Every day I walk into the bathroom I see girls checking their hair, doing their makeup, and sometimes even complaining about how they look. Girls are very critical when it comes to appearance and feel that they need to be skinny have perfect hair, spotless skin, and a great wardrobe. Everything needs to be perfect. Why should this matter? It really shouldn't but society has made such a big deal about beauty, being skinny, having clear skin, perfect teeth and so on. We are constantly looking in the mirror making sure everything looks perfect. Today, girls are so self-conscious about what people think or say about them, and it's becoming so bad it often causes self harm and self-hatred. Self-image is the talk of the town and everyone is worried about it.
Self esteem and body image issues are very apparent in high schools and elementary schools everywhere. Approximately seven million girls and woman struggle with eating disorders. If you haven't already noticed when you look at movie stars and celebrities on the red carpet or at any event they talk about what brand they are wearing, their shoes, how flattering they look in their dress and so on. The image that magazines and television programs are telling us is that beauty is everything. The headline of Star magazine says, 45 Best and Worst Beach Bodies. It's obvious that Star is making fun of the worst and therefore portraying that you need to have a nice body. Some statistics say, the average American woman 5'4" tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American model is 5'6" tall and weighs 117 pounds. As you can see models tend to be a lot skinnier. This starts to make a person feel that they need to look like models which again causes eating disorders, insecurities, and poor self esteem.
Another problem that contributes to low self-esteem is caused by Twitter and Facebook. Although these sites are known all across the world and are quite the addiction, they cannot always be the best. On these social websites there is a constant need to update your profile and get a new profile picture. How can I possibly edit myself to look like I have perfect white teeth, or the clearest skin possible? Everyone feels that they need to alter a picture in order for it to be beautiful. When inward beauty should be what you are known for and why people find you stunning. Beauty isn't always and shouldn't be about what's on the outside but should be about what you have in your heart. I'm talking about your personality, how you treat others, kindness, helping others, being positive. For example, Oprah, she gives amazing advice and tries her best to help people. Yet she would not necessarily fall under the category of what our society thinks is "beautiful". Our society is so caught up on trying to bring out the best products for your skin, and the best diet pills when they should not even exist. Everyone is created beautiful and unique and you don't need any thousand dollar cream or the latest ten day diet pill to make you beautiful.
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