As a child, I often flipped through pages of newspapers and my mother’s old fashion magazines. I recall seeing paparazzi pictures of actresses and cover shoots of models. Submerged in the beauty and glamour, I would go running to my mother and proudly announce that I wanted to become a model.
As a teen, I found myself completely lost in this unrealistic world of glitz and glamour. I was slowly becoming a version of myself that I didn’t even recognize. I saw a similar change in the girls around me. They were being brainwashed by what they saw and heard in the media. The saddest part was that they labelled this transformation as a normal and inevitable part of life and adolescence.
Every day we are constantly bombarded with societal messages. The media forces us to compare ourselves to others. But who are these ‘others’? 5 feet 8 inches tall models who weigh 50 kgs?
This begs the question, “Isn't this kind of portrayal harmful? Couldn't it warp the mentality of young children?”
In June 2020, research was conducted to study Western media influence on young Chinese women and changes in their body image over the course of one year. It uncovered how western media was influencing Asians, particularly Chinese women.
On exposure to Western media, body dissatisfaction, eating disorders and cosmetic surgeries surged in China. The research stated that China had been attributed to ‘Westernization’ and exposure to media depictions of thin attractiveness ideals imported from the United States, European Union, and other Western countries.”
Everyday our mental perceptions of what we look like are getting distorted leading us to engage in risky activities and set impossible goals for ourselves. Girls are bombarded with images of beautiful women in magazines, advertising and television shows. What many don't grasp is that these women have professional makeup artists, hair stylists, and wardrobe people to make sure that they look their absolute best every time we see them. They have plenty of money and time
devoted to a perfect diet, hours at the gym or expensive cosmetics. They get plastic surgeries for a perfect body and face, hair removal, lip fillers, lash extensions, top of the line acne and skin treatments. These depictions are the ones planting unsuitable ideas in the minds of young girls worldwide.
The faster we understand and accept the fact that we are the best version of ourselves without
having to go through unrealistic measures, the faster we will find ourselves to be happier and
healthier. It is important to be able to understand the difference between improving and investing in ourselves to look and feel better and creating unrecognisable crippled versions of ourselves. It is impossible to change things overnight and that is why I implore everyone at an individual level to change their mindset and inculcate love for their natural selves.
Well written .
Well thought and expressed