Scrolling down Twitter one day, I came across a picture that had the caption: "13-year-old girls today vs. me at 13." The picture had a younger girl that obviously looked way older than her age and then a funny picture of a girl back when she was 13. But this made me think; has society put a standard on young women over the years to be pressured to look like Kendall Jenner or Gigi Hadid because that's "a perfect body type" for women? Even at 13 years old, girls show off their bodies or are hard on themselves because they aren't 100 pounds even.
Girls all around the world are so pressured to be flawless and perfect all the time, all without even putting in an effort. Like we're supposed to magically appear to be 50 pounds lighter and 5'8" with clear skin and eyebrows that are "on fleek." Teens spend about roughly nine hours a day on social media, giving them plenty of time to study what a "perfect girl" looks like. Whether it's looking at comments from boys who put the heart eye emoji on every single one of Ariana Grande's photographs or the daily sharing of high-end fashion models, they see. Teenagers spend their time on social media giving each other "rates" and commenting on each other's pictures to seek approval. If you don't get a certain number of likes in a certain limit of time, you might as well take the selfie down. Why not take away from these nine hours and try to get a better education for yourselves? Is this what we're really focused on as the next generation of leaders and hard workers? Teenage girls feel the need and want to look the same way as everyone else. What happened to being unique and beautiful in your own way?
The sad reality of it all is that girls have subjected themselves to horrible and harmful ways of trying to make themselves "look better." According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 20 million women have suffered from a clinically significant eating disorder at some point in their life. Some of these disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. A study in 2011 shows that 40-60% of elementary age girls (ages 6-12) are concerned about their weight or about becoming too fat. This absolutely amazes me that girls this young are put through this. But then I remembered, I was always concerned with my weight throughout my entire middle school and high school career. It took me a while to become positive about my body and to love myself, but seven years is way too long. Isn't there any way to show young girls and women that they should love themselves and who they are?
This summer, it was a huge thing to be "beach body ready" and to look amazing in any type of bathing suit. And then an ad from Protein World blew up on social media everywhere, throwing people from into a frenzy. The bright yellow ad shows a tall, blonde, skinny model in a bikini (obviously Photoshopped) with a huge question beside her, "Are You Beach Body Ready?" The ad also shows a routine for a weight loss program. Witnessing this ad was a disgrace. How can a whole company tell millions of people that being "beach body ready" is having a super flat stomach, a perfect looking butt, and a flawless chest? I'm pretty sure if you have a body and you're on the beach, you are beach body ready. This is only one example of how ads and social media influence an entire population of young women.
We need to spread the word on body positivity and self-love or else this generation of girls could be in serious psychological danger. We cannot keep pushing ourselves and our bodies to unrealistic standards. It can start with one person and eventually become a whole population of young women inspiring others just like them. How much makeup you wear does not define who you are. A number on a scale does not define who you are. You should define who you are and that should make you happy. Spread love, love yourself and be happy in your own skin.