"Of course not deary, you do look a tad obese though!"
A portion of the economy has always relied on our mentalities of looking our best. Modern society has become a paranoid fleet of excessive weight watchers and vain wannabe-models. It isn't just a mentality though, it's more of an unwritten rule. God forbid if you're seen in public with your dark roots sprouting out and announcing your fake hair color, there's no way you're going out “looking like that”. High heels, waist cinchers, lip-gloss and tamed frizz are a must. It doesn't matter if you have to endure the aching heels and toes, or if you have to apply a treatment-mask twice a day so your hair doesn't get split-ends, it's all a price most of us pay to ensure that we are “up to standard”.
Keeping up with our waxed, bleached and manicured persona has become a hectic full-time job. The dawn of perfectionist celebrities, and the pressure from the media, have managed to warp our idea of the healthy looking woman into a flawless pin-up model, whose bust is fictionally proportioned to measure twice the size of her waist, while a healthy male figure is typically envisioned as a large Herculean-ripped figure. Shocker? Not at all. The overwhelming praise and preferential treatment a Barbie or Ken look-a-like receives over the average “under-groomed” male or female is appalling. Its no wonder that so many of us are dissatisfied with our bodies.
We first experience this growing up, people adore cute babies and toddlers, and most of us were brought up smiling to a waterfall of compliments before the age of 5.Then possibly the most brutal phase where your looks are equally proportionate to your social status would be the teen phase, specifically with a harder emphasis on high school, where popularity and attention would automatically be given to the physically attractive. Case in point- we are trained to believe that beauty and thinness result to a happier and easier life.
The media has redefined the stages of blubber-density in our bodies. Have you had a look at the so-called “plus-sized” models that the fashion industry is employing? Since when is a healthy size 10 considered to be PLUS? Couldn't they have simply named them Average-sized models? Or do they mean to imply that they are considered to be “plus” only when compared to the other stick-thin, bony, petite models? So now, slim is thick, healthy is chubby, average is FAT, and obese is the equivalent of a cow.
I feel that fashion magazines lack some needed fine print at the bottom of their page.
“Don't worry, this isn't really a human being- it's an airbrushed, breast-enhanced,make-up-camouflaged,photo-shopped version of one.”
Hey, they could include a pinch of honesty, but I guess no one is dumb enough to purposely sabotage their own advertisement sales. This is just one of the few aspects of the media that gives the public an illusion that “you're not thin enough”. Could this sole reason be the cause of the rise of anorexia and bulimia? No doubt that it might have had something to do with it, but one thing for sure is that it molds our mind- one way or another- to think highly of thinner, prettier people. For all those perfectionists out there, being the fantasy-girl that men worship, is something that must be accomplished- whether through dieting and fitness, or harsher methods.
The fair bunch of celebrities that make appearances on TV have an immaculate appearance, thanks to their personal nutritionists, dietitians, trainers and stylists- and of course only the best plastic surgeons around. The reality is, that most of these professionals are required to keep up a faultless presence- the same presence that pushes society to obsess about being Hollywood thin. The large corporations of course, know that the majority of the population cannot cover these kind of expensive “maintenance” costs, and therefore pollute the media even more, with alternative “miracle” dieting products.
The distorted perceptions of a healthy human body, created from the frenzy and hype of the media has caused a generation of weight-loss fanatics that diet compulsively for the sole reason of looking attractive. It isn't about being healthy anymore, no one really cares about that- unless they have to for medical reasons. Losing weight for the wrong motives isn't the only major drawback on society. What about the negativity that obese, overweight characters suffer from the public? Irrelevant of what their personality, and cause of their weight gain is, society typically views them as lazy, sluggish and uninteresting. This can definitely destroy the self confidence that these people need in order to live a healthier lifestyle.
It is essential to recognize the real objective in losing weight: to value your life and live it in a healthy way. The media has affected thousands by leading communities to believe that they have a poor image, regardless of their level of health.
What do you honestly regard as top priority?
A perfect image?
Or a healthy lifestyle?
