Self Image

The way that women perceive themselves, as far as their image goes, is something that needs to change. A couple of our nation's greatest epidemics are eating disorders and unhealthy weight loss. Did you know that 80% of U.S. women are dissatisfied with the way that they look. That is just the women in this country. Whether it is their hair, weight, skin, face, etc. the women in this country (myself included) are so busy hating themselves for the way that they look that they complete dismiss the beauty that IS there. It's really sad to know that there are so many people out there that dislike themselves so much that they would take extreme measures to change the way they look. In the U.S. alone, over 10 million women suffer from eating disorders. These women are literally doing anything that they can to fit that mold of what is supposedly beautiful, despite the harsh reality of what this is actually doing to their bodies.

For centuries women have been striving to fit this frame of what is considered beautiful and have been torturing themselves to achieve it. Look at the women in the 1800's and their rib and lung crushing corsets. These women went to extreme lengths to look a certain way because society told them that they had to in order to be seen as beautiful. And now we have women starving themselves, making themselves throw up, amongst other terrible things, all to be rail skinny like society is telling them they have to be in order to be seen as beautiful. This makes my heart ache. Nobody should ever have to cause physical harm to themselves in order to be seen as beautiful by the rest of the world. Not only are we going to these great lengths and causing great harm to ourselves, but what kind of message are we sending to today's youth, and our own children about self image by behaving the way that we are. According to the National Eating Disorders Association 42% of 1st-3rd graders want to lose weight AND a horrifying 81% of 10 year old are afraid to be fat. This absolutely blows my mind. Children should be thinking about going out and having fun and being kids, not stressing about being skinny and dieting.

Women of the world need to come together and realize what real beauty is. It is more about what is inside and less about if you're a size 2. Realizing that nobody is perfect and that we all have things that we dislike about ourselves is the first step to really loving who you are and how you look no matter what. Of course it is ok to want to better yourself and try to be the best you that you can be, I think that it's a great idea to strive to be the best 'you' that you can be; but doing it in a healthy way is the only way to make your results last and to truly achieve satisfaction. The number one thing that a woman needs to be seen as truly beautiful is to wear her personality on her sleeve and embrace who she is! CONFIDENCE IS SEXY!!! Be confident in who you are and what you're working with! I cannot reiterate that enough. If you're curvy embrace your curves. If you're tall, wear heels! If you're short, own it. If you're super skinny rock that. Rather than focusing all of your energy and attention on the things about yourself that you don't like, turn it into something positive. Focus and accentuate the things that you do like! Next time you're looking at yourself in the mirror, rather than thinking something negative find something positive. Say it out loud. Above all else, be a good role model. Nobody is perfect and we all have things that we dislike, but if you do choose to do something about it, go about it in a healthy way. Think about what kind of affect we can have on the next generation of women. No single person has the power to change the way that society perceives beauty, but if we all work together, love ourselves and each other more, we can really make a huge difference.