Dear me, I LOVE YOU!

A place to gain perspective, awareness and to find self love.

[dearmeily]

This documentary spoke to me so much. Sadly, it is true and unrealistic and the women in this video gave me a new perspective to the whole situation. I highly recommend it!

[dearmeily]

SO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

We know the effects that toxic beauty standards can have on the overall health and development of adolescents, but what can we do about it? 

NORMALIZE NORMAL

The first step should be to normalize normal. Society needs to accept that such standards are close to impossible to achieve and only negatively affects future generations. Things like being very short or tall, having stretch marks, freckles, deformities or extra fat should be made normal and acceptable. Beauty influencers need to stop the excessive promotion of photoshop and instead promote normal body types. This goes for both men and women. This way, adolescents can see that what they view on social media is not what is real, and that it’s okay to not look like those Instagram models.

[dearmeily]

SOCIAL EFFECTS OF BEAUTY STANDARDS

Current beauty standards are unattainable and arguably toxic. Depression and anxiety due to body image issues can cause teenagers to withdraw from society. This affects their ability to interact with other people, possibly stunting their social growth. As they grow up, they will find it difficult to participate in interviews and such activities, narrowing job prospects. 

NOTE: All credits to the owner of this image.

[dearmeily]

EFFECT OF BEAUTY STANDARDS ON PHYSICAL HEALTH

Because teenagers tend to be more sensitive, toxic beauty standards affect them greatly. Anxiety, depression and low self esteem can lead to body image issues. This leads to young people developing eating disorders which causes severe physical illness. Some examples of these disorders include binge eating, bulimia and anorexia. 

NOTE: credits to the owner of the image

[dearmeily]

EFFECT OF BEAUTY STANDARDS ON MENTAL HEALTH

1) BODY DISMORPHIC DISORDER

Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental health disorder in which you can't stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance - a flaw that appears minor or can't be seen by others. But you may feel so embarrassed, ashamed and anxious that you may avoid many social situations.

2) ANXIETY 

Anxiety disorders form a category of mental health diagnoses that lead to excessive nervousness, fear, apprehension, and worry. Anxiety tends to be a symptom stemming from different disorder, even body dismorphic disorder. 

Other conditions include depression as a result from the above mentioned conditions. This leads to body image issues, low self confidence and low self esteem in oneself. 

A study at Bradley Hospital found that people with weight preoccupations or body dysmorphic disorder display higher levels of symptoms for depression and anxiety, and are more likely to have suicidal thoughts .

Such psychological distress tends to affect teenagers the most as they tend to have more sensitive minds and react differently to societal norms. 

[dearmeily]

I'm a firm believer that happiness makes people prettier. It's a noticeable glow.

Lizzo (musician and queen)

SUCH. A. QUEEN. PERIODT.

[dearmeily]

THE REQUIREMENTS

What are the beauty standards like? Although it may differ from across communities, there are some common ‘requirements’.                                           1) Every woman needs to wear makeup regardless of the occasion                       2) Everybody, regardless of gender, needs to work out and stay skinny                 3) Men are required to be at least 6 feet tall to be considered attractive.               4) Fair skin is considered the most attractive, although society is slowly becoming more inclusive in this aspect.

[dearmeily]

BEAUTY STANDARDS

Beauty standards, as I’m sure we all know, are a set of expectations that society has in terms of beauty from every individual of that community. Lately, however, it can be argued that the beauty standards prevailing today are highly toxic. Toxic to the point where it affects an individual’s mind set and alters their beliefs and set of values. It has a negative effect on their mental, physical and social wellbeing. And social media has played a huge role in delivering this message. It’s a world where everybody only wants to show the best of themselves, which is all right! But the kind of pressure it puts on adolescents is unhealthy. The standards set are unhealthy. 

[dearmeily]

Credits to the rightful owner. This just inspired me so much!

[dearmeily]

WHAT IS PRETTY?

If every ‘ugly’ person in this world were to disappear, and only ‘pretty’ people were left, what would happen? Well, a whole new standard of beauty would be created to further categorize people and a new set of ‘ugly’ people would be created. If those people were to also disappear leaving the ‘pretty’ people, what would happen? The same process. The world’s population would slowly disappear until there is only 1 person who is considered the ‘prettiest’. But in a society where everyone is entitled to individual opinions, how can we tell if that one person is really the prettiest? What is pretty? Is it a reliable way to classify people and their worth? 

[dearmeily]

[dearmeily]

An Intro To My Cause

I am a high school student who started this blog to build awareness in our community. Awareness on the impact of beauty standards from social media on teenage health. This blog will be like a series of articles and collections of my thoughts on the idea. Users can send me their personal opinions which I will discuss on this blog to make it more interactive.