So today, I watched two videos that inspired me in very different, but very much the same ways. The first video (see below) discussed how it's impossible to physically live up to media standards and how we will NEVER LOOK LIKE THE GIRLS IN ADS. The second video was about the reactions of some disabled individuals seeing themselves made into mannequins.
(I feel like I need to put a disclaimer out there: YES, I am a model. YES, I have done photoshoots and YES, they have been photoshopped. However, I also work for an agency that brings in models of all shapes and sizes from all walks of life. We are not all size 0s. In fact, most of us aren't, and this is why I feel like I can post the video below and have the negative feelings about the media and advertisements that I do.)
Cindy Crawford's comment about "I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford" really hit home for me. The alterations and digital re-vamping done completely changes how these people look. They end up not even looking like themselves! As if it's not difficult enough to survive life without comparing yourself to those around you at work or school, but there's this impossible standard in the media that consumes us. And it never ends. I'm definitely working on letting things go; realizing that I won't have the body I had when I was 16 and that if I don't have abs, WHO ACTUALLY CARES? As long as I am happy and healthy and taking care of myself, that should be enough.
The second video involved a few streams of tears. While this comes as a complete shock to no one, it was an amazing watch that reiterated the importance of inclusion; that it's okay to look the way you look and that you should always be yourself. The typical mannequin needs to invite some new buddies of different shapes, sizes and abilities into its store-front.
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