Social media drastically affects the way people portray themselves to the world. Recently, Cosmopolitan released a very controversial picture of Australian model Robyn Lawley, labeling her as plus-sized. Facebook and other social media sites blew up in fury over this photo, as Lawley appears to be anything but plus-sized.
Occurrences such as this make people question what society has become regarding body image and why so many people struggle to feel socially acceptable in their bodies. I want to get across to the Union community that you need to be happy with the body in which you were born. We are in a society that is constantly struggling to be something it is not.
According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, about 86 percent of students have eating disorders by the age of 20. The most shocking statistic is that over one-half of teenage girls and one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy strategies to lose weight, including skipping meals, taking laxatives and vomiting.
Students need to realize that “negative talk” or “fat talk” produces awful self-perception. Operation Beautiful, a blog that targets negative and fat talk, encourages individuals to leave positive messages in public places as a way to improve body image. Operation Beautiful was seen around campus earlier this year, helping students to have more self-confidence about their image.
In the past year, controversy over weight and what is “acceptable” has circulated throughout the media. For instance, Jennifer Lawrence recently bashed Fashion Police‘s Joan Rivers for being rude and negatively commenting on other celebrities’ weights. Jennifer Lawrence is a perfect role model for anyone struggling with body image, as she preaches body acceptance and says she will not go on a diet solely to please others. Another inspiration is Demi Lovato, who struggled with eating disorders and works with several organizations to help others improve their self-image.
Everyone needs to preach the message of being happy in their bodies. We need to open up to more blogs and charities, such as Operation Beautiful, so we can spread a positive message. The media have contributed a great deal to the loss of self-confidence in our society, but we can slowly help to rebuild the damage that has been done.
TIPS ON HOW TO LOVE YOUR BODY
- Wake up each morning and tell yourself you are beautiful
- Every day, pick one thing you love about yourself
- Work out to feel good, not to change the way you are
- Write down everything you are thankful for
- Think of your body as a temple and honor it