34, 24, 34. When you look at those numbers you may think nothing of them, you may see them and merely walk away. But what you don’t know is that those three numbers control some girls’ lives. 34, 24, 34. What is it? It’s the perfect body measurements, the most “attractive” body shape. In the modeling industry if you aren’t near these measurements, then you’re not “good enough.”
Everyday, girls suffer from anxiety whether if it’s about what other people think or about whether or not they should eat that one extra snack before bed. A lot of people stand out against the idea of “perfect bodies” and say they care nothing of it. I went around PFMS and asked girls in the school two questions to see what they would reply. What do you hate about yourself and, what do you love? The names of the girls will be kept unknown for privacy reasons, but their responses they allowed to be shown.
What do you hate about yourself?
“ I hate my hair; it...it looks bad and sometimes I really wanna chop it off.”
What do you love?
“ uh… ha. I guess I would have to say my personality.”
What do you hate about yourself?
“ My weight... I know I need to work on it, one day it’ll happen.”
What do you love?
“ hmm, I don’t know. My friends, yes it’s not something I love about me but, they bring out the best me and I love them for that.”
What do you hate about yourself?
“ I hate how long I spend on how I look in the morning.”
What do you love?
“ Oooo that’s a good one… hmm… My confidence.”
What do you hate about yourself?
“I don’t like my face.”
What do you love?
“ I love my artistic abilities.”
These are only a few of the answers I received, but all of them (including the unpublished ones) have the same things in common: every girl hated something about their appearance, but loved something about their personality. My point is that a lot of girls think that they’re alone in these views of themselves. A lot of girls think that everyone else has nice bodies while they look ugly. We are our own worst critics. This saying goes for everyone not just girls, and it’s important we realize that. It may get hard at times and you may feel down, but everyone goes through it and we all can and should overcome it.
Know the truth behind the smile.