As a woman, I feel constant pressure to be as visually attractive as possible.

Protruding bones, airbrushed skin, a thin waist and large breasts.

It’s a facade I feel expected to put on, and everyone wants to tell me how to do it.

Contour here, highlight there, push this up, cover your flaws and highlight your true beauty. Women’s magazines bombard readers with “Dressing for your body shape” infographics and which kinds of swimsuits are acceptable to wear.

Men’s magazines pressure them to have shredded muscles and bulging veins and advise how to achieve a flat stomach with washboard abs in a mere two weeks. Seventeen-inch arms, that are seemingly cut from stone. Extensive workouts to carve your abs and protein shakes to bulk up.

A constant boulder of expectations crushing self-esteems by the minute.

Let’s be honest here: Society values beauty over intellect.

Society glamorizes celebrities based on appearances, and if they are intelligent, that’s just a plus.

“Humans are so visual,” senior Sabina Caldwell said. “Every movie and magazine and everything that we encounter has a visual component to it.”

Humans are innately analytical creatures, but it can be argued that it is in our nature to notice appearances first. However, the alluring factor of visual beauty fades quickly.

“In my opinion, I think that being intellectual or smarter is way more important,” freshman Blake Nelson said. “Beauty’s not going to get you anywhere in life, but being intellectual can help you with your future.”

People may be more smitten with an attractive personality than an attractive appearance.

Which makes me wonder: if so many people are interested in being smart or having confidence, why do most advertisements focus on looks rather than advertising that their product will make your IQ go up ten points in two months?

“Acne commercials use people with pimply faces, and they’re like, ‘You can look like this movie star,’” junior Charley McGraw said. “They can profit off of people’s insecurities pretty easily.”

It takes a toll on one’s self esteem and mental stability. A study by skin care company Dove concluded that 1540 out of 2,000 girls ages 10 to 14 years considered themselves to be ugly or to have many negative traits.

It is so easy to judge one another based on appearances because it is the first thing we see. Corporations capitalize on that.

“A lot of companies push that no matter what you look like you can always do better than that,” Caldwell said. “You’re never done improving yourself.”

If we find knowledge attractive, you would think more companies would take advantage of that. Yet, the beauty industry is dominant: a $382 billion business globally, according to Forbes.

“We have built entire industries on people looking good, just visually,” Caldwell said. “I think people are just more friendly to people who are more stereotypically attractive.”

From “Business Insider,” various studies report that physically beautiful people are assumed to be healthier, more intelligent, more persuasive, and more likable and trustworthy, purely based on their appearances.

“I think you have a better chance of your intelligence being recognized if you’re attractive,” senior Taylor Pascalar said. “However, I think we are slowly moving away from that.”

Appearances do have some value. If you want a job, it’s a good idea to wear your professional clothes, brush your hair and iron your slacks.

Still, I believe when you’re meeting new people, you shouldn’t stop at their body or attire. You shouldn’t appraise people’s appearances before actually getting to know them. When you put appearances aside, you might meet people you have real connections with.

Constantly feeling pressured to shave your body hair, modify your face with makeup and wear shape-flattering clothing, can lead a girl to believe the natural state of her body is something to be ashamed of.

It is OK to do these things if it makes you feel good about yourself, but it is not OK to degrade or think lesser of someone who chooses not to shave their legs or wear make up.

It is OK for everyone to have body hair. It is natural. It is not dirty.

It is OK to not have bulging, defined muscles.

People shouldn’t have to go to extreme measures to be attractive when these ideas of physically-based beauty is really just a grand scheme created by corporations.

It should be all about doing what makes you happy and comfortable with your appearance and everyone should accept that rather than pressuring each other to change themselves to what society sees fit.

“When beauty is being focused on more important things that would better the world like kindness, open-mindedness and not judging people can be seen as less important,” Caldwell said.