The other day I was scrolling through my twitter feed looking at all the hilarious photos when I saw something truly disturbing, I often check the discover button so I'm in the know with what is going on in the world. When I clicked the lightning bolt that day I had no idea that I would find yet another story about the media interfering with people's body image. While the latter is bad enough, it came as even more of a shock to find that the media in question was a magazine geared for girls ages 8-13. If you are unaware of what I'm talking about, I'll elaborate. The magazine Discovery Girls recently released an article in it's new issue about how to find a bathing suit that flatters your body type. Yes you read that correctly. We now have people targeting our little sisters and telling them what they should wear to make them look better based on their size and shape.
Why is this even important? Think about how you feel when you see ads like these in magazines and aren't quite sure where you fit. Or how you feel when you try on the suit that is supposed to fit you and it doesn't. We may be old enough to flip right past these pages or not let it bother us. But do you think girls that are between the ages of 8 and 13 are going to flip past? Do you think they'll understand where they are supposed to fit in these very narrow categories?
Self esteem issues are becoming more and more prevalent today due to social media and media like this. Many girls struggle with eating disorders due to the pressures from society to be skinny and perfect. It's articles like these that will begin to instill those self esteem issues in younger girls. What does an 8 year old even need to have a flattering bikini for anyway? While I'm sure the editors meant it to be harmless, it is a truly terrifying thing. An article like this is only going to teach the young girls reading it that their body is all that matters and that they may not be whatever shape society sees as beautiful at that moment.
No 8 year old should have to question what shape they are in order to buy a flattering bikini. At that age girls should be picking out the bikini they like the most and are most comfortable in. That should be the mindset at any age to be honest! Women's bodies are NOT objects contrary to popular belief. No one, especially an 8 to 13 year old, should have to worry about buying something that makes them look acceptable to society's standards.
