The mirror, it
seems, has become our worst enemy rather than our best
friend. Research
indicates that at least 80% of women over 18 are
unhappy with what
they see. The main focus of dissatisfaction is the
size and shape of
their bodies, particularly their hips, waists and
thighs.
This has led me to
think about this matter and air my views in this
newsletter.
It does not help
that we cannot watch TV, pass billboards, or read
magazines and
newspapers without seeing slender, beautiful people. So
much so, that we
are subconsciously brainwashed into believing this is
the norm and that
we should look like these people too.
To make matters
worse, the majority of celebrities, females in
particular, almost
always look perfect. Not a hair out of place, not a
wrinkle to be seen
and breasts and bottoms fixed where they should be
rather than heading
south, as they tend to do in the rest of us.
Does this create a
negative or positive impact on us ordinary mortals?
Are we able to
differentiate the star from the individual? Are we
envious?
It seems so, when
you examine the statistics. According to the American
Society of Plastic
Surgeons’ (ASPS), 2011 Statistical Report, there
were, 307,000
breast augmentations, 182,000 nose reshapings and 182,000
liposuctions among
other cosmetic procedures.
In 2010, almost
219,000 plastic surgery procedures were performed on
13-to-19-year-olds.
Teens rely on the knife to correct ill-shaped
noses, protruding
ears, too large or too small breasts, too big or too
flat butts, and so
on. Young Asian women go as far as having plastic
surgery to
westernize their appearance.
Don’t get me wrong.
I have nothing against plastic surgery. Especially
for adults who take
the time to do in-depth research about their
surgeon’s history
and professionalism and the consequences of their
proposed surgery.
To what extent is
all this related to our actual physical defects
rather than the
perception of our physical defects? We all have
imperfections. But
the issue is that we believe our defects stand out
and everybody
immediately notices them. Not true. The sad thing is that
we are our harshest
critics.
How much is the
media to blame? In my opinion, a lot. It is the media
that creates and
continues to magnify and exploit the celebrity
syndrome. Thanks to the media, we have become
accustomed to extremely
rigid and uniform
standards of beauty.
These high
standards are simply unrealistic and out of our reach. The
truth of the matter
is that the current median ideal of slenderness for
women is achievable
by less than 5% of the female population.
Most of us cannot
afford to have a personal make-up artist, hair and
fashion stylist,
yoga teacher or Pilates instructor. If we could, we
too would look
fabulous every time we walked out the front door.
So what to do? Make
the mirror your friend! Accept your body for what
it is, zoom in on
what is good and make the most of it.
A Bientôt,
Michèle