Girls: Stop Masking Your Beauty | Teen Ink

Girls: Stop Masking Your Beauty

February 12, 2013
By nikiiiZ GOLD, Chicago, Illinois
nikiiiZ GOLD, Chicago, Illinois
12 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Girls, I have some serious questions for you.

Why do you feel that you have to go tanning or spray tanning when you are really pale?
Why do you think that wearing 7 inch heels is cute?
Why do you need to show 90% of your skin every where you go?
Why do you need to make your boobs look like quadruple D's?

Obviously I have the answer to these questions: you're insecure. You're whiter than Snow White, you're as short as Tinkerbell, you show almost as much skin as a newborn straight from the womb, and your boobs are the size of grapes. I completely understand why you see these as turn-offs.

But then again, I really don't. Why should you be ashamed of having fair skin or short legs or small breasts? Why should you be ashamed of having acne or crooked teeth or tangled hair? Don't we all have some of these things?

Duh. Not many people are born incredibly tan with double D's, skinny legs, straight white teeth, and a flawless complexion. Chances are, you may only have bragging rights when it comes to ONE of those things.

Please, I know what some of you are thinking right now. You think I'm criticizing the measures some girls go through to look pretty. And yes, in a sense, I am condemning those measures. They don't annoy me because you look like you fell into a pool of Doritos; they annoy me because I know you are better than that.

We girls need to give ourselves a little more credit. We are growing up in one of the hardest generations where society tells us if we're not perfect, no one will like us. You won't meet the man of your dreams or get that amazing job you've worked so hard to get or please the popular crowd at school. Just being able to get up in the morning and wake up to all of that crap is incredible enough.

Society and the media are feeding us unrealistic facts. The media doesn't want you to feel beautiful. Those products are not designed solely because the companies desire for all girls to feel pretty. Oh, you have acne? That's awful, but our face wash can fix that! Oh, you're a size 12 and not a 2? God, that's unfortunate, but luckily our weight loss program will help you shed pounds in just a week! Oh, you have small boobs? Wow, that must be pretty rough. But we can change that with a quick procedure!

These companies just want your money. They don't care whether their products help you or not. They don't care about how you perceive beauty. It's all about the money.

Now tell me something. Are you going to continue listening to these commercials that tell you that you aren't beautiful and you should change your appearance? Or are you going to listen to me--a teenage girl who is short and overweight with bad acne, small teeth, and a huge nose--and change your OUTLOOK on your appearance?

We girls see being pale, overweight, and small breasted with acne as a bad thing. Tell me, why? These are the things that make us unique, an individual. Making yourself orange and wearing a ginormous push-up bra isn't unique; about every other girl has the same idea in mind. Why do you want to fit in the crowd when you have been blessed with all those unique qualities?

You may think that those 5 inch stiletto heels and spray tan look great now, but how about when you show your daughter a picture of you like that in twenty years? What are you going to tell her when she asks you why you're orange? How would you feel if years later your daughter came up to you and asked you to take her to L.A. tan? Are you going to take her down the path to insecurity and skin cancer, or are you going to address her forthcoming insecurities and tell her that she's beautiful just the way she is?

Now, I'm not saying that it's easy to admit to yourself that you're happy just the way you are. It is going to take a great amount of time for you to even consider accepting your pale skin or short legs. The process is slow, and trust me, you will run into bumps along the way. You will continue to face pressure from the media and from those girls at school who refuse to listen to people like me. You're going to have to build the will power to push that negativity away. I'm not going to lie and tell you that's easy, but if you practice continuity then you shall succeed.

I'm tired of those girls who say they are ugly and try to hide that "ugliness" with more ugliness. You--ALL YOU GIRLS--need to realize that YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL THE WAY YOU ARE. Thick or thin, clear or pizza-faced, tall or short, straight or curly-haired, it doesn't matter what you look like. It doesn't matter what other people think you look like. It doesn't matter what people want you to look like.

What matters, then? What matters is that YOU can look past your insecurities and call YOURSELF beautiful.



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This article has 1 comment.


on Feb. 26 2013 at 12:50 pm
FearlessAngel GOLD, Bellevue, Nebraska
10 articles 0 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Pain is just a simple compromise, so we can get what we want out of it."
~Paramore

My insecurities: pale/blotchy with red, SUPER curly hair. You're right though. Thats what seperates me from the 'normal." But... is "normal" really all that normal? Normal is a synonym for natural. Altering is not natural. Wonderful piece = ) Thank you for writing it. All girls need to read this.