There they are: the Victoria’s Secret Angels. Whether we are looking at these universal representations of what a woman should look like, or even the beautiful girls around campus, there is always something we find about ourselves that we don’t like. Perhaps it is our eyes, smile, hair, or most commonly, our weight. The reality is that we will never be able to accept ourselves to the fullest.
However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t love yourself and all your insecurities. Today, body image is one of the number one issues for any woman or man’s life.
Body image has to do with the pressure of measuring up to social standards and societies definition of beauty. Growing up, we played with barbie dolls, which may have indirectly started to corrupt our body image. Seeing this plastic (and fantastic!) doll with long legs, a flat stomach, and long beautiful hair- every girl in the world wanted to be this doll. What once seemed as a fun toy has now become an awfully terrifying issue in society.
For example, eating disorders are a huge component of a poor body image and have become increasingly popular as more women dislike their bodies. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, the average woman is five feet four inches tall and weighs 140 pounds. The average American model is five feet 11 inches tall and weighs 117 pounds. It is no surprise that the public has seen a false sense of what beauty and a healthy body actually is. Thanks to these social normalities created by the beauty industry, eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating are growing stronger every year.
When the National Eating Disorder Association surveyed women on college campuses (hey, that’s us!), 91% of women said that had attempted to control their weight through dieting. With the struggles of entering a new environment and making new first impressions, it is no surprise that college students are highly affected by the third most common chronic illness among adolescents. The fear of the Freshman 15 often times scares people and leads them to unhealthy dieting and can influence an eating disorder.
Let’s compare this photo to the Victoria Secret angels. The Victoria Secret angels are beautiful, no doubt, but so are these women. Women come in all shapes and sizes. If we were to stop hating on ourselves and eachother, imagine the peace we could make with our bodies.
How is someone supposed to love us when we can’t even love ourselves? If the pressures of body image are getting you, think of healthy alternatives. Eat well to improve your energy and well being, exercise to relieve your stress, and live life with a smile on your face. Keep people around you to be your support system when you simply can’t do it alone.