The Standards of the Modern Appearance of a Woman are Harmful at an Early Age

If one looked at a photoshoot 20 years ago, he or she would see that all the women were unique and of different body shapes. If one looked at a photoshoot today, he or she would immediately notice the trend of “long legs, sexy curves, and voluminous hair” (Atkinson). Society has begun to ostracize those who don’t fit in that certain criteria, causing much psychological and physical damage to society’s female youth, including anorexia, binge eating, and depression, among others.

These significant problems typically begin in adolescence as teenagers start experiencing puberty and developing awareness of their own body image, and they often persist into adulthood. They start comparing their bodies to highly adored figures such as celebrities and models, including Kim Kardashian and Bella Thorne, resulting in lower self-esteem and embarrassment. The societal standard of ‘beauty’ and the immense pressure to alter one’s body type is emotionally and physically damaging to young teenage girls. Katie Atkinson, a blogger for The Huffington Post, succinctly breaks down the media’s view of beauty and the societal definition of beauty.

She states, “According to modern day society, girls should walk and talk pretty, have perfect skin, and pile on makeup; they should watch their weight and keep up with the latest fashion trends.” Every day, girls are hit with the metaphoric sign, “You aren’t good enough” (Atkinson). This is especially detrimental to a child’s mental development during the turbulent time of puberty. Adolescence marks a significant stage in life where the child changes emotionally and physically. This is also the stage where body awareness begins and the pressure to modify their bodies to conform to the norm is perceived as the only route to happiness and success. The media exerts a strong influence on how these young girls define their body ideals and creates within them a pressure to measure up to standards of a good body and unattainable ideal looks, contributing negatively to their self-perception. During my junior year of high school, I fell victim to these societal standards.

One day, a friend of mine posted an ‘ugliness app’ that purported to determine how ugly one was. I clicked on it, knowing deep down I shouldn’t. My result: 30% pretty, 70% ugly. I was told my face was asymmetrical, my chin was too small, plus countless other undesirable flaws. Soon after, every second I was viewing models on social media, realizing I looked nothing like them. I felt worthless. I filled my laptop with tabs for plastic surgery, workout routines, diet pills, and other ‘beauty remedies’. All I could think about was how I could alter myself to resemble one of those girls who were described as “desirable.” I restricted myself to extreme diets and low-carb foods. At one point, I even refused to use oil in cooking any type of food. I ate everything raw, no sauces, no oil, no seasoning, and no dressing: raw carrots, raw spinach, raw bell peppers, raw nuts, fruits, etc. In early January, I even attempted the 500 calories a day challenge, which was incredibly harmful as a teenage girl requires about 1200-2000 calories a day.

A week later, I fainted at the gym with no energy left. I had gone to unhealthy extremes just to lose weight, to obtain a flat belly and a thigh gap. I am just one of thousands of other girls who are, or were in the same situation as me. While I was not suffering from an actual medical disorder, today eating disorders are more frequent than ever. Younger and younger generations are being exposed to unhealthy influencers and harmful websites. Hannah Bayer, a writer for The Odyssey Online, illustrates the danger of children being exposed so early to a culture that is based on “society’s definition of beauty.” She writes, “Anorexia nervosa is the most common cause of death in women ages 15-24. An estimated 1.1 to 4.2 percent of women have bulimia nervosa in their lifetime.” The issues have also started to affect the very young: “51% of 9 and 10-year-old girls feel better about themselves when they’re dieting” (Bayer). More and more young girls are falling into this illusory trap, feeling that they must look a certain way in order to be considered “beautiful”. In an attempt to fit the mold of their “perfect idol,” they resort to extreme measures to lose or gain weight. This results in immense emotional and physical strain on the body.

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