It bugs me that everything is so revolved around how we look, I can't go a day without hearing someone say they wish they had a 'thigh gap', or they wish they were toned, I can't go a day without seeing magazine articles or articles online talking about how celebrities look, whether it's a negative article with a picture of a female celeb in a bikini on holiday with comments about how much weight she's put on, or zoomed in pictures of her cellulite (do we really need to see that?), or it could be a 'positive' article complimenting how fabulous a celeb looks. Both of these annoy me.
1. The negative article. Firstly, it is bullying really. If someone at a school passed around pictures of their classmate with a whole article about how much weight they'd put on then that child would be in trouble, they'd be seen as a bully and a really nasty person and they'd get a punishment. So why is it okay for magazines to print the exact same thing about people? Yes, okay, the person would be famous, therefore people are interested in them, but that person is still human, they have feelings. Also, if that person is happy enough with their body to wear a bikini on the beach then good for them, they're doing nothing wrong! (Think about that the next time you say 'fat girls shouldn't wear crop tops' or something stupid).
You have to think about how these articles effect people. I know that when you see these photos and comments in magazines or online it makes you look at yourself. Imagine a young girl seeing it, looking at herself and seeing those things on herself that the reporters were being negative about, BAM, that girl's self esteem plummets when probably she's completely normal and completely healthy - the effects aren't just that now she's a bit self conscious, low self esteem can lead to eating disorders, depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, etc.
2. The 'positive' article. I called this the positive article because they are praising the person, however it certainly doesn't have a positive impact.
I know that when I see an article of a really beautiful celeb, with an amazing figure, perfect hair, perfect teeth, immaculate nails, professional makeup, etc, with comments saying how they look brilliant and how wonderful they look it doesn't make me think "aww, she does look great", it makes me think "but I don't look like that, does that mean I'm not attractive? I need my teeth whitened, I need to lose weight, I need to be like her". It's so unhealthy and so wrong! You have to remember that this celebrity has most probably paid a lot of money to look like that, whether it's with surgery, personal trainers, professional makeup artists, or maybe the photo has been photoshopped which, lets face it, is very likely.
I hate this constant need, that teen girls in particular seem to have, to search for 'perfection', to try and change themselves, and 99% of the time this is down to what they've seen in the media.
Let me tell you, no-one is perfect. Even the most beautiful celebrities have flaws, the trick is to emphasise the things you like about yourself, and if there is something you deeply don't like about yourself then try and change it but DON'T be unhealthy with it - don't go on some fad diet, don't starve yourself, and don't do it to please others, only do it for yourself.
The biggest thing at the moment seems to be the 'thigh gap'…..let me just say, the thigh gap is NOT about how fat your thighs are, it's all about how wide your hips are, the shape of your spine and a lot of other factors, so if you don't have a thigh gap then it is fine, it doesn't mean you're overweight or hideous or anything silly like that.
If you want to look good then eat healthily - have a balanced diet, snacking is fine, eating carbs is okay and treating yourself is not bad for you as long as you don't do it every day. Get regular exercise - don't go crazy and push yourself with it, just do what you're comfortable with - this is not just good for your body but also your mind.
Just please, don't take notice of what nonsense media articles say, and don't underestimate yourself by comparing yourself to others.
Those imperfections you worry about every day probably aren't a big deal at all
x
This is 100% true! Everyone is individual, and everyone's bodies are different. I also think though that people are going too much the other way with body image. Like, people put down skinny girls bodies too, saying it's bad to be skinny. When in fact some people are just naturally skinny and this can make naturally slimmer people feel just as bad! At the end of the day, it shouldn't matter what we look like on the outside as long as we are happy! Nobody is perfect so we should just embrace our imperfections and live life to the max:)
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing such a good blog post!!
Exactly! I know a couple of people who are naturally very slim, they don't hardly eat or exercise loads, it's just how they naturally are. The media don't seem to understand that everyone is different, we're all built differently. The world would be a very boring place if we looked the same!
DeleteI'm glad you liked the post :)