It seems to me that the media has a lot to do with how women view themselves. And it doesn't make things any better when some men play up the stereotype. Sex appeal continues to heat up the advertising, promotion and marketing circuits because it's what sells particular items (i.e., perfume, jeans, fast food, etc.), and the image that portrays these elements of selling products leaves a visual impact that often has a negative affect. When disorders become a factor to being thin is the new fat it becomes a serious health issue because girls and women regardless of age are trying to live up to the standards and the idea of "the perfect woman." But let's stop and realize that there is no such thing as the perfect woman. The strive to be thin can be both a positive and negative venture, and to some extent it weighs heavy on the minds of those who ultimately become obsessed. Is it worth the ordeal overall?
Truth is some women can go their whole entire life thin and never suffer weight issues. Celebrities who start thin, have children, gain weight, get thin again do so because they can afford trainers to help them keep their reputation and persona as being thin and beautiful. Whereas every day folk have to really work at maintaining a certain weight and keeping their metabolism in check...like me!
To date organizations have been formed to specifically work with and help young girls fight the temptation of thinking they have to look a certain way in order to be accepted into society. Girls for a Change is one such organization. "Girls For A Change (GFC) is a national organization that empowers thousands of teen girls to create and lead social change. GFC provides girls with professional female role models, leadership training and the inspiration to work together in teams to solve persistent societal problems in their communities. Explore our web site to learn more about how you can join our movement and how girls are transforming our world--and reinventing girl culture--through GFC!"
Other areas where body image plays a factor is within self-esteem issues, with the clothes we wear, moving in to the food we eat, what our body type is -- just in how we look overall. The ongoing competition to fit into a society based on what the media depicts, how stereotypes define today's woman, and what we're brainwashed into believing.
Life is not supposed to be burdened with looks, sex appeal, and whether or not you have the "it" factor. If women of all ages cannot love the skin we're in, it would probably be safe to say that a good majority of us are suicidal, if not homicidal. We shouldn't be judged by how we look in our clothes, how fat or how thin we are, what we eat, how much money we spend on clothes, where we buy our shoes. None of that should have any deciding factors in who we are. We shouldn't try to be someone we're not, living beyond our means because we're trying to make an inflated statement that is as dismal as a repossession of your soul.
We spend too much time crying over how the media depicts image, as if to say, "it's telling me how I'm supposed to look," thus putting you in competition with yourself and others around you. Why??? I simply say, (1) losing weight should be a choice not a requirement (unless it's health related), (2) the media should not decide who you should be, how you should look, or where you should go in life, (3) seriously, clothes really do not make the person contrary to what you may have heard or think you know, (4) trying to be someone that you're not based on media exploits only says you can't decide for yourself who you are or who you want to be, (5) money is the root of all evil. It can destroy you and those around you. You don't have to buy what media, advertisements and marketing promotions tell you. Use your mind, think for yourself, save, and you'll be happier in the end; (6) love yourself from within, this includes embracing who you are, and (7) only you can live your life to the fullest. Don't live it based on materialistic factors.
