Today we scroll and watch through Instagram, TikTok, different advertisements, and TV personas that express unrealistic expectations of beauty standards. This negatively impacts people’s interpretation when it comes to their beauty. 21st-century beauty standards need to be re-evaluated to be more realistic.

Society is heavily influenced by what we see in the media. Promoting the ideal body men and women should look like to be considered attractive. TV programs feature beautiful, fit, and healthy people who influence the eyes of teenagers. 

Body image is one of the things the majority of people struggle with. Some think their body is too big, curvy, and thin. 

According to Break Binge Eating, 25% of male adolescents were concerned about their masculinity and leanness, for showing a greater desire for toned and defined muscles. Around 50% of Young 13-year-old American girls reported being unhappy with their bodies. This number grew to nearly 80% by the time girls reached 17 years of age. Nearly 80% of young girls report fears of becoming fat.

A current SR senior said, “I personally desire to be more comfortable in my body and confident with the person I present myself as socially.” 

Sandra Le, a senior at SRHS, reflects, “Media affected my self-confidence as I saw how other people looked pretty and I often compared myself to them.”

An article entitled “Body Image and Eating Disorders,” published by NDA, claims that by the age of 6, children express concerns about their weight and shape. The same article states; teens use unhealthy weight control behavior such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking, vomiting, and taking laxatives to control their weight. Creating bad habits for mental and physical health.

Those people who have gone viral mainly go viral for their appearance. Creating a template we all want to match to be considered “perfect.”

Kate S, a sophomore at SRHS, said, “Media makes you think you are not beautiful to look at if you don’t look like the ideal stereotype. Like ‘copy and paste Latinas.’ I’m not light-skinned, and I don’t have straight hair. I am not skinny/slim. That has affected me because I am not normal and it’s not a good feeling.”

A new trend has arrived for people of color known as the “Copy and Paste Latina.” Typically this phrase means a Latina who has straight long hair, allied with a make-up look covering dark-filled eyebrows, full eyelashes, and lined brown lips. Many pass this trend to “Just being a makeup look.” Instead, you are putting Latinas in a category to only look a certain way. When other Latinas feel like they don’t match this new beauty standard.

Filters and photoshop set a new mental health threat for teens. Every time we look at ourselves with filters we start to create a mindset that makes us think we are the filter. We cannot see ourselves without a filter. As many wish that we can alter our features to match our refined selves. Comparing your actual self to an edited version of you will just add feelings of dysphoria and shame. 

These filters are not the only thing that changes one thing, but also makeup helps you feel better about yourself. You can contour your face into different hopes. When it comes to you, combining both of these makes a version of you that is not you.

Body positivity may be one of the most outstanding movements that reach out to those people in search of help to accept and celebrate bodies of all shapes, sizes, skin colors, and gender.

So many platforms and certain influencers have made accounts about loving your body. According to CNN Health, Lizzo, an American singer and rapper born in Detroit Michigan, has started a TikTok account to let everyone know, especially teens (her main audience) know that feeling positive about the body you are in is not just possible but fun.

A current Junior Sebastian Vigil shared his opinion on body positivity. He said, “Body positivity is a wonderful thing and it is a great movement. We should celebrate all these things because people do deserve to be happy with themselves and their bodies. Although this is true, body positivity comes with its cons.”

According to Study Breaks, people don’t like the fact that the media is trying to normalize obesity and show that doing ‘healthy’ activities is being forced on society. “People may find big to be beautiful, but it does support an unhealthy lifestyle, as the image for body positivity shouldn’t be obesity. You may feel sexy at any size, but you are not healthy at any size.”

Body positivity can be shown in everyday people of all shapes and sizes, trying to live healthier lifestyles. Not making it seems that it’s something that shouldn’t be a part of our daily lives. 

No matter what our nation will never really accept anything or anyone. We were all born with our flaws but it’s up to us to be happy and feel stunning with our imperfections. Regardless of what our social media platform expects from us, you are you, and you are beautiful.