Our Society’s Unhealthy Obsession with Size ZERO

I’ve always been a huge fan of Disney princesses. However, I recently made an agonising discovery. I was casually skimming through my old fairy-tale books and instead of feeling enchanted, I felt disgusted – betrayed even - that the princesses were portrayed as unrealistically wafer-thin with minuscule waists. On top of that, they feature ridiculously huge villains like Ursula. If you view the princesses up in the order their movies were released, some things become strangely apparent. Just take a look at their waistlines – although Snow White starts off as incredibly thin, as time goes by the princesses become thinner. So who is to blame?

I can’t help but point the finger towards today’s super-skinny models that set these atrocious trends of ‘size zero’. We’ve all seen it: their flawless, faultless bodies plastered all over magazines. Girls end up looking up to these ‘idols’ and their minds become engrossed with this so-called idea of perfection. What is a ‘perfect’ body in the minds of young girls, I hear you ask? Well, let’s say a bunch of emaciated-looking people would be an understatement. It’s even more saddening to hear that some girls aren’t even aware of the risks and realities...

“Think models are effortlessly perfect glamour magnets lapping up the good life?”

Well think again. Former model imposed this unexpected question in which she gave an explosive insight of her own modelling career. Trying to meet impossible standards of perfection led her to lead a self-destructive lifestyle: a career of eating disorders, sexual abuse and drug addiction. She often had to lie to her fans, saying she ate healthily, when her diet staple was made up of excessive amounts of black coffee, cigarettes and intense exercise. Twenty years l...

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... and not be judged by the public eye. They mustn’t be expected to be a certain size living up to such high standards is outrageous. Everyone deserves to have the freedom to live their life the way they want and to make their own decisions. No one can tell you what size to be.

I think there is an effective solution: Disney should present princesses with normal athletic bodies doing physical activity. This would have a major impact on young girls as they would aspire to be healthy, thus reducing child obesity. I would also like to take a moment to thank Nani from Lilo and Stitch for being one of the first Disney female characters to ever look like an actual human being.

If you ever feel you need to shed a few pounds don’t starve yourself– you don’t need a thin waist like Ariel to prove yourself perfect. We will all have those days where we feel a bit like Ursula.