According to Taylor Swift, “I've read interviews with some of the most beautiful women who have insecurities. And you look at them and you're like, 'How do you have one? Name one thing wrong with yourself,' and they could name a handful." Today I am here to talk about the mean harmful ways magazines’ photos does to an insecure boy or girl. You should listen to me because this has been going on for years and it will never stop if WE don't stop it first! This really matters because everyone should know they are amazing just the way they are and that those magazines are just lying and they should put a stop to that.
Kids as young as 5 look up to models they see in magazines and just try to look like them. This is about girls AND boys but mostly it's dedicated to girls. Because according to the Alliance for Positive Youth Development, girls are three times more likely to have a negative body image than boys. They can either just stop eating and thinking that is the way to look skinnier but I'll tell you what, it's not. They can go through anorexia, bulimia, start taking pills, cutting themselves, or eating disorders. Basically eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia are mental illnesses that change a person’s eating habits. 25% of people with eating disorders are boys and the other 75% percent are girls. Everyone should know that if we're healthy in any shape or size, that's enough. You're going to live a happy life.
One time in a photoshoot for the magazine "SELF", they made Kelly Clarkson the cover model. But, to her surprise after her photoshoot she was mad and shocked on how much the "SELF" team skinned her down. "My happy weight changes...sometimes I eat more; sometimes I play more. I'll be different sizes all the time. When people talk about my weight, I'm like, 'You seem to have a problem with it; I don't. I'm fine!' I've never felt uncomfortable on the red carpet or anything." says Kelly. The team struggled to reply and admitted they have photoshopped the picture. Don't you see? Even the magazines themselves lie! So, much for a "health" magazine!
Girls of all ages try to reach something that they will never reach. According to the Awareness Building Community young girls are more afraid of being fat then nuclear war, losing their parents, or cancer. And it's really frightening and sad how bad these girls just want to reach that goal of being the thin ideal. It has been recorded that 10 million girls and women, in the U.S., have bulimia, anorexia, or both and that’s more than how much women get breast cancer altogether in the whole world. It has also been recorded that 90% of girl’s first wish is to change how they look, their weight, size or shape. This may not be true to all girls, because believe me, I know a lot of girls who love themselves and if you're one of them, in this class, I am proud of you.
The magazines should be honest about the pictures they take of all their models to show young girls and boys that being the fake model is not the only thing you need to achieve in life. Well, in a photoshoot an editor would always start to edit the person skinnier, flawless, and just what they call “perfect”. You don’t need editing. So, when a kid or person looks in a magazine they would say “Look at this! They accept everyone the way they are! And don’t judge them by their looks!” instead of “Is that really how I have to look? Am I too fat? Are my cheeks too chubby? Am I what they would call 'perfect'?”
Changing photo editing to only natural real looks will help alot in this world! If it is not done as soon as possible, think about the many girls and guys who have eating disorders, abuse drugs, commit suicide! 20% of people with an eating disorder die! Look how many people we have in this world if we can stop before society teaches the newborn what they call the “ideal” figure, it will help a lot. If magazines didn't lie about the pictures they put into their pages we won’t have to worry about anorexia, bulimia, eating disorders, or anything that harms young kids and teenagers. We won’t have to be our own worst enemy ever again.
We should stop photos in magazines being photoshopped! Even if we can’t do that right away, we should just be careful and be who we are and love ourselves. I care about this because I care about what people think of themselves. You might look different in the outside and also more different in the inside but I believe “An ugly personality destroys a pretty face.” Because you shouldn’t judge people by their looks, but by their personality. What really matters is what is in inside of you, not of what’s outside. According to John Mason, “You were born an original, don’t die a copy”.