee Pannu on #LetsBreakTheRulesofBeauty, and embracing her wild, curly hair

- Namrata Kedar

Most girls will nod in consent when we say that some of our earliest hair memories include brushing the glossy crown of blonde (brunette, occasionally) locks that our dolls sported. From there, the concept of what constitutes ‘beautiful’ is subtly imbibed into us.

With time, we become aware that the movies we watch endorse actors with straight and glossy hair, concretising the stereotype that in order to be tagged beautiful, one must have straight locks. Advertisements on television further reiterate that the end game is, inevitably, impossibly shiny, free-flowing straight strands. Is there anyone that hasn’t suffered from a bout of self-doubt and low self esteem owing to this? Some of us are still struggling to accept ourselves and love our so-called ‘flaws’.

The definition of beauty is evolving, slowly but surely – we are breaking free from archaic stereotypes to champion the ‘real’. Globally, media is now striving to empower women by accurately representing the masses, the real woman, and not a ‘Barbie’ prototype. Dove’s #LetsBreaktheRulesofBeauty and No Digital Distortion are campaigns that are crusading tirelessly to embrace what is real by encouraging women to redefine beauty ideals to how they see fit. And ladies, curls are not just fair game. They’re beautiful and desirable.