Every day people read magazines: in their homes, doctor’s offices, or in the check-out line at Walmart. These magazines not only provide useless gossip about celebrities, but they also portray a false reality as to what the “perfect body” looks like. Most articles written on this topic, however, only focus on women and weight loss, but I am going to speak on each sex equally.

For women, it’s all about having large breasts and a huge butt, while still maintaining a thigh gap and small mid-section. The number of women who can actually pull this off is probably about 1 in 1,000. The problem with magazines, TV, and other media is that they give us all a fake reality of what a perfect body looks like, especially for women. Women are known to not only struggle with their weight more so than men, but they are also more insecure about it. That’s why these magazines are so harmful to a woman’s sense of self. It drives all of their confidence into the ground because when a thigh gap becomes the societal “norm,” it also becomes something they constantly compare themselves to. Unfortunately, this alone is why many woman believe they are not pretty enough or good enough to gain the attention of a good man.

However, men don’t have it so easy either. There is constant pressure for men to be overly fit, gym rats. The idea of a “sexy” man in today’s society is one who has the abdominal “V,” massive pecs, and biceps that can bench 200 pounds…but this isn’t necessarily important. Sure, being fit is a great thing to look for in both a man and a woman. It shows that they care enough about their appearance to at least eat healthfully and take care of themselves. However, in today’s world, it has become something we depend upon. The phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” has become completely irrelevant because that is all we do. We no longer look for the good in everyone, but look for good muscle tone. We no longer look for a good personality, but “does she have a nice rack?” We don’t even care how they treat us any more, just as long as they’re society’s definition of “hot.”

This is what is wrong with our society. What matters is on the inside of a person, not the outside. And not only is this applicable to finding a mate, but also to looking at yourself in the mirror. The purpose of this article isn’t to tell you to settle for average, but it is to push you to be your own kind of beautiful and stop comparing yourself to a Victoria’s Secret Angel or Calvin Klein underwear model. These are people that are physically elite and fit, not what the average person looks like, or should look like for that matter. So please, embrace what you were born with, because it’s absolutely beautiful.