Why our View of Body is Distorted
Tall, blonde, flawless skin, big eyes and bee-stung lips, and not an ounce of fat in the wrong place — this describes much of society’s idea of beauty. How did this happen when we actually consist of a diverse group of people with a huge range of appearances, each beautiful, unique and special in their own way? Who decided that suddenly having a freckle in the wrong place, or a more curvy shape is bad? And why are these ideas constantly reenforced?
We are constantly bombarded with images of “perfectly [Photoshopped] people,” whether we are driving down the freeway and see a billboard advertisement for Coca Cola or Gap Jeans, or we are in the grocery store trying to pick out a box of cereal, images of flawless human beings surround us. No matter how hard you try, it is virtually impossible to avoid these images, and many of us have been exposed to them from a very young age. Barbie dolls with bodies perfectly molded of plastic, superhero comics featuring a muscular hero with a stunning smile, are what our future generations are told to look up to, emulate, and play with.
Jessica Alba, before and after Photoshop. (Chill Out Point)
What are these trivial images of everyday life in the U.S. telling us? That you cannot be “beautiful” if you have any sort of imperfection or blemish, stretchmark, or wrongly placed scar? That heroes have perfectly sculpted
About the Author: Kendall Anderson is the founder and co-leader of Mills Body Positivity Club. She is interested in promoting healthy body image and self love among her peers and the Mills campus as a whole. Her other interests include art, music and literature. Kendall is a first year planning on studying education and psychology. Email her at keanderson@mills.edu or through LinkedIn.