We all have parts of ourselves that we aren’t confident in. Whether it be your legs, face, stomach, weight, an awkward laugh, being shy, being too loud or any of the other countless things we can be self-conscious about, odds are there is something you always wish you could change about yourself.
People attribute feeling self-conscious to how the media portrays the "Perfect Human Specimen." We are constantly surrounded by pictures, tweets, GIFs and videos of #relationshipgoals, #bodygoals and just #lifegoals in general (most of which are completely fake or unrealistic anyway). With these constant reminders of how imperfect and inferior we mere humans are, is the media truly affecting our ideas of beauty? Personally, I think not.
First of all, I don’t think it is fair for us to blame the media for every problem our society has. The whole point of the media is to seek out news and report it to consumers in an easily accessible format. As a journalism student, I may be a bit biased, but it makes sense that if consumers weren’t consuming the news, the media wouldn’t continue to report on how much Kim Kardashian’s shoe collection is worth. The real issue is that the public enjoys reading about the latest gossip and updates on celebrities. As much as people complain about the media shoving celebrity gossip and starved models down their throats, they continue to eat it up!
This article, however, is not about the media in general; it is about how an individual perceives what the media reports and relates it to their own body image. Personally, I am a firm believer in being confident no matter what your body looks like. Without first having inner confidence, no one can expect to be happy in their own skin. With that being said, we are all entitled to our own insecurities; how a person feels about themselves is their business, and no one else’s. It is our right to feel completely confident or completely self-conscious, and that isn’t something a few words can change.
When someone says something nice about how I look, of course it makes me feel good inside; however, I didn’t plan my outfit or do my makeup to be complimented, I did it to feel good about myself. I didn’t work out an extra 30 minutes at the gym to be told I’ve lost weight, I did it because I like to be active. I didn’t eat those vegetables to be told I look skinny, I did it for my health. No matter how many times you tell me my outfit looks fine, if I don’t feel confident, I won’t go out in it. Consequently, when someone tells me I am perfect just the way I am, it means nothing to me. I don’t live my life for the approval of others.
I may see a picture of a model in a magazine and decide that is how I want to look, but that is not because I am being forced to think that way, because guess what, Beyoncé and her curves are just as beautiful, too. Simply because I feel more confident when I look a certain way doesn’t mean I have been brainwashed, because the next person may want to look completely different, and that is perfectly OK. It is in the hands of the individual consumer how much of an impact the media will have on how they see their body. Instead of body-shaming a Victoria’s Secret model for how she looks or body shaming yourself because you don’t look the same way, we should be embracing our different figures and building up our own self-image.
