Body image. This is such a complex topic, it’s hard to know where to start. As a woman, I have struggled for several years with my body image. I have gained immeasurable self confidence over the past 3 years, but I still have to wrestle with my demons every time I face those crappy fluorescent lights in department store dressing rooms. Girls, women, and even boys are constantly inundated with images and feedback of how they are supposed to look. Between television, magazines, music videos, and social media such as Facebook and Twitter, it’s hard to go more than a few hours without thinking about your appearance. I know that men face just as much scrutiny for their image, even though it’s not something that is a widely publicized, but I’m going to focus on women for now. If any men reading this would like to offer any insight into how they feel about media portrayal of the male image, you’re more than welcome to leave a comment; maybe next time I’ll write about male body image.
For me personally, a lot of the pressure regarding my body came from my mom. I went through puberty relatively quickly, going from kind of a stick figure to an hourglass figure seemingly overnight. For whatever reason, my mom would consistently tell me that I was gaining too much weight, usually making not-so-subtle digs like, “Those pants are a little tight, aren’t they?” or, “You can’t wear that, your cleavage is showing.” At 5’2″ and about 135 pounds, I was curvy but by no means fat by the time I was in college, but my self esteem was in the toilet. According to my mom, I was too short and needed to wear heels, my thighs were too thick, my eyebrows were too bushy, and my acne flare-ups were preventing any guy from taking a second look at me. And every time I turned on the television or opened a magazine, with pictures of women with flawless skin; long, lean legs; and perfectly arched eyebrows, it only vindicated the voice in my head that told me everyday that I was unattractive.
With the advent of social media and increased interactivity on the Internet, it’s clearer than ever that the images projected by TV and print models translate to societal expectations. And I’m not even talking about women who are overweight, thick, curvy, fat, whatever you want to call them. I was reading the comments under an online article dealing with body image, and was amazed at the sheer number of negative comments about every single body type. If a woman is curvy, then she’s considered fat. If she’s skinny, she’s considered anorexic. If she’s obese but calls herself thick, she’s delusional. women who are too skinny are ugly. Women who are too curvy are disgusting. If you’re thin, you don’t take care of yourself and need to eat more. If you’re bigger, you don’t take care of yourself and you need to work out more. And it went on and on and on. That’s when I figured something out: we just can’t win.
That’s right, it’s a hopeless case. No one has ever , nor will they ever fit the “ideal” body type. Those models, the ones on TV and in the pretty magazines? Layers of makeup, spray tans, Spanx, and a few missing pounds courtesy of Photoshop create the illusion that perfection is achievable.
For me personally, a lot of the pressure regarding my body came from my mom. I went through puberty relatively quickly, going from kind of a stick figure to an hourglass figure seemingly overnight. For whatever reason, my mom would consistently tell me that I was gaining too much weight, usually making not-so-subtle digs like, “Those pants are a little tight, aren’t they?” or, “You can’t wear that, your cleavage is showing.” At 5’2″ and about 135 pounds, I was curvy but by no means fat by the time I was in college, but my self esteem was in the toilet. According to my mom, I was too short and needed to wear heels, my thighs were too thick, my eyebrows were too bushy, and my acne flare-ups were preventing any guy from taking a second look at me. And every time I turned on the television or opened a magazine, with pictures of women with flawless skin; long, lean legs; and perfectly arched eyebrows, it only vindicated the voice in my head that told me everyday that I was unattractive.
With the advent of social media and increased interactivity on the Internet, it’s clearer than ever that the images projected by TV and print models translate to societal expectations. And I’m not even talking about women who are overweight, thick, curvy, fat, whatever you want to call them. I was reading the comments under an online article dealing with body image, and was amazed at the sheer number of negative comments about every single body type. If a woman is curvy, then she’s considered fat. If she’s skinny, she’s considered anorexic. If she’s obese but calls herself thick, she’s delusional. women who are too skinny are ugly. Women who are too curvy are disgusting. If you’re thin, you don’t take care of yourself and need to eat more. If you’re bigger, you don’t take care of yourself and you need to work out more. And it went on and on and on. That’s when I figured something out: we just can’t win.
That’s right, it’s a hopeless case. No one has ever , nor will they ever fit the “ideal” body type. Those models, the ones on TV and in the pretty magazines? Layers of makeup, spray tans, Spanx, and a few missing pounds courtesy of Photoshop create the illusion that perfection is achievable.