Starting from earlier than the 20th century, studies have shown that there is way too much pressure for women to have the perfect body image. Women and young girls started developing a “thin ideal” for decades now, and it has taken over many lives.
Ten percent of women have had, has or will develop an eating disorder at one point in their lives, according to National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. With the way society has always been, women are pretty much bound to care about their bodies. Body image is everywhere and having some sort of eating disorder, even if it may not be diagnosed, isn’t out of the ordinary. Even if girls don’t think about it all that much, whether you’re walking up a long flight of stairs hoping you have lost some calories, or even turning your head to look over at a friend and comparing yourself to them or wanting to look like them can be small signs of a developing eating disorder.
Social media has been a rising factor of women idolizing other women and wanting to look just like the models they see every other scroll. It’s not easy to see a model and not stop yourself from thinking why can’t this be me. You can see in many young teens comparing themselves to what can even be fake, and try everything to be like that person. Even if you see a “10/10” body on TikTok, or on a poster, you can never know what has been heavily edited or photoshopped.
A study developed by the Associated Press, talked about the need for health professionals encouraging women to not feel they need to look a certain way. The purpose of harsh workouts is created to help athletes become the best they possibly can for their sport, not for women to lose a lot of weight. Everybody was created differently, and there really shouldn’t be a “goal” for women to achieve.
The world can be a cruel place sometimes and it’s hard enough as it is, you shouldn’t also have to care about why you aren’t “thin” enough. So be okay with who you are because everyone is amazing in their own way. There’s no need to change.
