Women's Body Image
It shouldn’t be hard to sit back and simply appreciate our bodies for all they are and all they do for us. Yet, for the past decade women’s body image does not appear to have improved. A 2007 report by the American Psychological Association found that our culture-wide sexualization of women went hand-in-hand with an epidemic of negative body image perception.
You begin to doubt yourself, you scramble for comfort. You try to avoid television and other media outlets, but even that makes no difference. No difference at all.
Every now and then it can probably feel like you have a little cartoon angel and devil on your shoulders, one putting you down, the other struggling to pick you back up again. Occasionally, it can feel like if you ever allow yourself to be confident, others will find you cocky and threatening, but that’s far from the truth. Ignore any bullies, and stop feeling bad about your looks.
Sometimes you probably find yourself questioning what you are looking at in advertisements and finding hidden intentions in commercials. Past research has actually found that women who watch television and read fashion magazines are more likely to have poor body image. It’s also been found that exposure to media depicting ultra-thin models increased women’s concerns about their bodies, leading to unhealthy eating behaviors such as excessive dieting.
Although, when women witnessed other women of similar body-types in the media, the participants felt better about their own weight and bodies. Women need to remember that we have made enormous strides in education, politics, and the workplace. Should our bodies really affect all that? With the rise of mass media through the 20th century, the image of women in America has gone under a massive change, but it really doesn’t have to stay that way.
The next time you look in the mirror, don’t focus on the imperfections you see, but rather the story your body tells, all the hardships it’s had, and the adventures it’s been a part of. Never let your insecurities take control of your brain, and especially not your heart. Don’t allow yourself to fade into the background, you are just as entitled to the airspace around you as anyone else.
Your story does not start or finish with simply your body. If you lose confidence in your body, than you’re losing confidence in yourself. Show confidence where there before was none.
Stop feeling guilty for every morsel of food that even touches your lips. Begin to succeed in gaining back the self-esteem you yourself took away. It’s like you were so fearful of others shattering your confidence that you ended up shattering it yourself.
We don’t have to live in a world of Kate Moss’, why not go back to the days of Marilyn Monroe? The days where being above a size 00, wasn’t something to be ashamed of, rather just a part of yourself. You should never be ashamed of the size of your body, or the number on your jeans, but rather embrace it, and accept that as long as it’s healthy, your body is perfection.
(Men’s Body Image Article Coming Soon)
