The Uphill Battle
Why are the standards of beauty
on women so high?
We as women have fallen victim to a belief that, we are less than beautiful. Just ask the 426 billion dollar beauty industry. When asked, only 2% of women describe themselves as beautiful. Of those, 10 million young girls and women are facing an ongoing battle with anorexia and bulimia and of those, it is estimated that 20% of girls, ages 10-19 are struggling with depression. 90% of women are dissatisfied with themselves in some sort of way.
The effect of The media
Women’s magazines, as well as social media platforms are full of articles suggesting losing those last twenty pounds will be a perfect solution for all situations in life—marriage, sex, children, and a budding career. Our media portrays an unattainable image, and young girls and women are trapped by the lie that they will never be good enough.
At times, we scour beauty magazines, Instagram posts to make ourselves feel better, and once again, the thoughts persist and, we are left feeling imperfect and flawed. We are fighting a battle against ourselves. These interactions, although, maybe subtle, make us vulnerable, and wound our confidence.
Once again, who are these women? The women in magazines, the women we see in these posts, the models whose bodies we are trying so desperately to attain? I don’t know any of them. I only want to look like them. Women who are strong, smart, happy to be alive, comfortable in their own skin, these are the women we need to be looking up to.
Peer pressure
This overwhelming pressure to be thinner, prettier, and sexier begins subtly. Media-hype aside, perhaps a classmate told us we weren’t good enough and didn’t fit in with their group, or someone teased us about our looks, and subconsciously we began to see ourselves as less than beautiful. In high school, there are only two types of girls– the “skinny girls”, and “everyone else,–” and no matter how athletic or talented one might be, everyone is striving to be like the “skinny girls.”
what you "can" do!
A real woman with muscles is someone who possesses not only outer strength and confidence, but radiates an inner beauty and strength as well. She is a woman who is happy to be who she is despite a few flaws. There is nothing more beautiful than a woman who believes she has permission to feel strong and confident! This is an attitude that doesn’t come from working out harder or being a size smaller; it is who we are in our daily lives. Real Women Have Muscles is the attitude that we will seize the day; that we will take the opportunities we have today, and be stronger, more confident beings tomorrow. We learn to embrace the daily pressures, redirect them with confidence from within, and live the life of a true woman with muscles.