Beauty evokes fear when face-to-face with it—especially when you’re in high school. Earlier this week, approximately 250 high school students gathered at Indiana University for the High School Journalism Institute Program. Many of them, having arrived knowing nobody else, confronted the intimidation that is first impressions. Even if they don’t realize it, this anxiety can be largely caused by underlying societal beauty standards.

Ruby Pittenger and Molly Mullen stare at their reflection in the mirror at HSJI. Photo by Sabrina Paul

First impressions are so intimidating because of the implicit impressions that come with them. When talking about implicit impressions, Irmak Olcaysoy Okten in his article describes the ways in which people quickly and unconsciously judge each other. 

“Implicit measures aim to capture the spontaneous impressions that are typically invisible to the perceivers—impressions they have formed without any awareness or intention,” …
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