Change the Stigma, Not the Body
It is that time of year when winter has ended, and summer is coming. Everyone dreads pulling this out of their closet, but it is a must. You open your drawer which contains it as you fear how it will look. While taking deep breaths and sucking in your stomach you hope that it will fit like it did last July. Once it is on you, you glance at your mirror to see the results even though you know you gained a little weight over the winter. As you stand there inspecting your appearance you think “man I should have worked out more”, “I’m starting that diet tomorrow”, or “I’m going to have to buy new one.” This is what I call the bathing suit scare. The moment where you realize you’re not as skinny as the girls who model this bathing suit and wish you did. But why should we hate our body for not having this unrealistic shape? Why should we put ourselves down for not looking like America’s Next Top Model?
These questions bring up the point of body image and what the media selects as the ideal body. Now the most ideal body changes throughout the years and women try to adapt to what others think is the most attractive style. For example, in the 1800s it was the hourglass shape where the waist is tiny and had a curve where the hips and bosom went out wider. As the times changed so did the look of women and if you jumped to the 1920s the “rise of the 1920s flapper reflected this shift toward the Western world desiring a more slim physique” (Howard). But who sets these standards for women’s physical appearance? As of 2021, the media, models, and other celebrities that people idolize or look up to influence the ideal body image.
Throughout history, there have been many different diets, workouts, and even undergarments to physically help women change the shape of their body. Even worse, women have developed disorders where they change their eating habits to the point of not eating at all or vomiting after meals. Back in the 20s the ideal body image was to be thin without any curves which was hard to obtain naturally for women. When more and more ads were published in magazines, it influenced a desire to be just as skinny as those models. This led to many women developing an eating disorder which also led to “The highest reported prevalence of disordered eating occurred during the 1920s and 1980s, the two periods during which the ‘ideal woman’ was thinnest in US history” (Howard). For those of you who don’t know what an eating disorder is, it can be explained as behaviors that negatively affect your health in a way to alter your body weight. The two major eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia can be described as a person with “an abnormally low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of weight” (Mayo Clinic Staff). To obtain this low weight people will “control calorie intake by vomiting after eating or by misusing laxatives, diet aids, diuretics or enemas” (Mayo Clinic Staff). There are many negative consequences because it is bad for your mental health to think this way and to be malnourished. On the other hand, bulimia is a disorder that people will “may secretly binge — eating large amounts of food with a loss of control over the eating — and then purge, trying to get rid of the extra calories in an unhealthy way” (Mayo Clinic Staff). This also negatively affects your health because once again you won’t get all the nutrients you need and repeatedly forcing yourself to throw up can lead to problems in your digestive system. The scariest thing overall is how many people go through this just to obtain what they think is the “ideal body image”.
You’re probably thinking that gorgeous, skinny, famous people don’t have eating disorders but let me tell you a secret, they do too. Let’s take Demi Lovato for example, from an outsider’s perspective she looks like she is having the best time in Hollywood in the late 2000s. She was starring in movies, dating a Jonas Brother, and singing songs at concerts living a life many people dream of having. Behind the scene, Lovato was struggling with her self esteem, the negative comments, and the pressure that she had to be perfect. Lovato had been struggling with this for years but, finally at eighteen she went to a treatment center to help with her bulimia and anorexia. She told People Magazine in an interview “I’d be lying if I said there weren’t days where I just want to stay in bed all day because I’m ashamed of my body.” Now at the age of 28, she still struggles with her eating disorder and has even been driven to the point of trying to commit suicide multiple times.
Or look at the star Lady Gaga. You may know her for wearing a dress out of meat or from starring in a movie with Bradly Cooper but, would you think she has an eating disorder as well? For years she has struggled with the pressure from the media and her team to look a certain way to “get more fame.” She was bulimic in the beginning of her career but now as she is older she has fought the ideas where she didn’t look perfect enough. When Gaga sat down for an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in 2014 she said “ I am better with food. I don’t have an eating disorder anymore. I’m also better at not letting people take advantage of me” ( HARPER’S BAZAAR STAFF) Now she speaks out for body positivity by including it in her lyrics especially in the song “Born This Way”. Gaga’s lyrics are “I’m beautiful in my way ’Cause God makes no mistakes” and “Don’t hide yourself in regret Just love yourself,” which helps promote self love, acceptance, and positive body image.
Lady Gaga’s views inspire and make me question my thoughts on the issue as well. Why should we be judged off of how we look? Why should we alter our lifestyles to try to obtain this idea of the perfect body? In a world that is surrounded by models being posted all over Instagram how do you change the stigma where that is what beautiful looks like? Well you do the opposite and fill Instagram with self love and body positive pictures.
The media like Instagram, magazines, and television have a major impact on people’s lives. There can be negative consequences like how young girls want to be as skinny as the models they see in advertisements. On the other hand, the media can have a positive influence like getting college kids to go vote in the Presidential election. Seeing things online inspires others to try new things or promotes opinions on many different views especially when it’s coming from celebrities I personally know this is true because I too have a habit of following what people in Hollywood are doing to improve my appearance. Going back to when I was six, Taylor Swift just dropped her second album “Fearless” and I instantly became a fan. It was not just because I loved her music, I liked her based on her personality and style. At this time Taylor wore cute dresses, curly hair, the number 13 on her hand, and always paired her look with cowboy boots. So, seeing this I thought “hmmm well that’s what I want to look like as well” then I begged my mom and she bought me cowgirl boots just like Taylors. When I had the full outfit on, it was then I felt pretty because I looked like Taylor Swift. Then as Taylor got older and ditched her cowboy boots by putting on red Keds so did I. As I kept growing up I was constantly influenced by Taylor Swift and I continually followed her on instagram as she inspires me with her views on many other topics.
Taking into account celebrities using social media to influence their followers like I was influenced by Taylor, one of my favorite people who promotes a positive body image through Instagram is the singer Lizzo. You may know her from her songs on the radio singing about feeling “Good as H*ll” but, she also plays an active role on Instagram promoting acceptance by posting unfiltered pictures and captions.
This post is a prime example of how Lizzo influences that all bodies, shapes and sizes are beautiful. She is not afraid to show off her curves or stretch marks and this helps others feel confident in accepting their own beautiful body. Specifically, in her post she says “ To the people who look to me, please do not starve yourselves. I did not starve myself. I fed myself greens and water and fruit and protein and sunlight. You don’t have to do that to be beautiful or healthy” (Lizzo). With Instagram captions and her lyrics about self love, Lizzo is slowly helping people realize that there is no standard way our body should look.
Although Instagram captions and lyrics like Lizzos help improve body positivity, there needs to be more drastic measures to really help the change. The company that is doing this is the toy company Mattle, Inc who makes the toy known as Barbie. It is said that “92% of American girls ages 3 to 12 have owned a Barbie ‘’ and they are sold in every well known store like Target and Walmart (Dockterman). Growing up everyone played with Barbies and wanted to look like one because in their mind and society those dolls looked “perfect.” The dolls were the ideal height, had long slender legs,a flat stomach, thin arms, and a flawless oval face. I remember playing with my blonde Barbie doll who was dressed up as a doctor thinking “man I hope when i am doctor I get to look just like Barbie does.” Most little girls, like myself, looked up to this doll because Barbie was everywhere when you were in elementary school and she represented that girls can be anything they want to be. Although, did she show how little girls don’t have to fit into these standards of wanting to look like everyone else?
This all changed in 2016 when Mattel, Inc. released that they are giving Barbie a new makeover. Instead of her classic look they are going to incorporate dolls with different heights, sizes, and even skin tones. They made three set new body types called tall, petite, and curvy. Within those three new body styles they are including different hair textures, hair styles, and color of the hair and skin. This is a major difference than what the original Barbie looks like and this change will have an effect on the younger generation. Barbie’s “been the global symbol of a certain kind of American beauty for generations’ ‘ and as a photographer for Barbie , M.G. Lord, says Barbie is there “to teach women what — for better or worse — is expected of them in society” (Dockterman). I agree with both of those statements and by replacing Barbie with a more diverse version it will show little girls that difference is okay. It will also teach them that beauty does not look the same for every person and hopefully those values will stay with them as they grow up.
Overall, the media influences us for the better and the worst. It can sometimes make women feel they aren’t pretty enough when they see a skinny model on a post. On the other hand, it can empower women when they see others post unfiltered photos with body positive captions. Since growing up in the 21st century, personally, there has always been a stigma for girls that to fit in or be considered pretty you had to be as skinny as a stick. It is hard to feel confident or not fat in your body when every actress, toy, and magazine had girls that looked like this. This drove girls, even myself, to think negative things about ourselves when our bodies aren’t the same as celebrities we look up to like Gigi Hadid or Kendal Jenner. Being negative on what your body looks like can lead to eating disorders and damage on your mental health. To help prevent this famous people are speaking about their personal experiences and are promoting body positivity. They are doing it through lyrics, Instagram posts, and even in their interviews. Another way to promote others to accept all body types is changing global icons to be more diverse to influence kids at a younger age.
I believe that the stigma of bodies needing to be perfect should be canceled. Women should not feel ashamed of their curves, stretch marks or having a little muffin top. Feeling confident in your skin or accepting the way you look is considered beautiful may take time but it needs to happen. There is no need for crazy diets where girls are starving themselves or corsets that are so tight it shifts the organs of your body. Beautiful women are ones who aren’t afraid of how they look and feel that their body, hair, and weight does not need any change.
Dockterman, Elianna. “Barbie Has a New Body Cover Story.” Time, Time, time.com/barbie-new-body-cover-story/.
Howard, Jacqueline. “The History of the ‘Ideal’ Woman and Where That Has Left Us.” CNN, 9 Mar. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/03/07/health/body-image-history-of-beauty-explainer-intl/index.html.
Lizzo @LIZZOBEEATING “I love my body” Instagram, 15 Dec. 2020
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Anorexia Nervosa.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 20 Feb. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anorexia-nervosa/symptoms-causes/syc-20353591.
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Bulimia Nervosa.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 10 May 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bulimia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353615.
Pearl, Diana. “29 Stars Who Battled Eating Disorders — and Came Out Stronger.” PEOPLE.com, Feb. 2020, people.com/health/celebrities-who-had-eating-disorders/?slide=2422077#2422077.
Staff, Harper’s Bazaar. “Lady Gaga On Love and Lies.” Harper’s BAZAAR, 6 Oct. 2017, www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/news/a1542/lady-gaga-interview-0314/.
