Body image is prominent in American social media and culture. Being thin is popularly praised in the media and a number of teenage girls aspire to have a thin body. Modeling until very recently was viewed as a slender person career. In 2016, a lot of change occurred in modeling, specifically the media and the United States' opinion on body image. Plus size modeling made it's way into the spotlight and Covergirl signed it's first male model, James Charles, last year. Curvier women such as Ashley Graham were getting equal attention as the thin women. A growing number of athletic bodied women were featured on social media platforms. If you're unfamilar with the term athletic body, Cameron Diaz fits this description.
Last year, we as a country became more accepting and less criticising toward different body types. A lot of ground was covered in 2016 and I hope we continue making advancements in modeling and media this year, but there's one thing missing. This year I want the United States to praise it's citizens for being healthy.
A lot of focus in our culture is put on how much someone weighs, or if they have more fat on their body than someone else. Physical health in our culture is looked at as the end all be all. People often forget there's more to a person's health than physical fitness as well as physical appearance. A person can have phenominal emotional and mental health, a nutritious diet and a consistent sleep schedule, but as soon as the a little bit of arm "fat" is noticed they're labeled as unhealthy. To change this judgment we shouldn't close our eyes, we should just use them differently. If you see a person with stomach pudge, before you call them fat make sure you have all the facts. Yes, that person may have a bit of extra skin on their stomach, but you haven't seen their daily salads they bring for lunch. Have you seen them at the gym four times a week? Have you seen them go to bed at ten o' clock every night to get eight hours of sleep? I really hope this is a question you couldn't say yes to. The definition of healthy is having good health not having a six pack or no fat on their body.
