Do you want thighs with that?
While many Hollywood starlets and plenty of young girls in America would not, in recent weeks, Tyra Banks has made it very clear that yes, there are other jean sizes besides zero and, in addition, she has zero - problem not being a size zero.
The whole world was aghast that the talk show host, a former supermodel, was now on her way to becoming super-sized. But is Tyra really overweight? Or has our perception of the ideal weight become so distorted that we cannot be happy with ourselves or with anyone else until we are all walking stick figures?
It is a sick game we play, where survival of the thinnest is the only strategy, where the biggest losers can be crowned the tiniest winners.
When will we be able to accept ourselves and our bodies for what they are?
Whatever happened to eating healthy and regular exercise instead of extreme dieting? Where can we find true inspiration instead of celebrity thin-spiration?
Just because you are not incredibly skinny, does not mean that you are fat. I learned this last year when I became increasingly aware of my weight and what I was putting in my mouth. I would count calories so much that I no longer enjoyed food because too little would leave me feeling empty and too much would leave me feeling guilty.
One day I was looking at a magazine with an anorexic Mary-Kate Olsen on the cover when I realized, is this what I am striving to become? Boney, fatigued, and stuck with the body of a 4th grader? That was definitely not attractive or appealing.
In addition, the ban on skinny models in some of fashion’s most prominent cities sent a message to everyone that the thin trend was so last season.
Just because you don’t let food go to waste, doesn’t mean that everything is going to your waist. I came to realize bones looked good on no one and so what if I was a little bit bigger? The more of me to love!
I developed new confidence and new role models. One of which was none other than Tyra Banks. She has handled her “weighty” issue with confidence and dignity, and has shown girls in America that just because you may not be the “perfect” size, doesn’t mean you aren’t perfect in your own right.
This article appeared on My Teen blog at khou.com
