As a young girl, I had never really thought too much about my physical appearance. Growing up in a skin-tight leotard from ages 4 to 17, meant my body was always sort of out there.
However, I never started to care until the people around me did. That is when looking in the mirror became something I was doing for other people, and no longer myself.
Just as I have grown up, so have the beauty standards for girls in today’s society.
As much as I wish this was a positive thing, it is nothing but a toxic, horrifying realization that all girls must go through.
One of the saddest days of my life was the day I stopped loving myself, and started comparing myself to every other girl around me.
It’s as if it is an unspoken competition of who can be the thinnest or the prettiest.
Girls will spend hundreds of dollars and numerous hours on makeup and surgery to “fix” their outside image, but it’s almost never for themselves.
As time has moved on, there are only so many things that are “acceptable” for a girl’s body image. We are expected to have the tiniest waist, but if you get too tiny, you’re considered to be “anorexic” and you’re “sick”.
So, you start working out to obtain a strong, but healthy body. If you go too far, and gain too much muscle, you’re now “too big”.
There simply is no in between.
The media and everything else around have certainly not helped.
Young girls see pictures and videos of women all around the world with the “perfect” body, and then consume the idea of wanting to be like that when they grow up.
Instead of eating freely, they start counting calories.
Instead of keeping track of their grades, they keep track of their weight.
Eventually, they are completely overtaken with these standards that for the most part have only been put there by a man. But that itself is an issue on its own.
It is impossible to be perfect. That is something I wish I would have realized long before the days I either starved myself or forced myself to work out until I felt “skinny” again.
The only way for a girl to be considered pretty, is if the skinny comes along with it.
There is no room for flaws, imperfections, or any other issues we may have.
We have gone from pleasing ourselves, to pleasing every other person around us but the only one that actually matters.
The question is, when did this change?
I would have to say that honestly depends on the last time you looked in the mirror and were truly happy with what was staring back at you.
