“Shouldn’t have ignored her in middle school” has been a popular picture caption as of late, ideally showing a girl during her middle school years and what she looks like today. For obvious reasons, some changes might’ve occurred. The recent surge of these pictures is one of the best examples of how we’re sexualizing women at a far too young age.

The expectations that an eleven year old is suppose to have perfect teeth and the body of a woman well passed the age of puberty is completely absurd and unattainable. Rather than imposing that idea, we should put more into empowering girls to focus on other things that can help them to better themselves and give them a fighting chance in the world.

Many women of this generation have so much more opportunity than before and are often told that they can do anything they would like to if they just put their mind to it. However, with still such an emphasis on looks and what the ideal woman should be, the path of self growth is harder than it should be.

When we use bodies to sell items commercially, we are showing girls how their bodies are no more than objects.

Throughout the years movies often depict women this way as well. Nothing more than just a body. The classic Bond girl is first panned over by the camera with emphasis on the curves formed in her silhouette and then working up towards her face. Commonplace visualizations like these further support the idea that women are first a body than a person.

The value of a girl should not center on societal beauty standards and should not be a burden young girls should have to carry. Dealing with coming of age is hard enough without external pressure to be more of something they’re just not. Being given a fighting chance is not the only thing we can do to create an environment more sustainable to raise the women of tomorrow.