Skinny, definition: unattractively skinny (Webster). Unfortunately, in today’s society skinny is the ultimate goal that everyone is trying to achieve. Young girls look in magazines, and teenagers look at their favorite movie stars or singers and try to make themselves fit the image that the world considers “pretty”. News media glorifies collar bones sticking out and rail thin legs, but they bash shapely hips and a plump stomach. What they don’t see are all the men and women that struggle to make their bodies conform to the news idea of perfect.
A girl looks in a mirror and judges every aspect of her body: her hips are too big, her arms too flabby, and her legs are too thick. Why isn’t she comfortable in her own skin? Her body is a beautiful thing that is unique in its own shape and structure. No, instead, she wants to see perfectly bronzed skin, abs, and stick thin arms and legs. Magazines, movies, and even commercials boast the same ideas that skinny is beautiful and anything else is not. The sad part is that as a community, we all listen to it.
When starvation comes to mind, it doesn’t necessarily sound thrilling. However, girls do it because it’s the easy way to get “model skinny”. Shows like America’s Next Top Model are perfect examples of news media that promote skinny to the extreme. The models are constantly critiqued about their bodies and their looks. Look in a magazine and flip to an ad, the girls are all skinny with no flaws. Are some girls born like that? Yes, but a majority of females are shapelier. Also, what the rest of the world hasn’t wrapped their minds around is that photoshop is a model’s best friend.
Food is supposed to nourish the body and give it energy; it is not supposed to be an enemy. Instead of looking in a magazine or on television, as a society we should look at healthy athletes. They have healthy, sturdy bodies that are shaped not by starving them of food, but by feeding them. Any abled person is able to go outside and run a couple of blocks every day, or even walk them. Skinny doesn’t have to come from an unhealthy perspective, it is just the easiest way, or so people think. Self-image could be a positive thing if the news would promote healthy ways to be in shape, not skinny. Seventeen magazine is a prime example of a positive influence. Not only do they use models of every shape and size they promote healthy eating habits and a simple exercise routine that could be used by any one a couple of times a week.
Anorexia is a battle that affects too many people, when the solution is so simple. The news encourages people to be skinny and try to fit the mold of model skinny, when in reality everyone should accept their bodies and be more focused on being healthy than skinny. Unattractively skinny is a look of the past, healthy and shapely is beautiful and girls should understand that starving themselves doesn’t have to be a way of life. “If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content,” (Leo Tolstoy).
