Category: Teen Topics
As teens today, we all face the challenge of overcoming what society wants us to be, in both physical and emotional ways. Today we'll talk about pop culture and models and how they are all wrong and force us to develop eating disorders if we're not careful and sensible.
Maybe, to blind people, looking at hot chicks in a magazine isn't something we can do, but we can, on the other hand, be called ugly, fat, etc because we dont look like models. But what is a model exactly? A model is a computer generated image. We have no proof that these are real people. Anything can become reality on a computer these days.
How do we know that an average--or even obese--person wasn't photographed, then their image was digitally transformed into this beautiful, airbrushed model? We cannot trick ourselves into believing the images we see, or hear about in the case of blind people.
True, one could argue that people are born beautiful, that they're designed to be models, but I find this extrememly hard to believe.
Teen girls are very likely to develop eating disorders if they have little or no self-esteem, and the first thing we want to change is our looks, because they seem to be the easiest things to alter.
So, we resort to trying to make ourselves loved by starving ourselves. Now tell me, where's the sense in that? If we all starve ourselves and get breast implants and all look the same, what fun is that? Being pretty gets you nowhere except gets you guys who are jocks and therefore are jerks. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but in a normal situation, a pretty girl "falls in love" with the handsome guy even if he treats her like crap.
Girls who aren't so pretty, on the other hand, get to love the outsiders. Because they're outsiders themselves, after being shunned from society because they dont look perfect, they try to find somebody who's just as lonely as they are. They end up with the guys who are called "geeks" and "faggots" by everybody else in the school just because they dont slap their bitches around and actually can show love and respect for women.
This is why pop culture should be ignored, to be replaced with realistic values, and most importantly, to not think you are in love based on someone's physical appearance. There's much more to life than that.
Broadly speaking I totally agree with ya on this one. There's a lot of pretty people out there and I bet you the larger majority of these people are not drawn into the modelling business. I worked with a girl who was a model for 5 years and she was less than impressed with what she had to do eating wise, picture wise and all the drugs and corruption around it.
I think you need to be happy with who you are and be positive and develop self-confidence and self-respect through non-damaging ways. And, you know, I was talking to my manager the other day and I sort of feel like this myself. The coolest kids from middle school or even high school usually end up with the bad jobs and are worn out before their time, at the reunions it's usually the outsiders, as you put it, the geeks and the nerds who show up with the best jobs, the most beautiful partners and the happiest lives. I think it's important to study and do well or if you're good at something else work on that. Everyone is good at something, they just got to find what they enjoy and persue it with all they have. It may be frustrating sometimes but ultimately you'll get there. :)
cheers
-b
Wow why am I on the teen board if I'm not technically a part of the demographic? lol Ah well.
I know it was hard for me when I wasin middle and high school to deal with all the imagery involved, because I was getting mixed signals from people. Everyone said I was pretty, but no one was interested in dating or even being friends with me, so I was confused. Luckily I never got into the whole dieting/clothing/makeup/body alteration thing, but I was very very confused for a while.
I think it's important to find some outlet in which you feel comfortable being yourself. If teens find someplace where they can develop themselves in something they're good at and not have to deal with the pressure of living up to models all the time, then maybe people won't have all these esteem/imaging crises that seem to happen so much these days. And yes, parents need to let their kids be who they are too!!!
But that's another thread....
PS And oh yeah, models are slightly overrated. I mean I don't think their lives are a piece of cake, based on all the stuff I've read and heard about.
well now it's time to put my two cents in one this one to. Niblit, you are the coolest ever. We have a lot of the same opinions on things, at least that's what I am noticing. Frig, when I was a teen-ager, I was all about being confused about my looks and stuff. I was like other people who got mixed signals when people would say oh your a pretty person, but no one would date me. Well not unless they thought they were going to get something from me, or they couldn't see me. Anyway, then I got the other end of the spectrum to where I was called ugly sever al times, which made me a very sad person inside. I am just now starting to believe that I am a beautiful person. I think that pop culture does affect blind people just as much as it affects the sighted. I think that it's sad that people actually listen to it, and I hate the fact that I was one of those people who wanted to do anything just to look pretty.
I'm way outside the demographic, but here's my two cents' worth. I agree that it seems models set this impossibly high set of standards for what physical beauty really is. If somebody ends up using such standards in their search for love, they'll most likely be in a couple universes of hurt and disappointment after a while. The unfortunate side of this is that much as it isn't fair to judge a person solely on looks, since it seems most sighted folk are visually-oriented, they'll do just that. Looks are just powerful like that it seems. As for high school, I guess it's different for the guys. But I think I kept such a low profile that not only was I ignored for dates but nobody commented on my looks at all. Hahahahahaha!
Interesting topic. I agree so far with everything said. Looks don't count, I think it's better to concentrate on the inside of a person rather then the outside.
I dont agree that Claudia Schiffer is a computer image she is just a naturally beautiful woman,but I definately agree with the damage done to teenage girls who see this woman and crave her figure money & lifestyle ect,and no matter how often they are told "its all camera tricks dear pay no attention" the need to be beautiful perfect and wealthy is literally eating away at them.
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Also what affect do these models have on disabled youngsters who will never achieve physicall "perfection" what does a teenage girl with spina bifida or cerebal palsy see when she looks at these models,how she is meant to look or a cleverly contrived lie cultivated by the malicious and increasingly out of touch media.
Same here i agree w/every1 else on this one! We all have to realize it is just as important to look nice cuz we live in a sighted world, but, not look all that either. Just keep urself up w/appeaarence and stufff. It is hard but we have 2 do it!
Pop culture today sucks. It's all about one thing- looks, looks, looks wich is really stupid. All guys want are the skinny-ass girls who dress like sluts and who have no sence of self. Oh, and most guys treat there girlfriends like shit.
What does "beautiful" mean at all? You can be beautiful inside, your character for example. That's what everyone can be. And in my opinion this is way more important than the outer beauty. What if we were all model-like - wouldn't it be boring? I mean okay, of course I have this opinion as I am not really thin, but as long as everyone feels good, then this person shows that he/she feels good and others can see it - and that can be beauty, too.
I totally agree with the first poster there. I hate it, and I don't care so much. Thanks, it's inspirational.
Yeah, my very own two parents call me fat and more. I loathed and I hate all the talk about people liking skinny people. Pla-ea-se. Seriously!