Body Image Hitting Home

It's all around us. Magazines, TV shows, movies...everywhere you look there are images of men and women who demonstrate the socially constructed "ideal" in height, weight, and look. These images have a deep impact psychologically, especially on women and young girls. 

I, myself, have not been immune to the effects of highly edited images of impossible standards in the media. I went running and did stair laps for tighter legs. I lodged my feet under the dresser to keep them grounded while I did sit-up after sit-up to flatten abs. I straightened my hair day after day to eliminate "nasty frizz." I was elated when i went down 3 pant sizes. Or when a Small size t-shirt was too big on me. Looking back, I know I was a tad overweight; not crazy, but still. After loosing some weight (not too much, I promise I'm completely healthy!), I am more confident in my own skin. But I don't think its because I'm skinnier. It's because I have the freedom now to be myself. To not worry about my body, and worry more about what actually matters.

There's this mirror in my apartment.

Almost every girl who comes into our apartment and sees it, comments on its apparent magical ability to make you thinner. Some neighbors have even threatened to steal it for their own. Now, I don't think it does anything special...but it's a daily reminder in my apartment of how girls want to constantly make themselves look (or at least feel) smaller. 

So, with all the talk recently on media's influence on body image, I took to Twitter to ask the world their thoughts. My sample size was limited, of course, but I still think it gave an accurate perspective.

75% of girls have tried at least once to loose at least 5 pounds.

58% of girls placed at "beautiful, proportional face" as of most importance to them.

25% of girls have thought about hurting themselves due to a lack of self-esteem. Only 5% actually followed through.

30% said they don't think they will ever be comfortable in their bodies.

22% thought the ideal weight for a 20 year-old girl was between 90-120 pounds.

When asked what they would change on their bodies, most listed: weight, tighter thighs, smaller nose, straighter teeth, height, and a trimmer stomach.

When asked what celebrities they most wanted to look like, many listed Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Zooey Deschanel, and/or Lea Michele.

I was deeply saddened by these results. You hear about these types of things all the time, but to see it personally in people you care about is terrible. And especially from a gospel perspective, it is extremely sad. These girls are beautiful daughters of God, created in His image. No matter what they look like, they are loved. The media just seems to get in the way of them recognizing this love.

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And now on to something brand new that happened today on Twitter. If you know me at all, you know I'm in love with the show Castle on ABC, and its fabulous actors Nathan Fillion & Stana Katic. A new photoshoot spread came out today of Stana. She is admittedly a very beautiful woman and a great soul. But today's pictures don't all look like her. They are her, but they're not her. We see her on TV week after week, where there is no photoshop. She's crazy fit and crazy tall, but this photo below in particular is not the Stana we know of television.

She's skinny, but she's not THAT skinny. Some things have definitely been enhanced...And where did any resemblance of pores go?! You could try FOREVER to have that creamy creamy skin look, but it ain't gonna happen outside the world of Photoshop. Yet again, for my readers, I LOVE Stana. She's a fabulous person and a great beauty. This is the only photo I have a problem with, and I feel the other pictures from this spread depict her more as she really is, minus the hair extensions and the disappearing pores. But who knows, I've never actually met her in real life...

Most people I follow on Twitter are also great fans of Castle, so most everything I read today in social media was about this photoshoot. I find it incredibly sad that so many girls feel like "potatoes" in comparison to Stana (or any other beautiful woman they come across). I've read many tweets with the acronym KMS (I'm apparently ancient so I had to Google it to figure out what it meant). It means "kill myself." That hurts me to read. And from what I've heard of Stana's fabulous and humble personality, I think it would hurt her to read those words from them as well. A ton of girls on Twitter don't even have pictures of themselves as their profile photo--they have Stana (or another actress). 

It's a sad, sad world when you start to look down on yourself in comparison to others. These women you see are just like you. Honestly, they are. They are normal people who happen to act or model. They are not super human. They do not always look put together. They can be silly. They make mistakes. They do in fact have pores and sometimes even pimples. They are beautiful.

BUT SO ARE YOU.

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Dove did and still does a fabulous campaign to get the word out there that the media and photoshop are poisoning our minds and lowering our self esteem. You should love yourself and love your imperfections.

Remember, you were created in the image of God. You are beautiful. Your imperfections make you unique. You don't want to be the "cookie-cutter" image. You are beautiful. Just the way you are (thanks for the assist Bruno Mars).

You're just as beautiful as those actresses and models. True beauty, as cliché as it sounds, comes from within. Your personality, your spirit, make you beautiful.