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Image Is Everything

Why women should stop listening to society's stereotype and start loving the way they are.

June 28, 2017
By Diana Arevalo
Dove campaign 2015 
   Every day we get up, and look ourselves into the mirror, and what do we see? You see your eye color is not pleasing, butt is flat, you're too fat, don’t have enough breast, lips are thin or nose is just weird. You look at your reflection in the mirror and you simply aren't happy the way you look because you want to look like the beautiful model in the magazines. In today's society theirs a big percentage of women who care so much about their image. Throughout history, women have been labeled to look as a specific stereotype. Society expects all women to look like Ms. Perfect Barbie and it's sad to see that women are being hard on themselves emotionally, physically and mentally just to be that "the perfect image". When the women's image turns to be so artificially important about their image it causes on having Surgery, Photoshop, and insecurity. Which is why women should stop listening and paying attention to society's expected stereotype and start loving their beautiful selves, for the beauty comes within ourselves. 

Plastic Surgery

 Plastic surgery is the top influential reason that women tend to use in order to look good. Women celebrities (such as the Kardashians, Jennifer Aniston, Iggy Azalea, Nicky Minaj, Naomi Campell and the list goes on and on) are the main source that influences all women today on how we want to look and supposed to look. We always look up to them and say something like "oh my god, she is just so naturally beautiful" or "she's so perfect". What women don't know is that most women celebrities aren't naturally beautiful and has done more than "14.6 Million Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Procedures ..." It is unbelievable that we have these women who we admire do so much surgery just to have that perfect image. It's a competition against each other nowadays, it's not about the popularity anymore it's about who has the bigger butt, bigger breast, the nice curves, The bulky lips or even the perfect nose job. Hate to break it but surgery isn't always the best option to go for. Here are four good reasons why surgery isn't the best option. It cost a lot of money, "According to the American Academy of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Americans spent over $7 billion... in surgical procedures..." Wow, a lot of harm we are causing to our body and believe it or not but the most common age that women get surgery is " Nearly a third of surgical procedures were performed on patients over 50." Reason two, it can be addictive. You can say it's going to be a one-time thing at that time, but sure enough, you didn't think you would stop there. Seems like surgery makes women feel good in the sense that since she is not happy about her appearance than theirs more to be done. "Certainly patients can feel very driven to get cosmetic procedures; that it is their only hope." says psychiatrist Katharine Phillips. Reason three, you are risking your life. Sometimes plastic surgeries don’t' always go as plan. Women don't know that even though it's a plastic surgery it can be very dangerous and can probably end your life. Just like their pre-existing conditions to medication theirs some for surgery. Plastic surgery "...pre-existing conditions, like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, or even a smoking habit, can all interfere and cause complications, putting your health at risk," but most of all your life. So why do surgery if there are all this risks that lead to it. And lastly, reason four is the results. You might not be happy with the result and surely you can't guess how it's going to turn out to be. One would expect to look like our celebrity but then turns out to be a disaster. You only have one body, and once you change it through cosmetic surgery, things will never really be the same again. Nowadays we don't know what's fake and what's real when it comes to our bodies. It's very overwhelming that women do all of this to their body. The idea of plastic surgery is just too overrated and unhealthy for women and that needs to stop. 

Photoshop

  Photoshop is another common use sage in society to phony influence women to want to look like the model in the magazine. We look at the magazines and say expressions like "man, she has beautiful skin, how does she do that?" Or " Wow she has some nice curves, I wish I can have some like her". Sadly to say female models don't always look how they look in the magazines in real life. Technology has expanded and Photoshop has made a huge impact in all kinds of ways such as publicly, facially and most of all the appearance. You see all these perfect beautiful models in the magazines and advertisement that make you want to buy the product and wonder whether it would look good on you or work on you. Well, that's exactly what Photoshop does. Sometimes Photoshop gets abused so much that you clearly can tell that the model does not have that big of a butt with a tiny waist. " The American Medical Association recently announced it was taking a stand against image manipulation in advertising, stating that alterations made through processes like Photoshop can contribute to unrealistic body image expectations, eating disorders, and other emotional problems..." Photoshop has caused women to try so hard to look like the women in the magazine that it leads them to break and suffer in all kinds of ways. Although Photoshop, in general, is not bad, there's a limit of use sage when it comes to female models. Photographers should have a balance between what's real and what's photoshopped. We need to have more natural images and less photoshop. 

Insecurity

 And then there is the insecurity. Insecurity has been the biggest issue in women. Since society already has the specific stereotype that women need to look, We tend to expect ourselves to look like "Barbie" ever since we were young. We see other women that have amazing bodies and they are just perfect that any guy would get attracted to them. We always want to be that girl, but seems like it makes the women feel very low to achieve it and ends up hating her own body. This happens mainly on thick women, they see skinny girls and wish they want to be like them. This lead to causing harm such as becoming anorexic. "According to a study in Pediatrics, about two-thirds of girls in the 5th to 12th grades said that magazine images influence their vision of an ideal body, and about half of the girls said the images made them want to lose weight." Over time, models have gone from thin to emaciated, which has been mirrored by a growing problem of eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction. It can also go for thin women vice versa whereas to they wish they were average thick and causes to do surgery or an eating disorder. It's the stereotype that is expected to be that makes women have low insecurity. It is  negatively draining women to a point where women are forced mentally, emotionally and physically to get to the expectation of the stereotype that society has developed throughout. Sad to see that women can't seem to be able to love themselves due to what has been created upon society towards women. Upsetting, that they can't remember how beautiful she is when she is all natural without having doubts to take off her shirt or even wear a bikini in public. Judgmentally disappointing where the women is afraid what other people think about her body. Women must not allow her insecurity take fully control towards themselves. We should start to learn be happy the way we have been created and end our insecurity that society's stereotype has created upon women. 
 Despite how most of the time it is important to have a good image, Women should not allow surgery, Fake photoshop appearance or their insecurity get in their way what so ever. We must learn how to love ourselves, stop the competition against each other and value who we are. It doesn’t matter whether you're Thick; thin; short; tall; big butt; no butt; big boobs; no boobs; colored eyes; brown eyes; big lips; thin lips; curves; no curves; colored; or white, because beauty is created in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and no beauty is labeled for you are beautiful just the way you are. Image is not everything, because for sure it is a women's body and a women's life on the line and for sure women are very valuable just the way they are. Which is why Surgery, Photoshop, or insecurity must go because it affects and harms women negatively emotionally, mentally and physically.  
So Ladies love yourself just the way you guys are, be proud to be the way you are because no matter what you are unique and one of a kind.
Dove campaign 2015 
Credit

Work Cited 

 

     Diller, Ph.D. Vivian. "Is Photoshop Destroying America's Body Image?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 July 2011. Web. 01 July 2017. 

 

     Shah, Yagana. "4 Good Reasons To Never Get Plastic Surgery." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Aug. 2014. Web. 01 July 2017. 

 

    Surgeons, American Society of Plastic. "14.6 Million Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Procedures Performed in 2012." American Society of Plastic Surgeons. American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 19 Feb. 2013. Web. 01 July 2017. 

 

"Why Do Women Hate Their Bodies?" World of Psychology. N.p., 07 Aug. 2015. Web. 01 July 2017. 

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