Behind Closed Lockers, Pt.1

Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Supernatural: these are names of some of the CW’s most popular shows, and besides receiving high praise and acknowledgment for the plot lines and actor’s acting abilities, these shows are more commonly recognized for their leading ladies: the double 0’s who flaunt their jutting collar bones and pronounced rib cages. Today, teens and young children are more influenced than ever by what they see in the public, and when the television industry is capitalizing on these “sexy, youthful” women, who in actuality are scary thin, the desire to be that size can spread like the plague.

Every minute there are girls out there, obsessively counting nutrition values, running to the bathroom after a weak moment and sticking a finger down their throat; but why? Because we are raised to believe that thin is beautiful. And while being in shape and healthy is a desired look, the women and more importantly young girls out there are looking past the healthy aspect and instead focusing on the final objective and getting there by any means possible. I have personally visited the rooms of many of my friends, from the super-thin to the slightly chunky, and in most rooms, including my own, I’ve seen chopped up posters, magazine covers and ads plastered on the walls: some to reflect individual personality, and in the case of one of my closest friends, a seemingly unattainable goal.

I was watching an episode of a talk show, which capitalized on teenagers who go to extreme measures to look like women on TV, until they push it too far and begin considering even their idols as obese. One young girl was so desperate, she did nothing but eat baby powder mixed with water to quench her hunger; another would put toothpaste on her back teeth in chunks so she would carry around that flavor all day and not be able to eat anything. It reaches a point where the malnourished, gaunt look becomes unattractive and repulsing. So why do girls continue to do it? After all the dieting, over-exercising, binging and purging, does it come down to the want to impress a boy, to live up to that idol, to raise self-esteem? It reaches a point where the need to be skinny isn’t fueled by personal desire, but by the mind’s new warped idea that skinny is never skinny enough.