“I am going on a diet”, “I need to lose weight”, “I need to get that bikini-ready body ready by the time summer break comes around.” I am sure that all of you have heard these phrases at some point in your life. Maybe, you even said these phrases to yourself too. Let me just tell you these are the lies that society has implemented in our brains through tv, magazines, clothes, etc. The truth is, there is no such thing as the perfect body. Even if you look at someone and think to yourself, “Wow that girl must be so confident. She has no flaws”. The way she sees herself may be quite different. Every girl has insecurities whether you think you are too thin, curvy, tall, short, big butt, no butt. Unfortunately, if I were to list every insecurity a girl may have, this article would be pages long.
Growing up, I was always on the thinner side. I was told multiple times when I was young that I could fit through a keyhole or that I looked like I was anorexic. Yes, you read that right. A grown adult told a middle schooler to her face that she looked like she had an eating disorder. Anyways, being thin came with not developing in an area that society says makes you a woman. I still struggle to this day with wearing bikinis, wishing that I just had a little more on top or wanting to wear certain shirts that don’t fit me in the way that I would like them to. I try to overcome this feeling by thinking about all the great things that make me who I am and why I love the body that I was put into.
When struggling with your body, people often confide in others about their insecurities. When doing so, you will often hear, “just be more confident!” I will be the first to tell you that it is not that easy; you don’t just wake up one morning and suddenly are the most confident human to ever walk the planet, and that’s ok! It’s okay not to feel 100% confident all the time; it’s okay if you must tell yourself positive affirmations consistently just so you can begin to believe them yourself. In most cases, the reason you feel like this is because of society.
Society has implemented through every form of entertainment what you should look like or what the perfect person looks like. A study that was done by the University of Illinois researched the effects of what media has on society. First, society portrays individuals in the media as having the perfect body, but, in reality, many of them may be extremely underweight. Did you know that less than 5% of the ENTIRE population has the measurements for the perfect body type? Modern technology can physically change the way women look, as if this wasn’t enough damage to women everywhere to see unrealistic standards. The media markets diets and having a perfect life. This is only tangible if you look the way society says you should. This implies the message that if you do not like this unrealistic standard you are not okay and you cannot achieve anything. This attitude is called size oppression.
Researchers at the University of Illinois described size oppression as something that occurs when a person is harassed or discriminated against simply for being, or not being, a certain size. Girls of all sizes can be affected by this; curvy girls should be smaller and thin girls are targets of jealousy. As our society attempts to grow aware of social problems and make a difference, there is something we still aren’t talking about. Size oppression is not talked about in our culture like it should be. There will always be pressures in our society on what men and women should look like; however, we can make a difference on our own, and here’s how:
- Be aware of society’s unrealistic expectations and do not let them control your life.
- Lift your fellow men and women.
- If you experience size oppression happening in any situation, call it out.
- Advocate against diet culture.
- Be confident in the clothes you own, and wear clothes made for your body type (I promise it’s a confidence booster).
- Don’t limit your diet, just make sure that you are balancing out what you eat.
- Be aware of the accounts that you follow and what messages they are trying to convey to you.
- Take care of your mind, body, and soul (whatever that may entail for you).
Know that it’s okay to have bad mental days. What matters is coming out on the other side. Now go and strut your stuff girl! Go confidently into and let the world see your beauty inside and out. As the queen Hailee Steinfeld sings, “Gonna love myself, no, I don’t need anybody else!” One more thing to remember, everybody has a summer body.