Susan Bordo Reading The Tender Body

“Does this make me look fat?” At one point in life, everyone has experienced this question whether they asked themselves or their best friend did. This six-word question reflects the standard of beauty that everyone strives to meet. Although the standard of beauty has changed throughout the years, society currently favors the idea of slenderness, having good skin, and popularity. Although being healthy is the goal, we should not depend on society tell us how to feel about our bodies. The ideology that society holds for our bodies can be mentally and physically damaging. In Susan Bordo’s “Reading the Slender Body” and Cameron Russell’s “Looks aren’t everything, believe me, I’m a model”, we examine that accepting yourself and not comparing yourself

The girl in the magazine doesn’t even look like the girl in the magazine”. To have a good life, an individual must realize what they see broadcasted in the media is not always the truth. For example, in Russell’s TED talk, she compares many photos that were taken close together to display the difference of her actual life and what the magazines make her look like. She said that the magazine photos were “constructions by a group of professions, by hairstylists and makeup artists and photographers and stylists and all their assistants and pre-production and post-production, and they build this. But that’s not me”. Although it is common knowledge that magazine photos are often photo shopped, the difference is not as notable as seeing it side by side like in Russel’s TED talk. It’s important for an individual to accept realistic body types rather the images that are presented in the media. One company that is heavily admired is Aerie, because not only do they not Photoshop their photos but they also show a variety of models of different shapes and sizes. This is important because it shows representation of people with different backgrounds. Although we always think models are confident and beautiful, Russell brought up that models may have the thinnest thighs, the shinest hair, and the coolest clothes, but they’re the most physically insecure women probably on the planet. When the realization hits that nobody, even popular celebrities, are perfect, individuals will notice that everyone has flaws and accepting their own will help them become happy with