With the judgmental yet influential society we live in today, women feel the constant pressure to change who they are. It is almost an expectation for women to be perfect. They strive to look like the models in magazines. They strive to have the perfect hair, skin, nails, body, outfit and personality. But the reality is that there is no such thing as perfection. However, the illusion of perfection is taking a toll especially on young women.
There is a certain expectation for girls who are blessed with perfect skin and a slim figure. They are expected to keep that image forever. They will be ridiculed for gaining even five pounds or going to the grocery store without makeup on. But, society doesn't seem to understand that these girls are human too. One cannot be expected to maintain the same weight for the rest of their life nor can they be expected to have their makeup and hair done around the clock. These expectations are unattainable and absurd, even for the most "perfect" of humans.
The girls in magazines aren't perfect either. Each and every photo in a magazine is retouched. Women are made to look slimmer, their pores are erased, and their teeth are whitened. I never understood the extent of this concept until I saw a video of how each picture in a magazine is manipulated (find that video by clicking here). These photos create a perception of perfection that is physically impossible to achieve.
With society creating this label of perfection comes a countless number of issues that young women face. Girls feel pressured to paint their faces with makeup to get perfect looking skin, just like the models in the pictures. Girls starve themselves in order to look as thin as the models in the pictures. Some even go as far as to get surgery to morph their bodies in order to look like the models in the magazines.
But think about this. What if society didn't care about what other people looked like? Or better yet, what if people didn't care if society judged them by their looks? What if magazines showed pictures of real people? We would all of a sudden live in a world where girls would not have to starve themselves to see a certain number on the scale. We would live in a world where women wouldn't have to change themselves to meet society's expectations. Society would finally come to realize that there is no such thing as perfection.
