Professor Wexler
English 114B
10 March 2011
We are our Biggest Critics
When you think of the ideal body what is the first thought that comes across
your mind? Is it a specific person or a specific feature? Reality is, almost no one has the
perfect body and it is just a standard that is set way too high for both women and men.
Media is the major influence in our lives from the way we dress to what we eat and even
the way we act. It determines almost every aspect and detail of our everyday lives. The
major issue we are facing in media today is body image and thinking we all have to look
a certain way in order to fit in with society. From Lady Gaga to Brad Pit to Beyonce, if
we don’t look like they do then we aren’t considered what society deems “cool”.
36-24-36, these are the measurements of what a woman’s perfect body should be in
the hip, waist, and breast area. A woman should also be 5’9 and no more than 120 lbs.
The men’s standard is simply the chest circumference should be 10 inches larger than his
waist circumference. These numbers and expectations are the things that cause eating
disorders and lead to unhealthy eating and exercising habits. There are a variety of eating
disorders from Anorexia to Bulimia to Body Dysmorphic Disorder. When considering
Anorexia and Bulimia we realize that not only are we depriving our bodies from the
nutrients it needs to function properly, but we our depriving ourselves from living a
normal and happy lifestyle. Each woman is born with her own special shape and
body type, which is why you would be hard pressed to find two women with the exact
same measurements. Some women look beautiful even with a smaller, bulkier shape.
Other women look stunning even if they are petite or average in height. However, many
believe that women who are skinny and tall are beautiful as well. However, different
people have different ideas of which shape is the most beautiful. Ironically, less than 5%
of all the women in the world have achieved these so-called perfect body measurements. Looks are what determines whether you are beautiful or not and what is seen as beautiful is what is seen in the magazines or on television and movies.
Men and woman take drastic measures in order to lose or gain weight to achieve that so-
called perfect body. It is ironic how women want to lose weight meanwhile men want to gain it.
Men will take massive amounts of protein and creatine in order to gain mass and help them build
muscle which affects their bodies in a negative way. “Creatine gives muscles energy. You can
only use that energy with exercise. If you pack on the creatine so much, you can only use so
much energy. What do your muscles do with that extra energy? Well, it probably distributes it
throughout your body, messing up your entire system. This isn't like an O.D. on drugs, where
you can kill yourself, but you can get sick and mess yourself up.”(Teen Body Building). Another
suplement men take which damages the body are steroids, which are actually illegal to purchase
without a prescription. A lot of athletes use them which allows people to think it is okay and if
we see famous people using a certain product that inhances their lives then the general population will follow and do the same. Women also take dietary suplements that are harmful towards the body such as diet pills and laxatives. Commercials and magazines provide example of celebrtities with great bodies endorsing diet pills for example Kim Kardashian and her sisters have come out with their own brand. This is a big factor in a young lady’s life because by seeing how beautiful Kim is and wanting to look like her, this will lead to extreme dieting and taking diet pills. Celebrities shouldn’t endorse being skinny or sexy, they should influence natural beauty as well as loving yourself in your own skin. Tyra Banks is one strong supporter of being
thick and curvy and not having to look a certain way by stating in an interview that “Women, you see, look at models for a number of things but also, essentially, just entertainment, just female fashion entertainment, which is the way I think it should be. Entertainment. And then close the magazine. Close the Magazine. It's just fashion.”
We are our biggest critics. Studies have shown that self-criticism is a natural part of our individual quest of personal excellence. Except that it is meant to be a positive idea which helpsus grow and avoid future errors. Somehow it so easily gets distorted into making ourselves feel bad. We compare ourselves to every person out there and this leads to a feeling of self-consciousness. People do judge and criticize a person’s looks but it’s up to that person whether or not it’s going to affect them. This is some thing that can be changed but when it’s that person who is judging and criticizing themselves it’s worse because they seem to be even harder on themselves and instead of being pleased with the way they look they become un happy and self-conscious about what they see in the mirror and this can lead to Body Dysmorphic Disorder. This is a mental disorder in which “no matter how much weight is lost, or no matter how much food is thrown up, a person with anorexia or bulimia will constantly see the same overweight, vile, failure in the mirror. This usually leads to very harsh and even deadly methods of weight loss in a desperate attempt to lose the distorted perception”.
The most beautiful woman in the world probably doesn’t even have the perfect measurements. True beauty is how you feel about yourself. Your body shape or measurement has very little to do with it. It is the confidence that you have within that counts most. It isn’t wrong to try and figure out what the ideal female body measurement is and to try to achieve it for yourself, but it is important not to waste years of your life
thinking that you aren’t beautiful if you can’t achieve that perfect measurement.
Works cited
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Banks, Tyra. "The supermodel turned spokeswoman." The Guardian 14 Apr. 2007: n. pag. Print.
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