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Alyssa Fowler
Ms. Gardner
English 10 Period 2
5 April 2014
Confidence is Key: The Importance of Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin
Society and, more importantly, social media, effortlessly sets unrealistic expectations for women
all around the world. Consequently, women are starving themselves in order to feel accepted by society.
47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures. 69% of
girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape.
42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner (Collins, 1991). Anorexia is a lack or loss of appetite for
food. It is an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat.
Simone de Beauvoir simply states, To lose confidence in ones body is to lose confidence in oneself.
Society, social media and trending diets, all share responsibility for corrupting the minds of young
women and the overall rise in anorexia. It is wrong for society to put a label on beauty and make
women, of all ages, feel as though they are only as good as their size or weight.
Some scientists believe anorexia is caused by environmental factors which switch on specific
genes that trigger the dysfunctional eating behavior. As well as brain abnormalities; this is supposedly
uncontrollable. Anorexics brains were malfunctioning in the insula, the key area that controls eating,
body image, and anxiety (ANI). To summarize, scientists think that the cause of anorexia is simply how
our brains respond when we see food, which, in theory, is involuntary. Yes, it is reasonable to believe
that malfunction in the brain can contribute to anorexia. However, the pressure put on women and the
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repetitive demand of being thin is what really drives women to crave the unhealthy and unrealistic body
type of a size zero. Although there may be other factors, we should focus on the base of where this
problem is being most influenced; society.
Indeed, women with anorexia struggle mentally with distorted beliefs that they have developed
which can be traced back to brain abnormalities. Nevertheless, once a person is drilled with the same
social expectation over and over again, their idea which once was right has a better chance of being
contorted and corrupted until they have been fully molded into societys version of healthy,
beautiful, and confident. For instance, trending pro-ana websites encourage dangerous amounts of
weight loss as well as offering tips, games and thinspiration to promote anorexia (Laurence). In
addition, thousands of young girls have access to, four to five hundred, websites that advertise eating
disorders (Laurence). These websites not only affect people with eating disorders, but they also just as
much of an affect the people that dont have an eating disorder and they become more conscious of
what they eat, how much and also engage in some of the purge methods. Pro-ana websites lower self-
esteem and cause young women to compare their bodies to someone elses (Wiley). Based off of this
research, pro-ana websites are troubling and threatening to the loves of young women. They only
support a negative lifestyle that is consumed by the goal to lose weight. All in all, pro-ana websites put
peoples lives at risk. If the only results that come from these types of websites are negative then why
should we allow them to stay on the internet?
Moreover, the thigh gap phenomenon, that has become popular on social media websites such as
Tumblr and Instagram, is a dangerous and unrealistic goal that girls have set for themselves (Salter). The
idea behind this is that if you had a space between your legs while standing with your feet together you
were considered skinny enough to be accepted. However, a division one coach that works with
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athletes everyday says otherwise. Skinny does not mean fit or muscular, said Wright. I cannot think of
one athlete I work with who has a thigh gap. Wrights statement in summary proves that thigh gaps
arent healthy. Exceptionally thin models that are found in magazines and on runways have the so-called
thigh gap which is risky and virtually impossible (Salter). Recently a law was passed in Israel that any
male or female model with a body mass index of less than 18.5 will no longer be featured in Israeli
websites or magazines. What will it take for America to take the same actions? Social media impacts the
way that we see our bodies and it gives us ideal visuals of the perfect body that we ultimately strive to
achieve (Albus). There is no doubt that this epidemic is poisonous to the lives of young women. It has a
long lasting effect on young women that feel as if they have an actual visual that they have an actual
visual that they need to achieve and they will do whatever it takes.
Ultimately eating disorders are on the rise among young girls and we have society and social
media to thank for that. Over time the idea of what is beautiful, healthy, confident, and acceptable has
changed drastically. Specifically young women, around the age of twelve, in the United States are the
victims. The amount of girls that were hospitalized, due to an eating disorder between the years 1999
and 2006, increased 119% (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). The number of people
diagnosed with an eating disorder each year has risen 15% in nine years (Dr. Nadia Micali). The cruelty
within every critic is what can break another person down. Therefore, the storm of media messages
mixed with the opinions of other around has been able to kill a persons self-esteem and confidence
faster than ever before. Most likely, due to the fact that humanity demands such unrealistic standards
now of days, in terms of body image.
In conclusion, it is unfair to push young women to fit into societys impractical definition of what
is attractive and convince them that they are strong-willed if they can imitate the bodies of models on
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the cover of magazines, or pictures on Tumblr, Instagram, and other blogs. The influence and power that
society has over the younger generation should not be used to confuse and demoralize them; it should
be used to assure them that regardless of what their physical appearance may be, it is not what defines
them or their character. Before you judge another person based on the size of their body, reconsider;
you can make a positive impact in someones life or a negative impact that can change their life for the
worst. In the end its up to you how you treat someone else.













Works Cited

"Anorexia May Be Caused by Brain Abnormality." Asian News International. 22 Apr. 2012:
n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Beauvior, Simone. "Quotes About Eating Disorders." (128 Quotes). Goodreads Inc., n.d.
Web.28 Apr. 2014.

Cresswell, Adam. "Environmental Factors May Trigger Anorexia." Weekend Australian. 25
Aug. 2012: 8. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

"Eating Disorders Among Young Girls Are on the Rise." Daily Star (Beirut, Lebanon). 01
Jun. 2013: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Laurance, Jeremy. "Hundreds of Websites Urging Girls to 'Starve for Perfection'." The
Independent. 28 Nov. 2012: 16. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Salter, Jim. "Social Media Fuel Dangerous Weight-Loss Goal." Independence Examiner. 04
Oct. 2013: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Siegel-itzkovich, Judy. "Law against Anorexic Models Goes into Effect." Www.JPost.com.
The Jerusalem Post, 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

Turner Trice, Dawn. "Brain Activity Gives Scientists Clues About Eating Disorders."
Chicago Tribune. 11 Apr. 2012: 1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.