Is there too Much Pressure on Females to have Perfect Bodies?

Have you ever felt insecure? It is very common for women in this society to feel that way.  It’s like everywhere you look there is pressure to look better or be skinny. Everything you do is being judged. Women are portrayed as fragile and delicate, but that is not always the case. Women are thriving in this generation and breaking down barriers of the norm. A big problem in society today that makes women feel insecure is advertising. Certain clothin stores will only sell small brands or up to a certain size.

Women feel as if they have to fit those criteria. Even the mannequins we put out in stores aren’t realistic. They represent standards of what women “should” look like.  You honestly never see bigger women on an Arby’s commercial eating a hamburger. Nine out of ten times it’s a woman who has the social standard of a “perfect body”.

Social media is another huge impact on the views of women and how they should look. All you see are Instagram models with proclaimed perfect bodies and photo-shopped faces. These women have millions of followers because of their physical appearance. That seems to be what everything is about and all some people care about. There is so much more to women than what she looks like. Even while scrolling through social media, there are constant adds about weight loss and the pressure to look better. It’s like the world is constantly reminding us appearance is everything.  

In this day and time, 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the US alone. This is a product of them feeling the pressure to look a certain way.  Women will starve themselves for a man's approval.  Women who are anorexic still look in the mirror and see themselves as heavy, they think they will never be thin enough when you can literally see their bones. You are always going to be “too big” or “too small” in the world’s perspective. Take the Kardashians for example; they all have large bottoms and skinny waists. They have made their living off of plastic surgery too look as good as they do. From lip fillers to tummy tucks to Brazilian butt lifts, they’ve done it all. I do think some women do it for themselves but would they even be famous today if they hadn’t have done it? 

I don’t think most people realize how much it can impact someone when they say “ do you really need to eat that cookie” or “you really need some more meat on your bones”. You either have too many curves or not enough. We try so hard to please everyone else and meet the social standards that are set. Most of the time when we are trying to lose weight it’s not even for our self it is because we think we have too. The words people say have a bigger effect on others than they think. A joke about someone’s weight can be taken to heart even if the person saying the joke thinks it is harmless.  They’re obviously kidding, they say it because it’s obvious you aren’t overweight and that you have a good body. But everyone picks out flaws in themselves even ifthey aren’t true.

Some people have taken being skinny to the extreme such as model Ana Carolina Reston. She was a Brazilian model who was in China on a casting call when someone told her she was “too fat”. She died on November 14, 2006 of anorexia nervosa at the age of 21. Christy Henrich an American gymnast died on July 26, 1994 of anorexia. These women were ridiculed for their weight and appearance. A recent study shows that 51% of girls age 9 and 10 year old feel better when dieting. 40% of girls in grade ten and 37% of girls in grade nine thought of themselves as being too fat. Of those students that were “normal weight” based on their BMI, 19% still thought that they were too fat, and 12% of the students admitted to trying to lose weight. (Farrar 1)

Everyone at some point in life feels as if they aren’t good enough. I believe God made you perfectly and just how you are supposed to be. If you want to change your body do it for yourself and in a healthy way. You’re never going to be your image own image of perfect but your physical appearance does not justify who you are. How you are and how you treat others is what makes you beautiful.

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