Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

   

     "What a woman observes in the mirror is what she uses as a measure of her worth as a human being" (Lerner, Karabenick & Stuart, 1973).

     Everyday we are scrutinized for our bodies as women. We have to meet these standards of the ideal body type and if we do not meet them we are policed and deemed as less of a "perfect" woman in society's eyes. We strive to achieve a body type that only about 5% of women in the world naturally have.

     We pinpoint images of women from social media, magazines and advertisements and seek to them as inspiration to go to the gym, eat healthier, yet in all reality the women in those photos are photoshopped. This leaves women with a goal that is not realistic to achieve.

      This is a widespread problem we especially see in young women and girls. 

      Dosomething.org states that:

     "58% of college-aged girls feel pressured to be a certain weight." and "95% of people with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25."

     Focusing and putting such a priority status on your body image can take a toll on you while you are in college. If you feel as though you don't meet the impossible standards of todays "dream" body type, you find yourself less confident and motivated. 

     In my own experience I would find myself more focused on finding time to go to the gym, then study or do homework. This took a toll on my grades and made me feel less about myself. 

     In future posts I will speak on ways to overcome this block and prioritize to maintain a healthy schedule. 

    In the meantime, this is Gigi Hadid:

     One of today's most popular and uprising models. She recently was receiving negative comments on her posts about her not fitting up to the model standards and being too over weight or curvy. If society deems her supermodel body as "being too over weight" than just imagine how it society makes women with average bodies feel. Gigi Hadid defended herself on her body image in a very uplifting and inspiring matter. 

   
     The message she put out in response defiantly moved me. It showed me that even woman who are seen as the "ideal women" face the same body negativity as almost all young women and girls do.

     This shows that society and media is the problem behind the lack of self-esteem in women because instead of reflecting perceptions of the female body, it shapes it.

     Be sure to check out Dosomething.org's "11 Facts About Body Image." These 11 facts are very helpful and important because they pin point what body image is and the statistics of how it effects us as women.