Society has long imposed upon us images of what we should be, or how we should look. However, some groups more than others have been specific targets of these societal images. Women, especially young girls, are heavily influenced by advertisements and celebrities, and for a very long time this influence told these impressionable youths that they must be super model skinny to be “perfect.”
From as far back as can be remembered, women have been told what to do or how to look in order to please the man, or even just society in general. Add social media into the mix, and we now have a constant stream filled with what the “ideal body” is. Tack onto that the ever so prevalent idea that you can “never be too rich or too thin”, or even the best “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” These ideals are everywhere, so much so that we might not even recognize them immediately. The more pertinent fact is that these fantastic, skinny women shown on TV and in advertisements are not attainable. The Photoshop, or even the extremely unhealthy weight of these “ideal” women causes normal, real women to feel inferior. Thus, these unrealistic implications that for a woman to be beautiful she must be unhealthy, sends the message to all women that this is what their goals should be. And unfortunately, it seems that mass media projects this image, forcing young girls to constantly compare themselves to the “ideal” and thus never be comfortable in their own skin.
For a very long time, the image that women were told to aspire to be was a supermodel- skinny, tall, fashionable. The ultimate “it” girl. Now, image of what is “sexy” or what women should want to look like is changing. Perhaps we have decided as women this is the new sexy, that this is what we choose to define our OWN sexy as. Or maybe, it is because we are realizing that it is what men like. Or, could it be simply because that is the image pushed into our faces now? Regardless of the reasoning behind this landscape shift, we can say so long, thigh gap craze! And say hello to curves. What’s “in” now is the booty craze- I mean, it’s been said that your man “won’t want none unless you got buns hun” for years. So why this change?
Media and advertising has long impacted the views of a society, and when an image is changed, the direct result is a change in culture. After so many years of being told to look like a supermodel, we are now being told to look like Beyoncé, or Iggy, or the hundreds of Instagram celebrities with curves EVERYWHERE. Like even in places I didn’t know existed. So, who are these celebs? Perhaps the most famous are Nicole Mejia and Jen Selter. With inspiring videos, workouts, and of course, “belfies” (aka butt selfies), the landscape for what women should look like or should aspire to look like has altered.
Personally, I’m not too sure if this change will stay, or if it is definitely for the better. But, what I do know is that the only impact we can have as women, and as individuals, is how we see ourselves. Trying to be like someone else never has worked. So, take these “fit and thick” women and say,“ You go girl”. Maybe apply their squat routine into your own, but please, don’t try to look them. Be the best version of yourself that you can be. And whatever you do, do it for yourself, to be healthy, to be fit; because at the end of the day, that’s all you have. You can only please yourself, and be the fittest version of yourself. And that’s the beauty of it all-we are all build differently, shaped differently. So why spend all these years trying to be someone else?