Have you ever looked in the mirror and seen someone you despise? Did you see every flaw? Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought ‘I’m too fat, or I’m not good enough?’ ” This is what girls across America see every day.

The media puts an excessive amount of pressure on children as young as seven to have a body just like models they see on magazine covers. Large agencies like Slate and Elite pick from only the best of the best to be advertised in fashion shows and magazines. They take girls who are developing physical health issues like anorexia and bulimia, then further photoshopping their bodies to be completely unrealistic. Girls across the nation are seeing these fake pictures and develop expectations for their bodies to look the same.

Some people might believe that the clothing displayed in advertisements are more desirable on thin models. They argue that it is a marketing tactic to make people want to buy their products. While this statement isn’t entirely false, it fails to consider the mindset it leaves women in. People go to stores under the assumption that the clothes will make their bodies look just like the model that wore them. Realistically, a shirt or a pair of pants can’t automatically erase ten pounds once someone puts them on.

As soon as that false reality is broken, girls try to make their bodies ‘perfect’ and end up developing serious eating disorders that lead to bullying and an even worse body image (New York Times). Young girls look at Disney princesses or Barbie dolls and see completely unproportionate bodies. The waists of these characters are smaller than their necks, their skin rarely differs from that of a white person, and their figures are what some may call perfect.

Though plus-sized dolls and models do exist, they should be more common. The media is still dominated by the underweight, unachievable look. Girls are being shown unrealistic body standards that put their mental and physical health at risk.

Everybody should be able to look in the mirror and be happy with what they see. Fat, skinny, blond, brunette, tall, short, whatever we look like, we are all beautiful in some way. It just takes an open mind and support to be able to see it.

Confidence is key. Even simply complimenting someone once a day can boost their confidence. Support can be generated just as easily as hate. I hope one day I will wake up to a world that is filled with self-confidence and for everyone to be able to look at themselves in the mirror and think ‘I love my body, I’m healthy, and I will always be worth it.’

Works Cited
Klass, Perri. "Attention, Teenagers: Nobody Really Looks Like That." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 01 Aug. 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Schulten, Katherine. "Is There Too Much Pressure on Girls to Have 'Perfect' Bodies?" The New
York Times. The New York Times, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.