The Ideal Body

By: A. Lotufo

“[The designer] took one look at my body and kind of snickered and laughed”, Australian model Sarah Stephens says in a Vogue interview, while opening up about a casting when she was only 17. Beauty standards change from decade to decade, from country to country, and even from app to app. But what we don’t notice is that beauty is different from person to person – and these standards are not only unrealistic, but unhealthy. 

73% of teenage girls aged 13-17 feel self-conscious about their bodies. While many may argue that these numbers simply relate to hormones, social media is definitively a factor. On social media, teens are exposed to a variety of bodies, and when they see people that fit the “standards”, people may begin to question their own looks. Social media is often promoting unrealistic methods to lose weight, gain a certain body shape, build muscles and more. Moreover, editing images create a false perspective on how bodies can look. 

Girls tend to experience more self-consciousness, because the unrealistic standards are often set by how men portray women. And as social media rises, videos which promote specific body types can go viral, and once you begin watching these videos, your mind goes down a spiral. People might start to question if their bodies are “good enough”, if their bodies are beautiful, and so on. This spiral only continues as consequences escalate. Many teens experience eating disorders (like Anorexia and Bulimia) due to pressure to lose weight. Depression rates are increasing – people compare themselves to social media standards and therefore immediately begin to question their worth. Body dysmorphic disorder is also a major factor – a disorder where you excessively focus on your appearance and body. These consequences are largely due to social media and the variety of information we have access to (which is not always true!) 

These standards of beauty have been around for a long time – from Marilyn Monroe and her “perfect attractiveness” to nowadays supermodels and their weight, like Bella Hadid. These body standards will only worsen if we continue to promote them; they are constantly worsening our quality of life. Beauty is subjective – and women’s figures are not things to be compared. To avoid this worldwide situation from escalating any further, don’t follow people online that make you feel bad about yourself, and never judge or compare people. Be kind always – beauty standards change, which just proves how fake and unrealistic they are.