The ideal American woman is 5'7".
The ideal American woman is slender with a flat stomach. She wears a size two.
The ideal American woman has tan skin and thick hair. Her teeth are white and straight.
The ideal American woman is happily married by age 30 and has 2.5 children. She stays at home.
What is wrong with this picture, one may ask? Is there something wrong with being tall and thin? Young and happy? Staying at home with the kids? There's nothing wrong with this picture, per se, but there is something wrong with America's perspective. It's simple, really. It all stems from one word. Ideal.
Let's put this into perspective:
The average American woman is 5'4".
The average American woman is beautiful and she wears a size 14.
The average American woman may not be bronzed and her teeth may not be perfect.
The average American woman makes $39,157 per year to help support her two children.
We, as a society, have idealized versions of almost everything -- people, situations, outcomes, etc. We tend to justify these perceptions as hopes and dreams of things that we want to achieve. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be "ideal" when the entire concept is some abstract fabrication of perfection that we ourselves have created. The problem with America is that we have deemed average as not good enough and ideal as something that is, to put it simply, unachievable or maybe unthinkable for many people.
So, what's the solution? We need to lessen the gap between what is realistic and what is ideal not by pressuring women into thinking that success is defined by idealism, but by instead eliminating our impossible expectations. Now, don't get me wrong. We are allowed to strive for the picture of the ideal American woman. We are allowed to strive for above average. But, what we shouldn't be doing is considering ideal to be the only definition of success, the only path to happiness, the perfect American dream.
Thus, I challenge you all to consider what your dreams are, your good fortune, and where you come from. Consider what your ideal is and fight for it. Break free from the mold of perfection that we as a nation have created over years and years and make your ideal your own. Help us close the gap between perfect and realizable.
Let's wake up, America.
