Beauty Is A Beast...
Written by Ronald Coulson, Posted on
...and should be slayed accordingly.
I am frustrated by society’s obsession with unrealistic beauty standards. We continue to propagate an ideology which is not only difficult to achieve, but it is unhealthy even to attempt. This has been an ongoing problem which seems to only to be getting worse. While there are those of us out there who are trying to fight against these ridiculous beauty standards, the fact remains there are more who encourage it.
The age old saying, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, doesn’t seem to have relevance anymore --especially when the beholder has a phone with an app like SkinneePix. What is SkinneePix you might be wondering? It is an app which promises it users the ability to shave fifteen pounds off their pictures. *Sigh* Of course they do so under the premise that the camera adds 10 to 15 pounds, so really they are just helping, right? Of course they are! *wink wink*
Besides, why would anyone want to look like themselves? It’s too natural, too realistic. It is easier to just touch up a photo and not think twice about it. Of course you could put forth the effort to lose weight naturally, and in a healthy way, but sadly even this can become an issue. We are creatures who excel in extremes, are we not?
To the extreme!
Unfortunately with trends like #thinspo and Pro-Ana sites, weight loss can become dangerous. #thinspo, for those of you who don’t know, is short for "thinspiration", which in turn is a combination of the words thin and inspiration. The idea is you find a picture of a very skinny person and you use that picture as inspiration to lose weight. Now, there is nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight, at least not until you start doing unhealthy and dangerous things to do so. This brings me to Pro-Ana sites.
Pro-Ana refers to the eating disorder, anorexia nervosa. Most, if not all, of these sites seem to promote and encourage #thinspo and the eating disorder. They like to claim they are just offering those who suffer from anorexia nervosa a place where they can connect with others while being free from judgement. Perhaps there is truth to their claims, seeing how people get on there and share experiences and tips on how to continue with their “lifestyle choice”.
Yes, you read that right. Not an eating disorder, but rather a “lifestyle choice”.
Unfortunately this "lifestyle choice," this eating disorder, can have dire consequences and the worst of which is death. Now before you continue thinking this is an issue that only concerns females, you might be surprised to learn males can be affected also. Apparently no one is safe from these moronic beauty standards. I fear for our youth, for our world, for boys and girls alike.
