Tonight I sat in front of my TV to watch the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. This was the first year I had watched it while it was televised or really been interested in it. Last year I saw a video on YouTube of the 2012 fashion show and it made me realize that it is SO much more than skinny girls walking around in lingerie. It's a production that takes nine months to plan and needs a team of 26 make up artists, 22 hair stylists and eight manicurists. This is an event that they work for all year long and the one night where they get to show an entire room of people everything they've got. And they own it.
On Twitter before, during, and even after the show, people were just assuming that these models are just pretty faces with perfect bodies and no brains. It's part of their lives to look the way that they do and they work their asses off and deserve respect. I'm sure it isn't easy to do what they do for a living and they probably do have their own struggles but there is no need to dehumanize them. Adriana Lima wanted to be a doctor, and got into modeling by mistake and stuck with it, Miranda Kerr (possibly one of the most beautiful woman on the planet in my opinion) was a gymnast as a child and got into modeling when she was "too tall" to go any further, Erin Heatherton almost turned down a modeling contract for a basketball scholarship and Lindsay Ellingson was going to UC San Diego before being scouted. Not one of these women had set out to be models.
Another thing that I am bothered by is the amount of people who were claiming that the models "too skinny" and need to eat something and it made me really angry. Not everyone is built to be a model, it isn't in everyone's genetics. But saying that someone is too skinny is just as bad as saying someone is too fat. Sometimes it is out of their control, it can be genetic or they could have a fast metabolism.
Bashing them for being thin won't solve anything. When they are dieting, they do it in a healthy way. Adriana Lima goes to a nutritionist before beginning a strict 6 week diet consisting of a gallon of water a day and several protein shakes as well as taking vitamins. She does not just starve herself to look that way. The average VS model is 5'9 - 5'10 with the measurements of 34-24-34. And not all of the models are sizes 0 or 2. Doutzen Kroes is a size 6 but nobody hears about that. These woman live a healthy lifestyle with a good diet and exercise, they work for what they have because it is their jobs.
I think that people get so caught up in all that, they forget to appreciate themselves and their own bodies. I am 5'3, I weigh around 130 pounds and I will never be a model and I am perfectly okay with that. I am learning how to love my body but it doesn't mean I don't have those days when I want to rip my hair out and cut the fat off my thighs. I take a minute and relax, I tell myself that I am only human, this is the way I am built and I should be okay with this. I go for an apple instead of kettle chips (I do love me some kettle chips though). I know that if i want to change something about my body that it is up to me and only me.
The point is, if you don't like something about your body, its up to you to change it in a safe, healthy way. And if you're happy with who you are and how you look, more power to you. We all need to remember that we are all human, we are all built differently and we need to love ourselves first. There is no harm in looking in the mirror and telling yourself that you are okay with the way you look. You will always have those bad days where your jeans don't fit right or your hair isn't cooperating but love yourself anyways. Tell yourself that you have nice eyes or a cute butt. Appreciate your boob size. Find an outfit that makes your body look killer and wear it whenever you are feeling down. Don't be afraid to eat a doughnut, but at the same time it's okay to want to try a juice cleanse or a new diet for a little bit. Do whatever makes yourself feel good.
Love yourself.
Pass it on.
