Fat. Fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat! This is what girls hear all day long, every day, on TV, in the magazines, and from the general conversations of those around them. Every message is telling them that their body is inadequate. This is causing all sorts of issues in young women stemming from low self-esteem due to body image.
A recent article on Janet Jackson, who is, perhaps, not the “healthiest” of role models but is working to become a better one, presents problems of body image and self-worth such as she had to deal with in life.
As a young actress Janet Jackson was told she was “fat,” and was under a good deal of pressure to be thin. She has since then become more content with her body image, but most young women are not so lucky.
Most young girls, when asked, will not announce that their role models are Mother Theresa, Maya Angelou, nor someone like Hilary Clinton. Instead, they seek to emulate the Hollywood and Disney role models before them, who all seem to have “the perfect body,” and if they don’t they are made to sign up for Jenny Craig.
Our culture favors beauty and bone structure over purpose, self-worth, and intellect. Why is it that our culture has a perpetual drive to be stick-thin?
As one of many sisters, I have seen the ever-constant battle with the mirror because “nothing fits.” I have seen friends diet in desperation or kill themselves working out for 4 hours, all in an effort to make themselves worthy of a head nod from the world.
Maybe if we stopped promoting and buying into the media-driven “must be thin” motto, we could accept ourselves and each other with the body types each one of us has been given. Maybe, if we stopped judging people based on the way they look, then more young women could live a less stress-driven existence that centers around a scale. Just maybe.
Young Grasshopper, I totally agree with you that we need to stop focusing so harshly on looks and outside beauty in our culture. But unfortunately, I don't see an end to this anytime soon. To many people, image is everything. It's everything in all of the media industries, it is even in the jobs that we young adults apply for. Years ago I worked at Hollister, the boss would tell us that he only put the ugly, bigger, people in the back of the store to stock because he didn't want to taint the image of the store. It's sad to think that jobs you apply for as a young teen will discriminate you based on your looks only.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely ridiculous that so many people are completely absorbed in the "perfect body image." I find it refreshing when female celebrities embrace their curves and stick up for the non-stick figures of the world. I don't think it should be a huge deal when any female celebrity isn't a size 2, but unfortunately that's what a lot of people focus on. Janet Jackson, for example, has had quite the battle with her weight over the years. Unfortunately, it's been an even bigger deal because she's such a major celebrity. I'd love to see the day when size won't matter.
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