We Can Only Hope That the Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes Incident Will Teach Filipinos Something About 'Beauty'

First of all, WE. ARE. SHOOK.

Pretty sure by now, all of you know the Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes incident. But just in case you've been in social media hiatus or something, allow me to reiterate what went down.

So basically, Riverdale homegirls Lili and Camila had a photoshoot for Cosmopolitan. Lili was outraged when she saw how Cosmopolitan Philippines basically (photoshopped) removed 4 of her and Camila's ribs to make them look like they got smaller waists.

So here's Lili...

And here's Camila...

Here's the thing, though: Photoshopping isn't new for magazines. It has been a widely used tool to changing people's looks to appear more 'aspirational'. And as much as it has been common in the industry, it has been more controversial as well.

For lack of a better term, people now are more "woke" and we're totally cheering on Lili for calling this out. 

The typical Filipino standard of beauty is the mestiza, slim-figured woman who for some reason has Caucasian features. Don't believe me? Just look at the Filipina celebrities and influencers who can easily make a name for themselves because of how they look.

Most Filipinos remain to think that fair-skinned = beauty. Obviously the reason why most beauty companies still bank on products that claim to whiten your skin and Filipinas flock to spas/clinics to get glutathione shots in the hopes of changing their skin color.

But look at Lili and Camila. They're pretty much checking off the list of what Filipinos think are beautiful and yet Cosmopolitan Philippines has decided to slim them down. It is really sad that such an influential media outlet that targets an audience of 'fun, fearless Pinays' created this stint.

Beauty has always been subjective and just like Lili and Camila, Filipinas are also beautiful on their own and no media or anyone should try and change that. Her experience and background has molded her into the stronger and wiser woman she is right now and there is still so much room for her to bloom and grow. 

Lili's story has been reposted, shared, and written about by other media outlets here and around the world. With this we hope that at least Filipinos, in general, be enlightened and realize that everyone is beautiful in their own way. We're hoping that instead of teaching women to conform to certain unattainable beauty standards by highlighting photoshopped celebrities, they start inspiring women to embrace who they are because perfection is who they already are.

We can only hope that Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes can receive our gratitude and love for what they shared. We can only hope that our local celebrities also do the same.

So far, there is no word from Cosmopolitan Philippines on this issue.