Many men and women in today’s society dislike themselves, and this isn’t healthy or okay. Society as a whole has an out of reach perception of beauty; for men it is muscles, and for women it is being ‘curvy’. But what happens if one doesn’t fit into those categories? Many teenagers in America hate themselves because of these perceptions, the question being; what is the perfect body type? By establishing unreachable standards of beauty and bodily perfection, the media driving ordinary people to dissatisfaction with their body images. This dissatisfaction can result to drastic measures, and even disorders, as people try to achieve these unattainable goals. Throughout many of our younger ages into adulthood young men and women struggle to find the answer.

In a survey of girls nine and ten years old, forty percent have tried to lose weight, according to an ongoing study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute ("Teen Health and the Media."). This is an alarming survey, as it shows that young girls and women are not comfortable in their own bodies. So many of people in today's society do not think about younger girls being impacted by society, but they are.  Living in a world where we are obsessed with appearance, it is a fact, that children, more specifically younger girls are learning to distrust and abuse their bodies. Our future generations are going to be scarred for life if someone does not take a stand against this. If young girls are feeling like this, how are older women feeling?

Body Image is how we see ourselves in the mirror, and how we perceive our bodies visually (“Body Image and Self Esteem”). Most teens self esteem is being lowered by models and such imagery in society. Models cause teens to think that being skinny and unhealthy is beautiful. Because seeing starved models in magazines advertising thier favorite things. It should not be like that, Teenagers should be concerned with their schooling and growing up, not whether or not their collar bones are showing. Teens think that developing an eating disorder will change their lives for the better, but many men and women are dying from them, not living. What is ‘Pro-Ana’? ‘Pro-Ana’ is encouraging or advocating anorexia. These blogs consist of tips on how to lose weight, and how to hide your eating disorders from your parents. Many ‘Pro-Ana’ blogs are arising due to the lack of happiness teens have with their bodies. Thinspiration is also a problem on Tumblr today, Thinspiration is exactly what it sounds like, One looks at the blog advocating ‘Pro-Ana’ and it will make one feel bad about oneself, then persons will start to starve themselves to achieve beauty.

Everyone should all be body confident without hurting ourselves, nobody is ugly, society is. Celebrating imperfections really does pay off. A recent survey by the National Women's Health Resource Center found that 93 percent of women said that when they take action to look better, they feel better too (“The Key to Body Confidence”).  If one was just to get a different haircut, or do something a little different one could feel better about themselves rather than going to drastic measures. Nobody should have to be skinny to be considered beautiful; if they love themselves that’s all that should matter.

A 2012 Glamour survey found that 41 percent of 18 to 24-year-old women retouch their own photos before posting them to social media sites (“Body Issues for Young Women”). What does that say about society? An abundant amount of people abhor themselves. People have to filter their faces and bodies to feel beautiful, and that is not okay at all. Many people feel like they are defined by the number of likes on their latest post; if someone has a low number they are not good enough for our followers. Likes should not define people, the way they are as a human being should.

This isn’t just about women, it is about men too, same thing goes for 6-pack abs and the “ripped” look being promoted to men (“Brown”).  If someone is not muscular they are incompetent, and not good enough to be seen without a shirt off, which is unfair. So many men these days spend too much time at the gym trying to achieve the 6-pack, and buff look. Men may not be suffering with an eating disorder but some have an obsession to be fit. It is almost as bad as having an eating disorder,

 Gathering the pertinent information, we are only human perfection is not attainable, nor will it be. We must learn as a society that beauty perceptions change daily, nobody will ever be perfect. Not everyone has the goal to be perfect with alacrity. Everyone needs to learn that judging people based on their appearance is useless, it has no proper use. Let’s abide from society's rules. let’s be unique.

 

Works Cited
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"Body Image." Body Image. Brown University, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
"Body Image for Teens." Life & Body Image Issues for Teens. Palo Alto Medical Foundation, 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.
"Contact Us." The Myriad: Westminster's Interactive Academic Journal. The Myriad, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
Gregoire, Carolyn. "Body Image Issues Among Young Women More Influenced By Peers Than TV, Study Finds." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
"The Key to Body Confidence." Shape Feb. 2008: 31. Student Resources in Context. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. .
"Self Image Media Influences - Just Say Yes." Just Say YES. Just Say YES., 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
"Teen Health and the Media." Teen Health and the Media. Kaiser Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.