Dear media,
Do you realize that, because of you, one in four girls between the ages of seven and nineteen have an eating disorder or have experienced body dysmorphia? Do you not see what all the nipping, tucking, cutting and air brushing has done to both young girls and women?
If you know these statistics and these numbers, then why do you continually decide to drastically morph, mis-shape and misrepresent what a woman looks like? Why do you think it's OK for a seven year old to think that she needs to lose weight? At that age, she should be able to live an innocent, carefree life. The only thing she should maybe be worried about is if there is an imaginary monster under her bed. But at least one of those four girls will be scared of you, media, instead of those make-believe monsters, and it is all because of the insane, unhealthy, unrealistic, absurd and paralyzing pressure that you place on women.
I am sure you are aware of the various 'love your body' campaigns that women have been creating and supporting, but if I looked closely, I would be able to see that you never sufficiently cover any of these events. Instead, you purposefully and harmfully perpetuate this sick cycle you have created so that you can continue to receive a high number of views. You prey on women who have these insecurities that you, yourself have created, and it is all centered around a number. The number of magazines sold. The number of girls that think they are too ugly or too fat. The number of subscribed readers. The number of girls that think they will never be enough.
But I have some news for you, while you have been continuing to body shame, slut shame and poison women into thinking that they are not perfect just the way they are, women have been standing up against you, and their actions are speaking so much louder than your harmful words ever could.
In France, a new bill was passed stating that models working in the country must have a medical certificate proving that they are fit to work. The bill goes on to state that digitally altered images, especially those in which a model's body shape has been changed, must be labelled "touched up." So you see, dear media, this bill is trying to start the process of undoing and fixing the sickness that you have created; it is trying to show women that the images that are so frequently shoved in their faces are not real.
I am elated to say that it doesn't end there. Aerie, the American Eagle side store, has released a campaign entitled "#AerieREAL." Their un-retouched ads challenge the body images that you, the media, have been poisoning women's minds with for far too long. Before releasing this new campaign, the company issued out this letter to its consumers:
While I am angry at you, media, surprisingly I write this letter to you with much happiness. As I type each word, another girl or woman has realized that they are done with your bullshit, and they are starting to finally stand up to you –– because they realize that the are enough, and that they are perfect just the way they are.
