Tough world for girls

In today’s materialistic world, it is tough being a girl. The modern image of women has been skewed to fit the impracticable society in which we live in. The New York

Times reports that evidence in the American Journal of Maternal/Child

Nursing shows “that more than 80 percent of 10-yearold girls are afraid of being fat, that girls’ self-esteem drops at age 12 and does not improve until 20, and that that is tied to negative body image.”

There are advertisements everywhere in the media promoting weight loss and the application of makeup. For example, there are TV ads, newspaper articles, diet pills, magazines,

etc., all endorsing the idealistic appearance of women. Women all over the world watch the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show every year and yearn to be spitting images of the teeny-tiny models. For the 2013 airing, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show had 9.71 million viewers. Another example is CoverGirl; it is a big advocate of flawless makeup. It sells magazines and shows TV ads across the globe with models who have perfect skin due to its makeup.

This image that girls have in their mind of what they think they should look like can lead them down the wrong path by causing depression and sometimes even worse. Tyra Banks encourages women to “think outside of the box … pledge that you will look in the mirror and find the unique beauty in you.”

I believe women are beautiful just the way God made them, without having to put on makeup or force themselves to have the perfect body. HAYDEN DePRIEST

Fort Smith