In December I wrote THIS post where I experienced something that really cheered up my day and opened my eyes to the happy world rather than the slightly selfish one I was wrapped up in for a couple of hours. However all within an hour my view on the world wavered slightly. There was something I experienced that really disturbed me and made me feel quite gutted. First of all, though, when I was thinking about this post, I felt like the video I've embedded would portray another message that fits in well with the tone of this post.
In this video, the model, Cameron Russell outlines that "image is superficial." She says young aspiring models want to hear "if you were a little bit skinnier and you have shinier hair, you will be so happy and fabulous" and yet she is, after having accomplished this due to winning a "genetic lottery", insecure. The honesty of this video blew me away and made it completely clear that beauty is not defined by what you see on the tin. She exclaims that these girls asking her about modelling, longing to be in her position should want to be the president or other such roles. This speech has really stuck with me - she clearly proves herself have something important to say.
So, I'll tell you what happened.
I was in a bookstore and passed a girl that must have been no older than fourteen. She said to her friend, "I'm dieting and my mum doesn't know. I want to lose some weight."
I felt - and still feel - absolutely stunned.
Synonymous with the age fourteen (or less and above) should be happiness and ease and comfort in the "difficult stage" of adolescence. That girl should not be worrying about her weight and counting calories and other such things that the idea of her doing made me want to perform a speech to her. It wasn't because she really didn't need to lose any weight that bothered me; it was that she should be focussing on building good friendships, learning about life and trying hard at school.
Obviously, when it comes to being healthy, it's a different story. Yet, even then, appearance is so unimportant.
I don't doubt for a second that other generations have had this concept in mind growing up: beauty is skinny and beauty is everything. However, I am for ever hearing people my age obsess over their weight and truly believe that they have to keep working to reach this perfect standard.
There are two things I know:
- When it comes to beauty, inside or out, there is never set rules as to what defines it
- Success is not defined by beauty
Raindrops & Roses,
The Girl in the Moonlight.
This was such a great post! I've never understood why on earth girls our age feel the need to worry about their figure. But I don't think like the media helps at all because most of the girls you see advertising body confidence look exactly how all the girls strive to look, which obviously won't help anyone. I've also heard about lots of pressure actually coming from family members. To the point where, one of my friends, who's a size 12/14 has been told by her mum that she isn't going to prom unless she drops two or so dress sizes! And i think that's just disgraceful! But this was such a great post, so well done! x
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Yes, you're definitely right! There are so many factors to it that I haven't touched upon in this post, like the pressure that this girl clearly felt not being her fault. It's everything that makes her feel that way - whether it be the media, peers or family! I wish all of the negativity attached to appearances could just disappear!
DeleteThank you so much! :-)
So true. Amazing post. I agree with you 100 %. Young kids shouldn't be worry about diet and loosing weight. I've been seeing this in so many young people and it breaks my heart.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It really is rubbish to see and hear!
DeleteThis is such a wonderful post! I absolutely love Ted videos, they are all so inspiring. I think at every point young girls struggle with their body image, but today with so much media, it is so much worse. I can only imagine what it will be like for little girls ten years from now! Society puts so much pressure on girls to be perfect and I think it's really sad! However I find myself criticizing my body and the way I look all the time and honestly I don't know why! I have such a loving and supportive family, great friends, and lovely life that worrying about looks seems so unimportant!
ReplyDeleteHaha, sorry, I have just had such a day so this post struck a chord. Such a wonderful post! (:
Thank you! Yes, Ted videos always get my attention when I watch them. Yes, you're right - it makes it bad for boys, too, which is awful! It is unfortunately just the way we're programmed, I feel. I, "naturally", criticise myself when, like you, and like this girl, I shouldn't. I always remind myself that, no, I shouldn't give myself such a hard time! I hope you find a way to not trouble yourself with criticising yourself. You are awesome, after all!
DeleteMy mom was at a school the other day (she sells products to help clean up graffiti and things like that) and she saw a girl about 13, she had her lunch in her hands, and a group of boys called her fat. She then immediate threw away her food. When she told me about this, I thought it was absolutely heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteIt's awful that you become aware of your body from such a young age, for me I was 11 when I first started noticing my differences, and it hasn't stopped since. Something definitely needs to be done to stop this obsession with body image. It's dangerous and unhealthy. xx
That is so upsetting to read! That really sucks.
DeleteIt really is rubbish, I agree. I wish we could make it all go away!
Hi! Since you left a lovely comment on my blog, I thought I would check out yours and I love it! I came across this post and I agree with you, I am 16 myself and am lucky enough to have a high metabolism but so many girls stress about their weight and as you said at this age you should just enjoy life and you have helped a lot of people by doing this post! I will be sure to follow :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for this!!
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