Extreme Dieting & Plastic Surgery
Girls Risk Good Health For Perfect Body
Do our girls have a healthy body image? What do they really see when they look in the mirror?
Media Messages
In today’s world, it is impossible for young girls to avoid exposure to the limiting ideals of the “perfect” female body. Magazine articles, advertisements, TV and movies – all of these media bombard girls with unrealistic, unattainable versions of the female form. It’s difficult for girls not to internalize these images and expectations. During puberty, when girls are already dealing with changing bodies, emerging sexual feelings and issues of self-esteem, it can be especially tough for them to filter out these damaging media messages.
Preoccupation with Thinness
Other aspects of our culture constantly reinforce the idea that girls and women must be thin and beautiful in order to be accepted and worthwhile. This can cause great anxiety in young girls, who already feel tremendous pressure to “fit in” and will sacrifice almost anything in order to do so. Appearance is presented as a girl’s most valuable asset. As a result, girls can spend enormous amounts of time and money in pursuit of this impossible image. Achieving the perfect shape and appearance can quickly take precedence over developing other abilities and qualities such as kindness, honesty, sense of humor, or intelligence.
Health Risks
Dieting, especially in the extreme, can be harmful to girls who are still developing. Restrictive diets deprive girls of the wide variety of nutrients their bodies need to grow properly. Girls can also run the risk of developing eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia. Perhaps most alarming is the way that cosmetic surgery, such as liposuction, is offered as a “quick fix” alternative to dieting. It is unfortunate that many girls are willing, even eager, to have their normal, healthy bodies altered surgically in order to fit our culture’s rigid standards of beauty.
What is “Normal”?
The concept of “normal” has become so skewed that it is difficult for most girls, and often for the rest of us, to see things in their proper perspective. Healthy bodies come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. However, we have been conditioned to accept only a very narrow definition of attractive and to consider abnormal almost everything that does not meet those impossible standards. How can we help our daughters to resist society’s attempts to define them by their appearance and learn to value and appreciate their bodies at the same time?
For more on this topic, check out Girls and Positive Body Image. You may also be interested in Encouraging Female Friendships or Sexual Harassment and Teens.
