The other night I was watching a show called the Janice Dickinson Model Agency. I was shocked when Janice begins scrutinizing one of her female models and claiming she was way to fat; the model was a size four! For about five minutes Janice talks about how disgusting this girl looks and even goes as far as pointing out every single “flaw” on this girl’s body. What kind of message is this sending out to girls? Every day we turn on the TV. or go to a store we see this glamorized image of being a size zero. Hollywood, through its constant praising of the celebrities body, has created a narrow mind of what beauty is. It sends the message to women, mostly teens whom are most impressionable, that if they don’t look this way they are not beautiful. More and more girls are taken drastic measures (whether it be plastic surgery, dressing provocatively, or even resorting to eating disorders) to achieve this look. When is enough enough? To the ladies, being completely honest how many times have you seen a heavier girl and the thought “gross” ran through your mind? How many times have you heard someone poking fun at someone’s weight? How many times have you yourself looked in the mirror or stepped on a scale and thought “I need to fix that”? The answer typically is a lot and if it is not then you’re either lying or lucky. Now answer this… how many times have you looked at your favorite celebrity and thought “wow she’s gorgeous”!? How many times do you compare yourself to that celebrity and believe that’s how you should look or dress? The answer to these, on average, is a lot also. More and more, as time progresses, body image issues are developing. As a kid I could care less how I looked (looking back at pictures I was slightly awkward but still no one cared) but now my nine year old sister goes to school with kids who are being tormented because of how they looked! How could things be so drastically different over the course of nine years? I blame Hollywood and the pedestal they put the celebrities on. Since Hollywood created this huge deal on looks, I believe they are the ones whom need to put things back into perspective and send the message out that there are all different types of beauty and to say that if your not a size zero woman with the perfect hair and style it is okay because truly there is no such thing as perfect. I think we need to have more celebrities speaking out against this and speaking up for the average looking girls. By having someone you look up to as a role model or at least someone you adore say that your beautiful will mean more to people and seem more believable than when your parents or friends tell you that you are beautiful (as sad as it seems it is true). Also, there have been some model agencies that required there models to be at a healthy weight for their size. So there aren’t any five nine girls that weigh 100 pounds! I think more people in that business need to enforce that rule… By attacking these industries that send out the message that average isn’t beautiful, slowly but surely, we can help end or at least decrease the amount of people with poor self esteem and body issues.
Teen girls, it's time to realize that you are in individual for a reason. Stop imitating celberities and obsessing over their style, body, and life and focus on finding your own identity!
As far as Janice Dickinson is concerned, she's got an attitude problem. Yes, she's an amazing model as well as a successful woman. But NO ONE has the right to put a person down based on their weight. It's discrimination and it shouldn't be tolerated. A model who sends a great message is Tyra Banks. She really is an advocate for telling girls that they are beautiful EXACTLY the way they are. We need more stars like her. People who have that kind of fame should use it for good. Instead of worrying about which tabloids they're in or what movies they're making, they should try to be a positive influence on those who look up to them. This current perception of beauty is like a bad fashion trend. It sticks around a while, no matter how ugly or ridiculous it may seem. Then eventually something else comes along and changes people's opinions. Hopefully, some stars will step up to the plate and give girls the right idea about body image.
Here's a tip for getting more people to read this post: separate that huge paragraph! Especially on the web, people will not muddle through a giant paragraph to read your post. Most people, like me, will just give up and move on. But others, like me, will leave a comment like this to help you out in the future!
I think as a society we have lost sight of how women should look. I'm not saying that if you're a size 2 that you aren't beautiful, but if you are not a size 2 you shouldn't be considered "fat" or "disgusting."
Naturally, women should have more fat on their bodies to support children which is usually why it is easier for us to gain weight and harder to lose it. The media, and people like Janice Dickinson, are making it harder for girls to accept that it is ok to have curves!
Nobody should have the right to tell you that if you're a size 12 and curvy that you are disgusting.
One thing that I love about black culture is that a woman with curves is usually seen as being sexier than a woman who looks as if she starves herself. No matter what your body type people should be able to accept themselves for who they are without feeling like they are constantly being told to lose weight or look a certain way.
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All the believers, they were smiling and winking at each other, I could honestly say I was scared for my life.