With all of this talk about dad bods circulating on the Internet, I thought it was time to appreciate the unique body types of women as well! It is time for people everywhere to identify women of every shape and size as beautiful because, like the appreciation of men with dad bodies, women should be appreciated for their uniqueness and individuality. Do me a favor and think of the word "modelesque." What are some of the things that come to mind? I'm guessing words along the lines of "flawless" and "skinny" come to mind.
One more question for all of you: who defines beauty? In today's society, individuals value the media's perception of beauty, and their definition most likely coincides to the terms that ran through your head when thinking of the word "modelesque." We can attribute a majority of the negative perceptions of women who have more curves than those of a typical model to the media because the media does a terrible job of representing women who identify with body types other than skinny and tall. It's time that those who are consumers of the media (us) change people's perceptions of beauty. Who says mothers who have carried their children for nine months are less beautiful and deserving of praise than those who are posed on almost every fashion magazine and advertisement?
Companies like Dove are already doing a fantastic job depicting real women in their advertisements, and campaigns like their “Real Beauty" campaign are great starts to the change in perception of beauty. Dove determined their mission to challenge the definition of beauty after doing a study that hypothesized that “the definition of beauty has become limiting and unattainable." Among other discouraging statistics, the study found that a minuscule 2 percent of women identified themselves as beautiful.
While Dove's initiative is a step in the right direction in terms of redefining beauty, the perception of beauty still needs to change! Mom bods need some more appreciation because despite any variation in shape and size, all women are beautiful.
