The phrase "only dogs like bones" has been following me around on the internet for what feels like decades. Go on any accomplished fitness guru's Instagram right now and you will see this comment at least three times under a picture they have posted, followed closely by the worst of the worst: "Eat a burger".
Anyone who has read a newspaper or watched This Morning at least once in the past six years will know that as a society, we love to blame the media for the body image issues every teenage girl experiences. From Vogue to Victoria's Secret to even our childhood favourite dolls, such as Barbie, are blamed for the dull moments we spend, dipping celery into fat-free salad cream with one hand, entering the calories you have consumed within the last 38 minutes into your food diary with the other. Putting some logic into the matter, anyone can see that Miranda Kerr is the main reason why we hate our own bodies. How dare she work her tiny butt off in the gym everyday, take care of herself and eat some kale while she's at it? Who does she think she is, going around, looking healthy, and flaunting the amazing figure she works hard to maintain?
What I just said sounds ridiculous because it absolutely is.
It isn't the pictures of a thousand beautiful girls we save onto our phones with hopes of motivation that pushes us into a disturbed view of our bodies. Nor is it looking through magazines which have pictures of swimwear models, watching movies where the pretty girl is always the skinny girl, and not even how disproportionate Barbie is. It's the girls we meet in school, telling us wearing a certain size of clothing is "disgusting". The petty arguments we have with people we don't know and realising over and over again that "fat" is the worst thing a girl can be called. It's not the media that provides otherwise healthy girls with confidence issues, but the real world that does, because telling someone "only dogs like bones" makes them feel exactly like that: A bag of bones for a dog to play with until it loses its taste. And we know this, too, because the reason anyone makes that kind of remark on someone else's appearance is due to the hundreds of words that have been said to them, making them feel just as worthless as that bag of bones.
So, why do we do it? Why do we insist on putting each other down everyday, instead of accepting others as they come? I know that my worth doesn't come from the amount of burgers I eat, or what cup size my bra is. Yet, it's taken me years and years- and even a few sessions of therapy- to realise that what I do and don't eat isn't what is going to make me happy in the future.
Maybe this was a slightly too deep and overwhelming topic to kick off my blog with, but I'd love to hear your views on this subject, so, let me know!
- B.W.
I see what you mean it doesn't sound ridiculous at all. I see all these arguments between girls now using fat as that main insult. Fat is probably the worst thing you could call a girl due to all of this stupid ideals that being slim is the way to be, when it isn't. Anyone can be any size they want they should have want to live up to this ideals that being slim is the way everyone should be. You should never have to be worried about what you eat either, you should be able to go around eating whatever you want and not have to worry how its going to effect you. Im not saying go out and eat tones of food but going out and eating freely should be done without worrying what the consequences are. I believe on top of all the magazines and tv shows that in a way promote all this stuff they add the pressure of suggesting that guys only like girls that are slim.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you agree! I think watching what you eat should only go as far as being healthy; however, if you want to look good, then look good! I've never had a guy compare me to a bag of bones, nor have I had a guy saying "I wish you had bigger boobs". It's each to their own, and quite honestly, one person's views should not be generalised to everyone.
DeleteExactly! You should just eat things in moderation to be healthy. Everyone should really just be healthy with what they eat, for you general condition and not just for looking good. Exactly, but the news and magazines seem to have the impression that all of us teenagers and young adults are exactly the same. No one should ever be saying those things to anyone ever really. Everyone is unique and if everyone was how these people wished them to look like everyone would be the same. Everyone is unique and they should be appreciated for who they are.
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