Let’s talk about body positivity for a minute. There are many young college women in the world, but we only make up so much of the female population. About 49.4% of this planet is female which makes up obviously about half of the worlds population. And from my personal standpoint, I find it hard to come across a female that is not critical of herself, myself included.
As young college women, I feel that we have grown up to a revolting stigma we cannot seem to get rid of, and that is the stigma to be a certain type of woman or we won’t be accepted in society. Women are sexually objectified on a daily basis as well as criticized on a daily basis, and we can’t win no matter what we do. I feel that this country in particular has succeeded in trying to embrace the plus-size woman as well as the more slender woman, but that doesn’t mean the stigma isn’t still out there that it’s unacceptable.
I come across Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and other social media platforms that’ll attempt to embrace the body of a bigger woman or even the body of a really thin woman, but they are frowned upon by several people in the comments because they don’t look that way society wants them to look. They immediately presume someones health just by looking at a single photograph.
Imagine a population of people that judge based off of ONE visual.
I always like to talk about hypothetical “what ifs” in these situations because it really puts everything into perspective. Imagine a woman that is 400 pounds. She loses 100 pounds. Or imagine a woman that is 98 pounds. She gains 10 pounds. Society (on the internet especially) would jump so fast on the one photo posted of them to say that how she or he looks is not acceptable. What they don’t know is the story behind the photo. They are working towards a goal that is not visually represented in the photo.
These critics are people that are trying to find something or someone to argue with because they feel they have something valid to say. There is honestly no real logic behind the verbal harassment other than the fact they are insecure with themselves (or have nothing better to do). What they have to say does not define the type of person one is whether they like it or not. With this said it’s crucial to take recognition of the ignorance that is still so present in society. People are still incredibly prejudice or judgmental on topics they know very minimally about.
The reason I feel it is important to bring this up is that we have to understand that although society may not be as critical about appearance as it used to be, criticism is still present enough to be addressed. So I feel it’s necessary to use my voice to tell all young women, college women especially, that the meaning you hold on this planet is entirely up to you and someones likely uneducated comments about your weight or how you look shouldn’t stop you from fulfilling that meaning.
The reason each of us are on this planet is to discover the true meaning of life and we can define that in our own way. The rules of society do not have to be your rules. Every woman on this planet should feel she has the power to be whomever she wants to be and not allow a fraction of this population to take that meaning away from them.
Your body is your body and comparing yourself to others is incredibly self-destructive because no matter how much weight you lose or gain, how much cosmetic surgery you get, and how much makeup you put on, that won’t change the fact that you are who you are. I feel it’s vital to recognize at this point in our lives that we are aiming for something greater than who we are today, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
It’s okay to want to make a change, but make sure while you’re at it you don’t lose touch of who you are. We don’t have to make ourselves victims of this hate and cyber-bullying. Until all the critics decide to take action and to help with whatever it is they feel you need help with, they have no say in how you live your life. Even then, you are completely allowed to live life to whatever degree you feel is necessary for yourself and your mental well being. Your own opinion is what matters the most to you and that should never change.