Beauty Cannot Be Measured With Standards

"If only you were a little fair"
"Oh! you're so fat!"
"Oh! you should gain a little bit of weight!"
"You're too tall for a girl"
"You're so short!"

Haven't we all heard one of the above lines at least once in our lifetime?

These lines are based on the standards that are set by the society for all of us.

What exactly are these standards, you might ask?
These standards are known as the beauty standards. Beauty Standards, in simple terms, is the definition of beauty that are set by the society for us, instead of what people actually look like.

The female body image and what a person should look like is a controversial issue. These "ideal" body image are promoted by the media, internet and the beauty industry. Females are coerced into physical and psychological self-torment trying to achieve the ideal beauty or the ideal body image. There are many factors that contribute to the poor female body image. We live in a society where thinness and beauty are highly valued and are also related to a person's success.

The media is full of images of ridiculously thin women and young girls are exposed to these images at a very raw age - where they already are facing peer pressure and have the pressure of having the perfect body. It is due to this reason that adolescent girls are the most affected by the "ideal" body image, due to which they go on diets to achieve the "perfect" body.

Poor or negative body image affects the mental health of many such women as well. They develop eating disorders and some even fall into depression. Majority of the population goes on diets, they face low self-esteem and low self-confidence and they feel that their body is inadequate. In addition to the increasing amount of eating disorders, poor body image also contributes to depression, anxiety, problems in relationships, substance abuse and various health problems.

The next question that comes to all of our minds is that : How can we address this problem of negative body image?

Addressing the problem of negative body image is very crucial especially since the number of young girls and women facing serious mental health problems are increasing.

A few advocacy groups have already made it their long term goal to change the way the media portrays women. National as well as international efforts are taken to make the marketers take resposibility for displaying pictures of men and women that are unrealistic.

On an individual level, a person can work on improving their self-esteem by focusing on their accomplishments and qualities. Those people suffering from serious anxiety, depression, eating disorders due to negative body image should get help and shouldn't feel ashamed in getting help especially if it's affecting their happiness.

Therefore, let us all come together and fight against this portrayal of negative body image and also help each other.