Are We Being "Miss" Represented?

Our insecurities can eat us alive. It may even destroy us, who we truly are, if we focus on it too much and attempt to be society's definition of 'beautiful' and perfection. But what does perfection mean anyway? To be a size 0? To have flawless skin? To have green eyes? To have blue eyes? Perfection doesn't sound very satisfying. It seems to be more limiting actually. You can barely express yourself and have any freedom because you're stuck with a certain image you have to keep up. You're more likely to be sad rather than happy. So don't turn into a clone, just be who you've always been, yourself.

The social media has taken the word "beautiful" and "pretty" and made into a word of a monster. No longer can a girl walk around with no makeup and not be judged. Did you know that women have been proven to trust other women less if they don't wear mascara? How can it that darker longer eyelashes mean that you are good person?

The Barbie Doll phenomena of perfection is found everywhere; the workplace, the beach, and schools. A school is supposed to be a place of learning, acceptance and trust; now, its a full blown competition. I can count on only one hand of how many girls I know that do not wear makeup at school, while to count the rest, I would need 10 hands. I'm not going to say that I have not been affected by the idea of beauty and perfection... every day I wake up wondering if I look good enough to be accepted by society.

It's not our fault we believe in this unrealistic level of perfection. We hear it every day, we see it on TV, we even grew up dressing little dolls so they could be beautiful. The Barbie Doll phenomena needs to be stopped, and we as women of the 21st century can do that! We are not going to be classified as just "pretty" or "beautiful" anymore. From now on we are pretty amazing, beautifully proportioned and we are going to change what is now our "norm".

This is something that all young girls in high school or beginning high school should read. The way girls feel they need to look like has taken over what pure beauty is. No one is going to look like a Barbie doll and no one should want to. We are all made to be who we are, and we are all beautiful with so much potential in life. Me, myself, I cannot say that I have never wished to look like a model, or be "skinny" because high school is full of that. It has been the most insecure time of my life. Every young woman is going to face a time where they feel like they should be different. Prettier, skinnier, better. The fact of the matter is that no one should change who they are just because someone else has a problem with it. Unfortunately, social media and mean girls are things you can not get away from. So I encourage all young girls to go to the deeper meaning, see your potential and just how beautiful you are. Once we accept ourselves, we will not only be able to find the beauty in us, but the beauty in everything around us.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but how can any of us see exactly what it is we behold when we are constantly blinded by unrealistic expectation and images we can in no way relate to? Confidence is beautiful, a belief in yourself and a strong sense of self is something that outshines physical appearances in my eyes and is something that so few girls possess. The only way this can be achieved is to throw away the notion of "this is how you need to look" or "if you don't fit into this mold, you don't fit". This demographic we see in the media isn't a majority, it isn't the norm, and it isn't healthy. Girls need to see something of themselves when they turn on the TV or read a magazine, they need to see something real so they can open their eyes and their minds to the fact that you are born beautiful, free of product or designer label, and will continue to embody that so long as you stay true to yourself.

This was a fantastic doc! This is definitely an issue that pertains to every single girl in schools. After being
bombarded with images of naked women that are more than willing to sleep with anyone, it's hard not to have a somewhat skewed opinion of our gender roles. Thanks a ton for the article!