“It’s a peak! It’s a cape! It’s a peninsula!” In any case, it has become a point of pride on the networks. More and more women now accept an imperfect nose, even out of the norm or too big, as an attractive asset. From there to saying that a new trend is “nose”, there is only one step.
The discreet nose no longer inspires
For a long time, however, it was the little upturned nose that embodied a discreet and feminine ideal. Conversely, noses considered too visible (wide, straight, hooked, etc.), have concentrated complexes and strategies of erasure in many women. And determined many rhinoplasties too.
Today, however, the lines are moving. More and more women are claiming an atypical nose as a character trait in its own right. An evolution fueled by body positivity, which is now at the heart of the face.
On social networks, this shift is evident. Full-face photos, assumed profiles, unfiltered videos: so-called “marked” noses cease to be exceptions to become visible faces. And highlighted or even underlined. Hashtags such as #SideProfileSelfie invite you to proudly post your nose. A projection which is part of a dynamic already well established: we no longer correct it. We reveal. And too bad if some people don’t like it.
A feminine norm giving way
For clinical psychologist Amélie Boukhobza, this movement has a strong symbolic significance.
“For years, she explains, the discreet little nose stood out as a silent standard. A feminine standard. Don’t take up too much space. Even in the middle of the face.”
Seeing women stop wanting to correct everything, because it is too visible or too present, marks a real liberation, according to her. “The nose is central. It marks a face, a character. It’s almost a signature.”
This reappropriation involves simple but powerful gestures: no longer looking for the perfect angle, deliberately framing your face, emphasizing this feature long experienced as a problem. The nose ceases to be a flaw to be hidden and becomes a marker of identity.
Body positivity at face value
Body positivity is no longer just about silhouettes. It thus extends to faces, to these details that we learn to judge very early on.
“In this context, the “big nose” takes on an almost militant dimension. It embodies a non-standardized beauty and sends a clear message: there is nothing to repair”.
The psychologist sees a direct benefit on self-image, to be shared with younger people. “We are finally getting out of this exhausting logic of permanent camouflage. Accepting a trait that has long been experienced as a problem means regaining power over one’s image and one’s identity.” An intimate, but almost political, approach which consists of no longer apologizing for existing.
New standard or end of standards?
If some speak of a trend, the issue goes well beyond that. It is not a question of replacing one ideal with another, but of loosening the grip of the single standard. Loving your nose as it is, small, large, asymmetrical or imposing, becomes a right, not a provocation.
The psychologist points out, however: this development does not oppose self-acceptance and surgery. “The question is not whether to change or not, but why. Am I changing to meet myself more… or to disappear a little?”
In this nuance the essential thing is at stake: the freedom, finally, to choose. Head high, nose with it.