If you have ever looked longingly at a billboard or magazine and thought, I wish i looked like her, you are not alone and you shouldn't have to feel like that
Unattainable beauty standards
We live in a world that is obsessed with beauty, beauty that is based on a lie. For that, we can thank Disney princesses, Barbie dolls, Tik-Tok trends and social media influencers
So what is the lie? The lie is the modern beauty ideal that most people are consciously or sub-consciously assessing themselves against. For women right now, there are two types: unhealthy thinness or an hourglass shaped body complete with full lips, wide eyes and a button nose. To possess either of these unnatural ideals, extreme dieting or cosmetic surgery is required. Sadly, non-stop exposure to thousands of images like these every single day are teaching people to hate normal things about themselves. For some, this drives insecurity, low self-esteem and disordered eating but for others, particularly those who have not been taught to love themselves from an early age (combined with visual processing issues), it can result in full blown self-hatred in the form of Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Regardless of severity, people of all ages are being programmed to focus on the external, to find their identities and self-esteem in how they look and ultimately seperate themselves from the love of God by allowing fear and shame to dominate their lives. In saying that, teen girls are the biggest users of social media so are therefore, the most vulnerable
For this reason, Tracy Glatz, author, coach and recovered body-image hater is on a mission to bring God's Truth on Beauty to a hurting world full of body-image issues
Regulation of advertising that promotes unattainable beauty images and social media algorithmic oversight are some of the strategies currently being developed to tackle this issue. But urgent action is required in our churches, schools and homes. God's truth on beauty needs to be infused into the hearts and minds of anyone (young girls in particular) susceptible to worldly messages about who they are
A recent British survey showed that thirty-five per cent of teenagers worried about their body image often or every day, and 37 per cent of teenagers felt upset and ashamed about their body image.
The fight starts NOW!
