“You’re fat.”

“You’re too skinny.”

“That won’t look good on you.” These are some comments people make that trigger the behavior of teens to change themselves. Teens spend countless hours just thinking about how life would be if they had an “ideal body shape.” In reality, what does “ideal body shape” mean? What most people don’t know is that there is no such thing as one “ideal body shape;” bodies comes in many shapes and sizes. Fixating on this issue can lead to an unhealthy diet, depression, or illegal drug use. The main question is “What is an “ideal body image?” and “Why do we obsess over it?”

Body image refers to the way you look at your body and how you think and feel about it. A common misunderstanding is that body image problems only affect girls. However, both genders can have a negative body image, but it is more common in girls than in boys. A recent survey given at my middle school shows that about 74% of students have thought about their body image. This is only one school; just imagine how many teens are suffering from a negative body image in the world.  

There are many factors that contribute to negative body image. We are growing up in a time where we’re constantly shown images of what beauty is supposed to look like. Over the years, the media, such as magazines and social platforms, have created an image of “gorgeousness” in our minds which suggests a perfect body. Rachel Simmons, a leadership development specialist at Smith College, reports,  “Earlier this year, psychologists found robust cross-cultural evidence linking social media use to body image concerns, dieting, body surveillance, a drive for thinness and self-objectification in adolescents.”  Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat and magazines like Vogue and Elle encourage  teens to compare their appearance with others.

There is a difference in the ways both genders express that they have a negative body image. Most girls are focused on getting slim and small; boys are focused on getting bigger and more muscular.  Females often are drawn to unhealthy diets or appetites suppressants and purging. Debolina Raja, writer for Mom Junction, stated,  “In addition to other health issues, your daughter could also get afflicted with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.”  Males are more commonly linked with using powdered shakes and drugs like steroids to look more like male models in magazines. As stated by Jamie Santa Cruz, a journalist for The Atlantic, “Pharmaceutical-grade injectable steroids are a definite concern. Of more concern are the “natural” powders or shakes that teens can pick up at their local GNC.” Teens are more concerned about their image than their physical health.

Each person has a image in their mind what they believe is beautiful or attractive, and that is often to look like models in magazines. Attention all teenagers, nobody actually looks like that! The media defines photoshopped models  as beautiful and attractive, but even with the media constantly making advertisements that catch our eye doesn’t mean we have to follow what they portray. The unrealisticness of this level of beauty that men and women are constantly pressured with everyday gives them a goal that is close to impossible to reach.  Body image isn't about being trim or buff, it’s about being comfortable in your own skin just the way you are. My position is that, no matter what the media or people define as a beautiful body, just simply show them that you are just as perfect.