The Dichotomy of Enhancement: An Examination of Steroids in Sports vs Makeup in Beauty Competitions

We live in an imbalanced world where what is acceptable for Mr. A is deemed prohibited for Mr. B, and the advent of this kind of law makes it seem as though the system is unfair or harsh on one over the other. Take the situation of athletes using anabolic steroids to enhance their muscle as well as their performance, for example; this is deemed prohibited because the system felt it would ruin fair competitions and could as well be detrimental to their health. While using something to enhance your performance in sports is prohibited, the same isn't the case in beauty pageants or modeling. Critically examining this, it seems like a biased system, but is that really the case?

To start with, I'll love to say that sports and modeling are two entirely different things. While one is done to look good for product advertisements, enhance your look, give you the power to express your creativity, and make you more confident in yourself without much competition involved, the other is a game of competition that involves different people with the same ambition, which is mostly to win and be the best, and when there's a competition,.

It's much better if everyone is on the same page in order to have a fair race without anyone feeling cheated because they're using a less effective steroid than the one who could afford the most expensive and effective one. The beauty of sportsmanship is fairness in competition, and the only way this can really be achieved is when everyone comes neutral to the track.

While I'm not a fan of using makeup to enhance beauty and believe it doesn't really enhance beauty, in my opinion, it does the opposite of what it's used for, yet that doesn't mean it should be placed on the same table as athletes using steroids. Below, I state my reasons, using the biggest competition in both fields involved as an example to better express my opinion.

Miss Universe Competition: The Miss Universe competition, I believe, is the biggest competition in beauty pageants, in my opinion. Now let's delve into this beauty pageant competition that holds across the world and is the biggest competition that involves models across the world. One thing notable you'll notice about the competition is that beauty is actually just ⅕ or so of the requirements stated to crown someone Miss Universe.

I mean, come to think of it, aside from being beautiful, such an individual must be intelligent, have an amazing personality, be an advocate, be someone who respects different cultures, advocate for the right course, be talented, and much more, to mention but a few. That's why when you critically analyze competitors every year, it's not like the most beautiful is the one who'll be the crown, but someone who's beautiful in and out in all ramifications, and in all of this, you'll notice that it's the inner qualities that really matter and not the outward expression of physical beauty.

Olympic Competition: Olympic is like the biggest sporting event we've got on earth, and the criteria used to decide a winner in all of these sporting competitions are mostly based on their outward expression and not their internal traits and the like, meaning in the race, for example, the fastest man to cross the line is deemed the winner, and along the line in this sport, we've seen athletes use steroids to enhance their performance, and in the end, they came out victorious.

What this does to sports is that it kills it because it's a competition that involves you expressing your ability amongst others who are also competing for the same course. Now using enhancements to look better (faster) than the others makes the competition unfair, and athletes who are caught in this act are deprived of their honors and also banned for a period of time.

But despite all of this, from my example above, I see no big deal in that while one isn't allowed and the other is allowed in the other fields, both are different industries with different criteria for choosing and awarding the best, so I don't think there's really a bone of contention about fairness or not.

But then, just to say my mind, aside from the enhancement effects of steroids and makeup, one thing we know is that most people believe steroids have side effects, and that's why many shouldn't use them, which is true, but what we fail to realize is that makeup also has the same side effects that could be detrimental to its users, and I'll want to say a little about it since we hardly know it like we do about the use of steroids.

Some of the side effects of using makeup and Photoshop are skin irritation, allergic reactions, acne, infection, and several others. Aside from this, there are more side effects, such as raising eyeballs about authenticity, bringing about unrealistic beauty standards and expectations, which lead many to lack confidence in themselves, depression, and indulging in enhancing mechanisms such as surgery that could be unethical and ruin their person.

So with that, I think that even though I feel there is no unfair judgment between allowing the use of enhancements in models and not allowing the same in bodybuilding and athletes, the best way forward is to cherish ourselves and enhance our performance and beauty in natural ways like regular practice and dressing well to look good, and this I believe will bring about more confidence in ourselves and our abilities.

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Thanks so much for your time. Do have a wonderful time.

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