An ideal of beauty is ingrained in our society, but anyone who pursues it is considered vain. A double standard?
No matter how you do it, you’re doing it wrong. That’s why there’s only one solution: live your life the way you want. You decide what it includes. As pathetic as it sounds, you are the author of your life. And by the way: I don’t think vanity is necessarily a bad quality.
What do you mean exactly?
If I like to deal with beauty, beautiful things or things that make me beautiful, this is also a form of self-development. Again something many want to deny.
Speaking of negotiation, the body positivity movement advises questioning any doubts we have about our appearance and embracing our bodies and how we look. What is your position on this?
I think there’s also something toxic about being told over and over, “You must be happy now.” If I’m suffering from something, I’m not feeling well and that maybe even means I can’t be myself anymore, then body positivity won’t do me any good. No one should have to persuade me that I should kindly find myself beautiful if I find myself anything but beautiful at the moment.
Do you think that addressing the personal “disturbing factor” makes you feel better?
The moment you decide to change something, you must also embark on the inner journey. Any intervention is useless if you are not able to reflect on yourself and say: “What is the origin of all this and why am I feeling really uncomfortable right now and the intervention is done?” For example, my sweating annoyed and limited me immensely. I’ve always thought about what I’m wearing so that it doesn’t show. That’s why I had Botox injected under my armpits – it really helped. Because I could let the thought go.
Why did you decide to be part of Merz Aesthetics’ Female Aesthetic Pioneers initiative?
Because I’m committed to letting people decide for themselves what to do with their body, what to wear, how to look. Women in particular are exposed to completely different standards of evaluation than men. For me it is important to clarify: a woman decides for herself about her body and her appearance, no one else has a say. I find it totally anti-feminist to deny a woman this freedom or to judge what she does or doesn’t do with her body and her face. This evaluation mechanism is the opposite of emancipation. When I read celebrity surgery debates, I always wonder: is this really 2023 or the 1950s?
