Body Bashing.
I was reading a Teen Vogue magazine last night and there was an article about Body Bashing. I was excited to read it because I have had troubles being confident in myself. At times, I would look in the mirror and say to myself "..why are my thighs so much bigger then other girls my age?" "..why do I still have a baby pouch when other girls have a flat stomach?" I still sometimes do. But after reading this article, I am trying really hard to be confident.The article was a bunch of girls who got interviewed by Rachel Simmons. It was about obsessing over your flaws and imperfections while trashing your figure with friends, family, and other people around you.
There was one interview that really caught my eye. It was about Elizabeth who was a freshman in high school. She couldn't stand it when people would beat themselves up. She would stop it. Then one day, she looked at herself and realized that she wasn't the skinniest girl in her group of friends. When a friend, who was the same size as her, complained about her legs and stomach. Elizabeth began to panic and think, if her friend thinks that about herself, then what does she think of me? She said that after hearing her friend pick herself apart she began to worry about her body parts too. Later, Elizabeth went crazy with dieting and lost several of pounds. She began to recieve compliments from her friends saying how skinny she was. They would tear themselves apart even more and obsess over Elizabeths new figure. She said that the fact they noticed made her feel good about herself so she dieted more and more. To the point where she was put in the hospital and got told she had anorexia because she depended on peoples compliments and craved the attention.
Carolyn Becker, Ph.D., found a study that only three to five minutes of fat talk leads young women to feeling increased body dissatisfaction. And then body bashing begins.
Body bashing isn't good for you or anyone. Don't say "I look fat." "I look ugly." "What is wrong with me?" "I hate this..I hate that..just to get compliments from someonelse to make you feel pretty. You should feel good about yourself. And be confident. Nobody else in the world is like you.
"Today you are You, that is truer then true. There is no one alive who is Youer then You." -Dr. Seuss. My mom and grandma Lisa always tell me that the prettiest women are women who are confident in themselves. "If you are confident, you are beautiful." Love who you are. Don't depend on other peoples comments. Just wake up every morning saying, I love who I am. <3
Wheather you have a size 00 or a size 13, you are ALL beautiful.
(I thank Teen Vogue for publishing this article. It is amazing and all the teenage girls and women out there need to realize how important it is to like yourself. Thanks Teen Vogue!)
