Let's just say it out loud: it's not easy to be a girl. I have almost 19 years of experience but I'm still constantly struggling. Okay, maybe struggling was a bit harsh word but I'm sure you get it.
Our society thinks that boys and girls don't come as equals. And before going further I wanna point out that no I'm not a big feminist, I don't want girls to be better than boys, I just want us to be equal.
For example boys are expected to be strong, to not show too much emotions, to be better at many things while the girls are just expected to be loving, caring and not as good as boys in many ways. I mean cmoon, why does "throw/run like a girl" have to be a bad thing? Why is it always sth to do with girls that is expected to be worse? It's fucked up. My sister once was talking about sth about how there's some things boys do better, and you know what my mom told her? She said "The only thing boys can do better than girls is peeing while standing", and my mother is totally right. Yes, there are things that might be easier for guys, for example climbing latters bc girl's pelvis's structure is different (so that they can walk well and be balanced even with a big pregnancy belly), but there's no thing that guys "just do better naturally". That's what we have to tell our daughters and their daughters. You can do anything if you just set your mind to it and work hard for it.
But what I think is one of the most fucked up thing in our society is that girls are constantly body-shamed, we are taught that only being skinny is pretty. The internet is full of new trends like can you fit your waist inside your hands, do you have a thigh-gap, how much are your collarbones showing... When is this gonna stop? I'm afraid never... I'm not saying that you should or shouldn't be skinny, but when will we change it into "being healthy no matter what size you are is pretty"?
Fat-shaming has become a real thing and it's not right. And yes ofc there are people who also shame skinny people but fat-shaming has become more popular thing in our society. Okay, maybe you have some extra pounds on your hips and waist, but when did it become acceptable for skinnier people to crush the little bit of self-esteem the other one has left? If you mock someone bigger at the gym, it's the same as if you mocked an anorexic for eating. The people are at the gym to change their lifestyle, to lose some weight. It's absolutely insane how mean people can be to one another, especially girls.
Nowadays even younger girls (also some boys) are getting an eating-disorder because all the ads, magazines, tv-shows etc show us how we should look like even tho most of the time even the models are photoshopped. Is that really the model we want to pass on to our daughters? I don't know about you but I know I don't. I'm gonna do everything to make my children love them for who they are and what they look like. We are all beautiful in our own unique way and that's how it's supposed to be. That's how we were created.
Parents have a huge impact on their children's self-esteem and body-image, but unfortunately the society can sometimes mess it all up.
I myself have experienced bullying etc bc of my weight which is why my self-esteem is pretty low. I act all tough and confident around people I don't know, but that's just my cover. It's usually hard for me to take compliments, even from my own boyfriend and I can see how it makes him sad... Now you are prob thinking like ohh yeah now I know why she is writing about fat-shaming, she just wants to make herself feel better. No, I actually just want other low self-esteem girls to feel that they are beautiful, that they are good enough and it's upto them if they will let others bring them down. The power is in everyone's own hands, sometimes it just takes time for us to learn how to use it.
I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied with my own body but well in todays society, who is? Tho if you are, good for you, I'm really happy for you 😊
Like I said, I'm not a big feminist but here's a pic that shows the great things women can do 😉
- KK
