Self Esteem

In chapter eight, self esteem is described as feeling that one is as worthy as others. This, however, is not the case for many people, especially young teenagers and adu lts. Obtaining positive self esteem can be a very difficult thing to do, especially in a society that is completely obsessed with being perfect. An overwhelming amount of advertisements and pictures focus on outward beauty. From this overconcentrated depiction, beauty thus becomes distorted. In our society, beauty for men and women differ, however, each depict them as being sculpted and statutets. Their bodies are in peak shape, full head of hair, clear skin and the list continues. The message of perfect beauty goes beyond pictures of models. Even the words that go along with the advertisement proclaim being perfect. It is an unattainable beauty, simply because many of these models are digitally remodeled themselves. In the video that we watched in class, of the model being photoshopped, is a great example of how the media distorts beauty. Companies use sex appeal and physical attractiveness to lure in customers, making them believe thier products will make them beautiful. The saddest thing is, is that our society has completely forgotten what true beauty is and because of it, many young people, especially girls, are fighting to try and acheive this model perfect image, however, they do not realize that even the models themselves have flaws! Every person, no matter how thin, chiseled and gorgeous has flaws and that is okay! That is what makes each of us unique. Every one of us is an original and can never be recreated. Even Disney is guilty of advertising perfect outward beauty. If you look below, you can see that these princesses' waistelines get increasingly smaller! They are waistelines that are simply unacheivable!

One of the only Disney movies to depict what the majority of women look like is with Lilo's older sister, in the movie Lilo and Stitch. As you can see, she has curves and hips.

Most advertisements are false and it is vital to make sure that our younger generations understand the difference. If you look deep beyond what the product is trying to sell, one can see that they are pushing perfectionism. Even in thier slogans. L'O'real's, for instance, is "Because you're worth it." What are they really saying? That wearing makeup makes a woman worthy? That covering one's self up with makeup is worthy? With such adverstisements surrounding us, it can be difficult to break free from the never ending cycle of achieving perfectionism. Negative self esteem can truly take a toll on someone. Eating disorders and other body distortions can arise from negative self esteem. Acheiving positive self esteem can be difficult, but once there, one's inward beauty glows far beyond anyone's outward appearance.