Our generation is so fixated to think that everyone needs to be perfect. I see girls everyday who dress up like it’s prom when in reality it’s a regular school day so they don’t need to impress anyone. The beauty expectations for today’s society is set high, it didn’t use to be about how pretty you were or how many likes you have on your Instagram.

Today, the average size american woman is 5’4, has a waist size of 34-35 inches and weighs between 140-150 lbs. Fifty years ago, the average woman was 5’3-4 with a waist size of approximately 24-25 inches and weighed about 120 lbs. A lot has changed in fifty years. Women shouldn’t be expected to be something or someone they’re not. Not everyone’s face and body are the same. In today’s generation, there are too many men and women trying  to compare themselves to a celebrity, or another person that they admire. They try to be something they’re not and try to change themselves for someone else. People are never really happy and they think they’ll be satisfied when they are exactly how they imagine they should be. Even after reaching their goal, they rarely find happiness.

The standards of today, implemented by social media, ask young woman to have skinny waist, big thighs, curves, and long hair. There is a problem because this expectation is unrealistic for CHILDREN. All these baby girls that are being born into this generation are going to end up having “the perfect body” when they’re at the age of 11 and 12 years old. Young girls dismiss responsibility as they seek out approval of others, to be told that they have those unrealistic attributes. My little 12 year old sister is a model and she is so obsessed with having everything be perfect. She isn’t even worrying about her grades or education. It’s all about modeling, popularity, and friends. That is how it is with most preteens because they think it’s “cool” because the older kids act like that.

All this pressures leads girls into unhealthy eating disorders to achieve the unrealistic expectations. Some girls push themselves too hard and end up in the hospital because they haven’t eaten in a week. There are also those who are binging and then throwing all of their food up just to be skinnier or they’re either depressed and hurting themselves. Not everyone has to have a skinny waist or curves, just be yourself. There are plus size models all over the world that are not  fat, they’re just labeled that because they don’t look like the average model. The average model is abnormally skinny, and that isn’t healthy either. The whole world has been body shaming women’s figures for years. In the United States, 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a significant eating disorder at some time in their life, including anorexia, and bulimia. As a teenage girl, you are over 10 times more likely to die from an eating disorder than any other illness. Plus size model Iskra Lawrence said, “everyBODY is beautiful.” She should inspire you to be your own person and not someone you saw on TV, Instagram, Tumblr, or Twitter. Self-image in today’s society is constantly bombarded from every angle. The media judges people for the color of their skin, body shape, height, weight, hair, clear skin, and more. Nearly every picture in a magazine has been photoshopped because everyone has flaws.

A lot of little girls look up to celebrities like Demi Lovato. Demi Lovato is a big inspiration for girls and women all over the country because she has a eating disorder, problems with bullying, and is bipolar. She stands up for what she believes in and tries to help other girls that have problems like her. Lovato talking about finding a way to show her confidence, “What does it mean to be confident? It means letting go, being authentic, saying I don’t care, and this is who I am. I want to show the side of me that’s real, that’s liberated, that’s free. What if we do a photo shoot where it’s totally raw? A photo shoot that involves the absence of make-up, special lighting, and touch ups.” She displays that she doesn’t need makeup and fancy lighting to look and feel beautiful.

The world is starting to change because women like Demi Lovato are standing up and making a change against the attack on female beauty. It should be comfortable for people to not drench themselves with make up. Wear whatever they want without feeling judged. No one should be afraid to show who they really are.    

Be confident. Be you.