Body Image

I think every girl relates to the pressures to be "perfect." When I was in 8th grade, my best friend had what I, and many of our other friends, thought was an eating disorder, though she will to this day refuse to call it that. Anyway, she would constantly count her calories and take pride in how little she could eat. Back in 8th grade, I was a small kid, maybe about 4'9". She was about 5'4". I remember one time, she asked me what size jeans I was wearing, and I was wearing a two. She was so proud of the fact that she was wearing a double zero, and she made me feel bad about myself, even though thinking back now, a two is still really skinny, and she obviously had a big problem if she was so competitive and proud about her jean size. Now I'm four inches taller than I was then, I wear a much bigger jean size, and I try not to care.

Change of subject: One thing that I've always debated internally is the bikini issue. I mean, the bikini reveals so much - it's basically underwear. You could easily see it as clothing that turns women into sex objects. Right now, my friends are getting ready for summer and trying to be healthier so they'll feel confident in bikinis. I think feeling confident is really important for girls, but I kind of wish we could feel confident without feeling the need to show off our bodies to men. For my self-designed essay last semester in AP English, I actually wrote about growing into womanhood. A lot of what I see in people around me is self-validation through the attention of guys. I talked a lot about Halloween and the things that some girls do: dress like prostitutes so that guys will notice them. One of my friends literally told me, "It's the only time of the year that we can dress for guys without being called sluts." Why do we need to dress for guys? I think it's kind of ridiculous. We have all these societal pressures that force girls to subjugate themselves in the interests of men, and I think it's really sad.

Anyway, that's all for now!
- Bex