Partner Article

Body fascism

Body image has become a global obsession, which is being instilled from an earlier age, with the birth of every generation. However, the focus on health and aim to attain longevity, has been insidiously replaced by the media’s manic fixation with images of bodies that are idealistic, unachievable, but most importantly, which pose a detrimental threat to our self-confidence.

The synonymity of beauty with thinness, is a scathing indictment of how the media has already successfully manifested a particular ideal, which has undoubtedly had a detrimental impact on women and men alike.

Despite an increasing awareness within fashion culture concerning the use of skeletal models, there is indubitably a value system now socially established, that attributes an individual’s worth with their beauty; which in turn is predicated upon their size.

This destructive notion, not only pervades social media, but has begun to permeate through the attitudes of our colleagues, where self-value is all too often ascribed to physical beauty, which is then measured in terms of size.

Regardless of this resounding fallacy that objectifies beauty as a specific physical form, beauty is not necessarily external, and is by no means limited to what is propagated by the media. I hope when reading this, that people will take a moment to revise their perception of beauty.

We are all uniquely beautiful; indeed, beauty exists inside everyone and everything. By celebrating what makes you the beautiful person that you are, and where possible, acknowledging the beauty in others, we can collectively reestablish a healthy concept of beauty that is inclusive of everyone, and furthermore, encourage positive self-esteem.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alice Bishop .