I am sure that this topic has been explored by a variety of Women’s Studies essays and daytime talk shows, but I wanted to touch upon this after sharing a couple blog entries with a friend.
When are girls taught to hate themselves?*
I refuse to believe that this is an innate state that we are born with; this kind of destructive thinking is taught and acquired. So, when does this happen? Why does it happen?
Is it the media culture that shows us what type of “beauty” is acceptable? We are bombarded with images of size 0 women with perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect bust- and waist-lines and we then look ourselves in the mirror and hate what we see. But an interesting phenomenon is the fact that few of those women who have that “perfect” image looking back at them may feel the same way as, well, I do.
Why is that?
Another observation–why do women need the validation from others (mostly males) before they believe when they are told the obvious (that they’re gorgeous)?
In my short life, I have accomplished a lot. I’ve graduated from high school, earned a bachelor’s degree from an esteemed university, and, recently, was accepted to law school. But without “a man in my life,” I still feel like a disappointment, I still feel like I’ve failed. Why?
When did I start hating myself? Why can’t I accept the compliments given to me? Why is it easier to believe the bad things that I say about myself, from a completely subjective standpoint, and disregard the opinions of others, who are a little more objective?
And even knowing all of this–why do I still fall into the same trap?
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*Note: I am aware that this may not be isolated to just females, but this is a topic that seems to dominate the discourse when discussing women’s “issues.”