It’s literally just about everywhere. In the magazines, on television, billboards and advertisements, and especially runways. Most people living in America want to be skinny, it’s not only just a symbol of health, but also a symbol of beauty. What makes it a symbol of beauty is due to what we are exposed to in the media, but can everything in the media be credited to being real? We are fed these images of flawless women who are sleek, beautiful, flawless, always flaunting an impression of them being sexy, having fun, and being cool.
Often times we connect a women being too skinny with anorexia and/or bulimia. Anorexia is when there is a lack of appetite, as well as the refusal to eat with the desire to lose weight and be thin. Bulimia is when food will be eaten, but later purged or thrown up, also with the desire to lose weight. It is not uncommon to connect supermodels and day-to-day people with these eating disorders. On television we have all been exposed to clips of overweight students being verbally and/or physically attacked if they are eat too much too. I myself am a teen, 5’10, and naturally thin, and I can remember days where I would be mocked and criticized by students in the cafeteria if I didn’t eat enough! Is there even a middle ground anymore? Growing up, even those who were my friends at the time would call me anorexic, or if I returned from the bathroom I would be asked if I just threw up. Of course the answer was no, I would never do anything to harm my body, but it’s just the thought that the very idea of something so severe such as an eating disorder would run through somebody’s mind. And because of this often times I would eat, and eat, and eat to gain some weight all just because I wanted to be left alone.
The reality of it all is that if you’re overweight you’re taunted, if your skinny you’re taunted, and if you point out your flaws and make them a huge deal; you’re appreciated. Why appreciated? Because it’s admitting defeat, and makes you powerless to the words spoken because you now agree with them. It’s tiring. Why must we attack each other? It’s almost like a natural reaction, as if an instinct. If I were to go give a presentation, people aren’t going to listen to me, but judge me on my appearance. What I’m wearing, if it’s too tight, or too sexy to my hair and makeup concluding if I’m wearing too much or not enough to the point each detail has to be pointed out. Once all the criticism has died out, then maybe tune people will tune in to what I have to say every now and then.
Everybody has been taunted before in their life, but it’s one’s decision to either accept it or to move on from it and better yourself from it. Fact is that models are actually some of the most insecure women on this planet, and a lot of people think that models don’t eat because they want to stay a certain size, and yes some do, but newsflash – models are humans, and humans have to eat to survive! We as people need to stop bringing down each other. A supermodel is no more beautiful than a plus size model and vise versa. We need to learn how to be comfortable in our own skin, and if there is something you don’t like about yourself then yes, you can change it, but be sure that it is for yourself and not for anybody else. If I listened to those girls who kept calling me anorexic and I kept trying to prove them wrong then my life would circulate around gaining approval from other people for acceptance rather than having my own. Don’t create based of what others might think – create because you like it.
These days I like to joke such as saying I’m on a diet while chowing down on some doughnuts and brownies for breakfast or while eating three greasy slices of pepperoni pizza (yuuum!). However, most importantly is that everybody should just love their bodies. Being fit is way more important than being skinny. I have learned to love myself and respect myself much more over the past couple of years, from my crazy curls to my crooked toes and I want to encourage others to do the same. Reality is one big illusion, and the more real and true you are to yourself you will be free.
“I don’t know a perfect person. I only know flawed people who are still worth loving.” – John Green
peace and love y’all, stay fabulous ❤
Thanks for Reading!
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