Essay about body image and society written by a tenth grade girl.
1/6/2015
It doesn’t matter what mirror we look into, we always find flaws in our image. We fail to see the beauty, the beauty that is in all of us. Why do we see so much negativity in our own image? Because society makes up all these stereotypes that we supposedly should be living up to. Society gives the impression that whatever you do, however you do it, it won’t be good enough or we’ll never be good enough. We could be told that we are perfect, while the next moment we aren’t because of our features, our size, our interest.
The more we are reminded of our imperfections, the more we believe we aren’t good enough. We soon become too gullible to believe that we need to live up to society’s expectations, and we believe that we need to be perfect. Teenagers around the nation believe they need to live up to the expectations that they need to fit into certain sizes, be thin, have clear skin, be active, be social, have the same interests. Teens are given so much pressure because of society. Teens are put down by other teens for their image because they aren’t like the rest. Many of these expectations come from media and magazines. Our generation is corrupted by the belief that we have to be so unrealistically perfect.
Your size and your features should never define you as a person. You shouldn’t be judged by your physical image when no one can see the image inside you. People with amazing, interesting and unique personalities are judged without being given a chance. Because you’re a few sizes bigger than another and you dress in your own way it’s not good enough for society. It’s like judging a book by its cover when you don’t know what’s on the inside.
It’s sad to see society’s judgment affect so many. People who are bullied for their image turn to negative ways of relief. Some become so self-destructive they find ways to change. People should change because they want to not because you’re being judged for it. Hundreds of teenagers have committed suicide because their body image wasn’t good enough for society.
The truth is society is just so very appalling. It’s hard for us to blame things on society when we are society. For so many years, people are still being affected by these expectations and for years we continue to believe them. No matter how many times we are told we are perfect, we can’t believe it. We are perfect, we are beautiful because we are all unique in our own ways. Your size does not define you, your features do not define you. You are you and that’s all that should ever matter. As a society we should be more accepting, we should be breaking the chain of expectations and working together to get rid of the idea that you have to live up to certain beliefs.
This material is an accompaniment to Schooled on Fat.