It's Not Just Girls Chasing After the Perfect Image

     The media really has taken a toll on young Americans all over.  All of those models with perfect bodies gliding on the runways and gracing the covers of magazines give us girls, and now young boys, false hope.  Seriously, it's unnatural to be that skinny!  Yes, modeling agencies find the few people in this world that actually have that body type.  It's sad, because there are so many different kinds of people with different body builds, but we only idolize and market the tall men and women with strikingly small percentages of body fat; and for men, high volumes of muscle.  Because of all this false hope in the fashion industry, women, girls, men, and now young boys are now obsessing over getting their bodies just like theirs.  In an article from the New York Times online, there are recent studies talking about boys as young as middle-schoolers obsessing over going to the gym and lifting for hours every day.

     Douglas Quenqua states that, "Just as girls who count every calorie in an effort to be thin may do themselves more harm than good, boys who chase an illusory image of manhood may end up stunting their development, doctors say, particularly when they turn to supplements — or, worse, steroids — to supercharge their results."

     To me, when these images in the media pose a threat to the health of people--especially kids, it's gone too far.  The influence the fashion industry and Hollywood have on the young generation is astounding; especially if it steers kids in the direction of experimenting with steroids.  Even the fact that these boys could be hindering their growth because of the over building of their muscles is dangerous--do they realize that if they do this to their body, they may never be as tall or developed as the male athletes of actors??

     It's crazy, because now that I think about it more after reading this article, I've noticed that my brother has even obsessed over his body image.  He is 15, 6' tall, 166 pounds, in the ninth grade and has already lost 14 pounds since the beginning of the school year!  He is already so skinny, but he thinks that he is fat.  He is very highly active in sports, having been on the football team this year and is starting up his second season of baseball this year alone.  I've noticed that he has been lifting a lot more, trying to get that toned up look.  He's only 15 and already obsessing over how "fat he is." Which he's most definitely NOT!  Just to prove my point on how he really is not fat, I'm going to post a picture.

My 15 year old brother and my Gammie September 2012--can you imagine that 14 pounds lighter?! Crazy, huh? P.S.--isn't he such a cutie?! :)

     I can attest to this personally as I have always been hard on myself for not looking like the models or actresses on the covers of magazines.  Their hair, makeup, clothes, body, just everything is so perfect! It's not fair; but it's not fair to those women who are photo-shopped to look like that.  The reality is that no one is perfect even though society expects us to be.

     That's all the rant I have in me for now, or else I'd go on for days!

Adios,
Tory

Links to the New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/health/teenage-boys-worried-about-body-image-take-risks.html?ref=health&_r=0