Your body, your choice. However, as digital ideals dominate, more bodies are being reshaped to fit what’s trendy — not what’s true.
I remember the first time I saw someone complain about having hip dips. A girl had posted on X (formerly Twitter), asking for recommendations on how to “fix” hers. At the time, I didn’t know what hip dips were, so I did a quick Google search — and that’s when I learnt that this so-called flaw was simply the natural curve between the hips and thighs. Under her post, the responses poured in: one person suggested a specific gym routine, another shared that she was saving up for a “non-surgical hip contouring” treatment. The majority of responses focused on helping this woman fix her problem.
Subconsciously, I found myself in front of the mirror the next morning, trying to check if I had the same “problem” — turns out I did. My next thought was, “Do my hip dips need fixing? At that moment, it struck me how a feature I had once seen as normal — or never even noticed — was now seen as a flaw. It wasn’t just about personal preferences anymore; it felt like a collective shift in perception, powered by the growing influence of global beauty trends on our identities.
Human influence on global beauty culture
Across Nigeria and many parts of Africa, beauty standards have always been dynamic, shaped by tradition, community, and more recently, by global media. However, in the last decade, the speed at which beauty ideals change and the pressure to conform have intensified.
Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok bring Western and Asian beauty trends into the mainstream almost overnight. With their platforms, beauty influencers and people from around the world create an ideal that defines beauty through a narrow lens. These trends often overlook local realities and cultural contexts. Yet they influence how young women see themselves.
Features like hip dips, which are a natural part of many women’s bodies, are now targeted by cosmetic treatments. Gap teeth and foreheads — historically celebrated in many Nigerian communities as a mark of beauty and charm — are increasingly being closed through dental and surgical work. Even darker skin tones, long embraced across many African societies, still battle the persistent shadow of skin-lightening trends.
However, a new trend is emerging that extends beyond human influence, providing people with images of a supposedly better version of themselves at the push of a button.
When digital ideals shape flesh
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We used to look in the mirror and compare ourselves to classmates, cousins, and maybe a few celebrities on screen. Today, the comparison pool is becoming artificial at an alarming speed.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become one of the most powerful forces shaping how people see themselves. Scroll through your phone for five minutes and you’ll see it: poreless skin, snatched waists, flawless symmetry, digitally elongated limbs, perfect lighting, no lines, no shadows, no softness. All provided at a single swipe in real time. These aren’t just playful edits anymore; they’re presenting idealised versions of ourselves that quickly feel more desirable than our natural appearance.
Apps like FaceApp or Lensa generate AI portraits and fantasy avatars that depict users as digitally perfected versions of themselves. At first, it feels like fun. Then it becomes aspirational. And slowly, the gap between how we look and how we think we should look starts to widen.
The result? More people are turning to cosmetic procedures not out of self-expression, but as a way to resemble their own filtered photos. Lip fillers to match FaceApp. Jawline contouring inspired by a favourite Snapchat filter. Skin bleaching for an even tone under every lighting. Waist cinching to mirror digital proportions. We are no longer just chasing beauty; we are trying to match a version of ourselves that doesn’t actually exist.
Read also: Would you say I’m beautiful? The ever-changing face of beauty
The quiet rise of transhumanism
This phenomenon touches on a broader cultural shift — one that some thinkers link to transhumanism: the idea that human bodies can and should be modified, enhanced, or upgraded through technology and science. In its more futuristic form, transhumanism conjures images of robots and AI-enhanced bodies.
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While most people associate transhumanism with sci-fi concepts, its influence is already visible in everyday life, especially in beauty culture and body modification. Silicone fillers, cosmetic implants, laser sculpting, body contouring, skin resurfacing — these are tools of transformation. It’s not just about looking better, it’s about enhancing, modifying, and upgrading our bodies to meet ideals that may not be natural or achievable otherwise.
Some people now refer to their bodies in “versions”: “This was before my body 2.0,” someone might say casually. Some are even discussing how to maintain surgically enhanced features to keep up with ever-shifting TikTok aesthetics. At its core, the body is becoming a canvas for constant rebranding.
This damaging narrative needs rewriting
What makes these modern beauty trends particularly complex is that they hide behind the language of empowerment. “Do what makes you feel good,” “It’s your body, your choice.” And yes, body autonomy is essential. But it’s worth asking: is the choice truly ours when the pressure is this loud and relentless?
There’s nothing wrong with enhancement. People have always adorned, shaped, and styled themselves. But perhaps the question we need to keep asking is: who are we doing it for? And at what cost — physically, emotionally, culturally?
Yet amidst all this, there is hope. Across Nigeria and Africa, movements are pushing back against the homogenisation of beauty. More creatives, influencers, and everyday people are embracing local aesthetics, celebrating natural beauty marks, and championing body positivity.
We must continue this conversation. We need to remind ourselves that beauty is not a fixed standard dictated by viral trends. It is fluid, cultural, and personal.
Maybe the most radical act today isn’t perfection. Perhaps it’s showing up in your body as it is, however it bends, folds, softens, dips, or stretches. A body that lives, not just performs. A body that feels, not just fits.
