Being a teenage girl is so much harder now than it used to be. Even harder than it was for me.
In the YouTube video this week, Killing Us Softly, the speaker illustrated just how well sex sells and how difficult it is to be an awkward teenager in 2013. The pressures on young girls to be thin, but volouptious and sexy yet virginal really struck a chord with me.
I have been overweight my whole life. When I was a kid there was nothing I wouldn't trade to be thin and pretty and popular with boys. I spent my teenage years at home comforted by reruns of Friends and The Simpsons while I worked my way through a bag of Doritos. The constant teasing from my classmates made me withdraw into myself. It made me want to die. Other students weren't the only ones telling me that because of my weight I didn't belong. I was telling myself the same thing.
The media plays a huge role in how young girls see themselves. If you aren't stick-thin like Jennifer Aniston or Courtney Cox you would never have a relationship, or have fun or have friends. There is no way you can possibly thrive in this culture without some sort of degredation of self because of media sexiness.
I would love to spend my time and money helping girls like I was. I want them to know that high school, middle school, elementary school, is really the worst of it. I want these young women to know their self worth and not base it on media's photoshopped version of perfection. No one is perfect. That is something that we all have in common. We are just HUMANS trying to get through life. It doesn't have to be so damned hard.
I can relate to hiding at home, not wanting to go out as a teenager. I was popular for the first half of my highschool career. Once I had health issues I spent much of my time same way.
ReplyDeleteI wish there was some service or something that could reach out to the teenagers who feel so alone. I know that it feels good to talk stuff out with people, but it is hard to reach out for help.