Body Image. I can honestly say that every girl I know has a body image problem. They always manage to find something wrong with their body. If it's not their nose, it's their boobs. If it's not their thighs, then it's their stomach.Why does everyone strive to be that perfect, skinny size 2 girl? Lots of girls are so insecure with their bodies that some will go to dangerous lengths to be skinny. So many women today have eating-disorders because they want to be perfect just like the women they see in magazines. Yes, the skinny women that we see in magazines and films are beautiful, but that doesn't mean you have to be just like them. Most of the women that are seen in magazines are photo shopped and airbrushed to obtain that perfection. Women are supposed to have curves. It's something that comes naturally to us. In today's society if a women has curves, then she is fat. I don't understand how our society has become so skewed in their thinking. We can thank Hollywood for drilling that "perfect" image into our heads, but lately Hollywood has been praising curves more and more. We can thank people like Christina Hendricks, Penelope Cruz, Kim Kardashian, Adele, and Kate Winslet for making it easier on women to accept their bodies just as they are. These ladies didn't fall into the stereotypical Hollywood image. They stood strong. They are real women who aren't ashamed with their curves. Are they fat? I think not. Girls should look at these women and feel inspired to be themselves. Women in Hollywood have the power to inspire girls to be healthy, and not dangerously skinny. Models do not help women feel comfortable in their skin. I understand that models are supposed to skinny, but can't they be healthy too? Why is it that a plus-size model is considered a size 6 or more? That's so stupid and ridiculous. A size 6 is not plus size. They have distorted all the sizes. I'm here to tell all the girls out there that they are beautiful and perfect just the way they are whether they are a size 00 or a size 24. As long as girls are beautiful and healthy inside and out then they will certainly flourish in life.
 |
| Christina Hendrick |
 |
| Kim Kardashian |
 |
| A dangerously skinny model |
Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your blog. Being young women ourselves, there is a lot of pressure to strive for the "perfect" body image. I have fallen into the category of judging the way I look at times. I don’t think living in Wilmington really helps all that much either! You go to the beach and there’s the skinny girl: perfect tan, gorgeous hair and you can’t help but envy something about her; then she lays on her towel next to you and you hear her talking about what she doesn’t like about herself in a bikini. I agree with you that we should be accepting of our looks and find healthy alternatives (exercising, eating right, etc.) if we are unhappy with our body image. At the same time, a lot of guys I know prefer girls with curves! I also agree that clothing sizes are bull****. Every store is different: some like Hollister, only sell odd numbered sizes like 3,5,7 and others like Guess put you in a 27. My motto is: Love your chub!
Hi Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteI totally relate to your article being a curvy girl. I have always been curvy even when I weighed a lot less because I am short as well. I will be the first to admit there are many things I don't like about my body, especially now, but nine times out of ten I have much more to worry about then whether or not someone else doesn't think I am thin enough. Sure, from time to time it bothers me, but I know that I don't have to be like someone else. If I could be thinner, I would, but unless I were to starve myself for months on end I would never be as thin as some of those super skinny women because that's just not how my body is built. Lydia, I totally agree with the clothing in stores today. They purposefully only cater to thinner people and make you feel horrible if you wear a larger size because of the number. I know I even feel shameful sometimes if I have to get a bigger size (number) in a certain style of pants. A lot of people buy the wrong sized clothing just because they don't want to go up that one size. I am trying to lose weight somewhat, but only for me not anyone else. I have a thyroid problem so the more I weight the more tired I get and don't feel like doing anything.
I really really appreciated this post. I have worked as a camp counselor for a few years now and it is incredibly how early these girls start getting into their minds that they are flawed in some way. Probably the biggest reason I love my job is because I get to talk to them and tell them that they really are beautiful and try to change their ideas about themselves early enough so that they can grow up with a more positive attitude. I think the celebrities you mentioned are a great example of the world starting to change but people still think of them as curvy celebrities instead of just celebrities. I think this shows that society still has room for improvement in our thinking. It is not easy to shed our ideas of body image and our predisposition towards judgement but I do think it is possible and we're on the right track to change.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post!
I definitely see the media's fault in perpetuating stereotypes, but the media can only be blamed partially. The other part to blame is the mental perception women create of what beauty is. Beauty can come in many forms and I myself have model friends that aren't size zeros and are healthy happy people, not obsessed with their body image. Models in the magazines are used because they have a certain body quality that is artistically preferable to showcase clothes, like a clothes hanger... It's one kind of beauty, but only one that many people seem to blame the media for putting out when in many cases it's artistic fundamentals. I think positive body image starts with you being comfortable with the fact that not everyone finds the same exact thing beautiful and even the models in the magazines can make one guy sick to look at, but make the guy next to him sweat.
ReplyDeleteThe last picture of an emaciated model made me sick--almost literally. I had to scroll up just to stop looking at it. While I don't have anything extreme against models or the fashion industry, I recognize that they have an effect on how people view their own bodies and should publish more pictures and runway shows with slightly larger, and much healthier women. In general, however, we are told by the media of television, movies, magazines, etc. that you should love yourself the way you are. However, in those same messages, the underlying messages of having thin actresses and weight loss or diet commercials say contradict that. While many women today are helping girls with curves feel better about their image, the messages to be skinnier maybe be more subtle, but they're still there.
ReplyDeleteThe influences of our current society, that only chases stereotypes of
ReplyDeleteephemeral beauty, suggests that many women can only achieve success, confirmation and approval by the world around them by focusing on their external appearance. But, entering the vicious cycle
that revolves around the consensus of others and the thirst for confirmations and approval, makes women become increasingly dependent, insecure, and vulnerable. At this point criticism, a negative comment or attitude is enough to undermine or destroy what little love you have for yourself.
I think that we are continually shaped by the media, it's hard to look at adds in magazines and not feel self conscious. I'm personally a curvy girl and I'm happy to say that I'm content with my look and I'm lucky because in the society we live in not many people can say that about their body.
I agree with your blog entry about the media portraying the idea that women should be skinny. I know that from personal experience but at the same time I feel like the topic of body image in the public eye is way over talked about. Society has been discussing this issue for years and years and I think it's time to give it a rest. Hollywood has made a few changes but overall there hasn't been much success. Sorry if that makes me seem like a bad person but from my perspective how the models and movie stars look on T.V. doesn't really change the way I think about myself. I'm happy to be at a healthy weight and enjoy not being skinny as a stick.
ReplyDeleteI never understood the obsession with woman wanting to be extremely thin. I didn't have any female friends until I got to college. I was shocked at their level of insecurity. I have always found most women on the cover of magazines to be repulsive. Most of my male friends agree. I think the only people who find that figure attractive are woman because they force themselves to look at cosmo after cosmo. To all girls out there guys prefer curvy woman.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of the "dangerously skinny" model was ridiculous! Ahhh. I don't think I could ever be that skinny if I tried. I could probably go without eating about two weeks and STILL not look like that. WOW. I think thin is and will be in for a while, until people start broadening their scope of beauty- we will continue to see models, actresses and most women in media and the public eye starving themselves to gain a "physique" that meets the unhealthy standards of what our society deems- beautiful.
ReplyDelete