It’s become a constant discussion of “Did you see what Stacy posted? That pose she's making on her Instagram makes her look big” or “Why did Mary wear that out last night?” It’s remarkable the tiny flaws us girls can pick out just by looking at you or interacting with someone for a small period of time.
We feel so entitled to voice our opinions on others looks. Why do we feel the need to judge someone on what they are wearing? Or even more, what someones physical appearance looks like? We all know the trials of being a girl and how hard it can be in our society today of constantly feeling the need to fit in and do what everyone surrounding us tells us to do. All I’ve ever known is being compared to others, being judged on my outward appearance whether it be by size or shape, what brands I am wearing or what my looks can bring to the table.
If I tried to count the total number of times I have encountered someone who, at first glance, looks down at my shoes and follows their glance to my outfit that apparently isn’t approved according to the glare of their eyes instead of focussing on me introducing myself, that number would be a close second to the amount of times that I am guilty of doing the same. So why is it an automated response to judge someone on their looks?
The society we are brought up in trained us to nitpick and critique every inch of every person around us, including the ones closest to us. Is it in our nature to be hurtful out of spite? Or is it what we’re accustomed to? I mean come on, we all need to stop being so shallow by picking out superficial qualities that are only on the outside.
I catch myself sliding my finger down my Instagram feed stopping and analyzing each post. It’s so easy and almost normal to subconsciously point out someones flaw in a picture, how their outfit is unflattering or how they shouldn't have dyed their hair that color. It makes me sick to my stomach finding myself doing this because to post that picture they were probably as critical as I was about it myself. Everyone is their own worst critic so why do we, myself included, feel the obligation to still find a blemish or imperfection in someone else.
We’ve all been there. We’ve all been scared to post a picture of just ourselves, scared to wear that new bold outfit you just bought, scared of what others would think but did it anyways because we liked it ourselves and felt a push of confidence.
You know how long it takes to feel happy and comfortable with your look before walking out the door. Honestly, there isn’t a single one of us out there who is perfectly happy with everything about our personal appearance. We all have that one thing we would do anything to change. To lose those five pounds, to have perfect skin, healthy beautiful hair, or a killer swimsuit body. None of us are perfect and none of us will hold every perfect aspect a women should hold, we have always known this. If we've always been familiar with the idea that we can't achieve this, then why do we hold others to a standard that they need to fulfill this ideal look, even though we can't ourselves.
It’s just a matter of accepting our imperfections and accepting that none of us can change certain aspects of us. So the next time you see someone on Instagram who may have on an odd outfit or may not look flattering at that angle, hold back that snide comment and learn to recognize others beauty, not the minor imperfection you may see.
We are all guilty of tearing each other down behind our own kinds back when instead we can and should be building each other up. We know how much we go through and how we personally aren’t as confident as we should be so why do we choose to pass up other girls and judge them for the same things you were just staring at yourself in the mirror for.
