Body Image

Sadly, body image plays an important role in today’s society.  It’s a person’s perception of their physical appearance based on what they learn is appealing and attractive, what they are told, and hear from the people that surround them. I for instance, have grown up in a world where if you are tall, tan, and thin, you are beautiful and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has grown up with these opinions and thoughts “preached.” A long time ago beautiful was determined by how fat you were because if you were fat, you ate well, which means you were wealthy and that was what everyone was trying to find in their potential “soul mate.” People judge one another first by their appearance then by personality. Those who judge first by the appearance of another don’t get to truly find out who and what type of person it is that they are judging because they don’t even want to take the time. I fully agree and back up the author of “How Far Will We Go to Change Our Body Image?”. After growing up, always hearing I was too fat I’d look pretty if i lost some weight, not only by peers but by family members as well, I went through a stage where I would see myself in the mirror and wasn’t happy, see people out at the beach with their tiny bikini bodies, and just felt nothing but sadness. Some girls do go to extreme measures to lose weight to look like the models, advertisements, and latest trends, they see within the media causing some girls to become even more unhealthy then when they were overweight or what they thought was “too fat.” Truth is, no natural girl or guy has a perfect body. The author states that, “ Over-concern with the body image and shape can lead to restrictive dieting and unhealthy weight control methods which may lead to potentially dangerous disordered eating behaviors” (Croll 540). Be an individual, love your body, be confident at any weight, and if you want to lose some weight, lose it the healthy and safe way.