A Spanish resident in Argentina shares a message for all visitors: "Beauty serves as a significant topic"
In a world where social media platforms serve as a window to various realities, Valentina, a Spanish woman living in Argentina, uses TikTok under the username @valuferrari_ to share her experiences of cultural clashes she faces, particularly in terms of body image and societal expectations.
Valentina's videos often depict the challenges she encounters living in Argentina, a country where she finds the lack of a significant 'body positive' niche bothersome. She notes that beauty is a significant issue, particularly for women, in Argentina, with only one specific body type seemingly accepted. This stands in stark contrast to Spain, where various body types are represented on TV and social media.
Argentina's body positive movement is gaining momentum as part of broader social changes towards diversity and inclusivity. The movement challenges the traditionally stringent beauty standards borrowed from European and Western norms, but it is often more closely tied to feminist activism and social justice issues. Spain, on the other hand, integrates historical Mediterranean influences with modern inclusivity efforts, evolving its beauty standards as the movement encourages rejecting narrow ideals and incorporating broader acceptance of body types, skin tones, and aging.
Valentina's viral video, titled "If you're coming to Argentina, you should know this", has garnered over 11,000 'likes' and 800 comments, shedding light on the cultural differences she encounters. She claims that Argentinians are very demanding about physical appearance and that Argentina is the second country in the world with the most eating disorders.
For Valentina, following Spanish content creators who have helped her "mentally" is a source of comfort. She finds it helpful to see others who are similar to herself, a testament to the power of representation in fostering self-acceptance and challenging harmful beauty standards.
References:
- Body Positive Movement. (n.d.). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 16, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/body-positive-movement
- Body Positivity in Argentina and Spain: A Cultural Comparison. (n.d.). Unpublished research paper.
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- People who follow Valentina on Tiktok (@valuferrari_) witness her struggles with cultural clashes, particularly concerning health-and-wellness, body image, and mental-health, as she navigates the contrasting beauty norms between Spain and Argentina.
- While the body positive movement gains traction in Argentina, Valentina's viral video raises concerns about the country's beauty standards, which she claims contribute to a high prevalence of eating disorders.
- Valentina finds solace in consuming lifestyle content from Spanish creators, highlighting the significance of representation in promoting mental-health, self-acceptance, and challenging conventional beauty-and-fashion norms.
