Anorexia is defined as a substantial fear of gaining weight. People try to restrict what they eat in order to avoid any possible weight gain.
Some even go as far to not eat at all. Why aren’t people comfortable in their own skin, regardless of their weight?
This issue prominently affects our generation, just as much as generations younger than us. About 0.9 percent of women diagnosed with anorexia are between the ages of 15- 19.
We as young women look for role models, someone to look up to and say “I want to be like them when I grow up” but not because of how powerful, smart, or talented they are, but because they are thin.
The media is painting the image that young women need to be structured in a particular way in order to be considered pretty or beautiful.
Social media plays a huge role in the way people see themselves. It creates low self-esteem through body shaming.
A prime example of body shaming is this new trend called the paper challenge. What is the paper challenge you might ask? Well, the point of the challenge is to hold a piece of printing paper in front of your stomach and if the paper completely covers your stomach then you beat the challenge.
However, if even a little of your sides or stomach shows, you have failed. This is what’s trending now on our Facebook feeds. Girls, both young and old are holding printer paper up to their stomachs to prove that they are thin.
Why does this matter? While you have girls showing off their tiny torsos for a challenge like this, you have other girls who can’t fit behind a piece of paper. Those girls are the ones developing insecurities, so they hide their body from the world, creating the mindset that if they can’t fit behind a paper, then they aren’t beautiful. It creates a shame for them that shouldn’t exist because to be thin does not equate to being beautiful.
Bulimia is binge eating then taking dangerous methods to get rid of the foods that you eat such as purging, dietetics, or even overdoing it with laxatives. It gets to the point for some that they can't help but eat, but feel so bad about it that they throw it up in order to maintain or achieve a certain body image.
So the girls that are not the thinnest take these methods to try to please the world before pleasing themselves. Purging leads to bone loss, heart difficulties, and throat damage as well as an imbalance in your hydration levels.
People are killing themselves to look thin and to fit in the strict mold that the media imposes on impressionable and vulnerable women. This is detrimental especially since some images of celebrities we want to emulate are not accurate. Therefore, we are chasing a standard of perfection that does not even exist.
Thankfully times are changing. We are in a generation where singer Meghan Trainor promotes a healthy body image. She tells girls through her lyrics that “it’s okay not to be a size 2” and that "boys like chunky girls too.”
Boldly she recognizes that some celebrities allow images of them to be photoshopped before being sent to the media to hide their “imperfections.” Meghan Trainor is not the only advocate for a healthy body image and self- acceptance.
Actress, model, and singer Zendaya Coleman refuses to broadcast a false image of herself especially because she is a role model for many young girls who watch her show on Disney Channel. She knows that she has a platform that speaks to a very young audience and constantly sends out messages of love for others but, most importantly, love for one’s self.
Recently, the media has made attempts to portray her as thinner and lighter than she actually is which she will not and did not stand for. Read her thoughts below posted via Instagram pertaining to the infamous photoshopped picture:
