In today's society every little girl grows up believing that she has to look a certain way in order to be considered beautiful. Everything from Barbie dolls to magazines teaches us how we should look in order to fit societies standards of beauty and how to change if we don't fit the unattainable mold. Fortunately there are women out there who are breaking the stereotypes and dismissing societal pressure. These remarkable woman use their voices to help teach us what it truly means to be beautiful.
1. The media lies.
“There are so many glamorous actresses, but in the real world, nobody looks like that.”
As women we are constantly bombarded by media that tells us we have to look like celebrities and models in order to be considered beautiful. What I have to say to that is sure, you can compare me to these famous women but only if you give me a photoshop team, a personal nutritionist, thousands of dollars for cosmetic work, a hair/makeup/clothes stylist and a personal trainer. The point being, everything we see in magazines and on the TV isn't real. I know it's hard to remember that because hot damn those women look like a million bucks (because it costs that much to look like that) But none of that is real and if you ask me I’d rather live in reality and work to love my perfectly imperfect self.
2. You will always have critics.
“We’re always too skinny or too fat or too tall or too short. We’re shaming each other and we’re shaming ourselves, and it sucks.” – Emma Stone
You could be society's exact definition of the perfect woman and there will still be someone out there that will find a flaw in you and exploit it. Plus, these standards of beauty are unrealistic and unattainable. Society expects you to be tall but not taller than your date, thin but with a huge rack and ass and have a radiant perfect looking skin while not wearing too much makeup. (whatever that means) But how about instead of worrying about the petty opinions of others do your best to find beauty in yourself and love it. Also, do your best to shut up your inner critic because there's nothing worse than a woman putting herself or another women down.
3. Just because she’s beautiful does not mean you are not.
“Comparison is a brutal attack on oneself.” – Cameron Diaz
As women we constantly compare ourselves to one another. For some reason we assume that if one girl is called pretty or one girl has gorgeous legs then that means we aren’t as pretty and don't have as gorgeous of legs. This is entirely not true. Besides, beauty is relative and while she may be considered the most beautiful to one person that does not mean that you aren't considered the most beautiful to another. As the famous saying goes, all flowers are beautiful but no flowers look the same.
4. Women and humans.
“I have cellulite. I have stretch marks..My breasts aren’t what they were before breastfeeding my two children." – Reese Witherspoon
Newsflash, women are first and foremost human beings. I can't speak from experience but I believe that the toll of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding is very harsh on the female body. I also believe that the fact that the female body can do all that is truly amazing. I hope when women look at their stretch marks and changed bodies they feel not only beautiful but powerful. But even without the aspect of childbirth being a woman is hard. Hormones, hormones and oh yeah, hormones. I’ll spare you the details but rapid weight fluctuation, pesky love handle weight,bloating, breakouts and stretch marks don't even crack the surface. So before you criticize yourself too harshly remember that yes you are a woman but you are first a human.
5. Being “pretty” is not what makes you beautiful.
“I wish I had a better metabolism. But some else probably wishes they could walk into a room and make friends with anyone like I can.” – Kelly Clarkson
Every single woman on this planet has beauty in them one way or another. One woman may have striking eyes and the other may have the ability to make someone smile when they’re sad. Who is to say what is more beautiful? Besides, who even cares what is more beautiful? Remember beauty is relative. Also, it's important to realize that what you consider your biggest flaw could be beauty in another's eyes. The woman with striking eyes may wish that she had the ability to make someone smile when they’re sad and vice versa. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have focus on what you do because I bet someone finds it beautiful.
