Yeah, I know, I wrote a journal not too long ago. Get off my back, okay? XD I'm in a sharing mood. I just wrote my first editorial for AP English and I wanted to post it and get some opinions. It's good practice, cuz I'm gonna be in journalism next year. So, I chose to write my editorial about how women are portrayed in society. Tell me what y'all think, mkay?

The Portrayal of Women in Modern Society

“I’m so fat.”

I can’t even begin to describe the devastation that overcame me when my eleven-year-old sister, yes eleven-year-old, said those words to me. I mean, for goodness sake, she’s eleven. An eleven-year-old girl shouldn’t spend her time wondering how she can shed a couple of pounds. She shouldn’t constantly be staring down at a number on a scale and fretting about what that number says about her. She should be having sleepovers with her friends and laughing and enjoying life. So, I sat down with her and had a very serious conversation with her about self-image and weight. I desperately hope I got through to her.

What do I blame for my sister’s sudden obsession with weight?

The media, of course.

Everywhere you look, there is a constant pressure for perfection, a demand for flawless, unrelenting beauty. From Victoria’s Secret ads to makeup commercials to ridiculous teen magazines, this demand is subtle, and many girls don’t even realize they’re getting sucked into the American obsession. Beneath the pretentious model’s smile, the flashing cameras, the expensive luxury cars and fur coats, the same quiet sermon is preached—you’re only worth something as a woman if you’re skinny and beautiful.

If the scale flashes triple digits at you, then honey, you need to get your fat butt on a diet, pronto!

If you have one stray, stubborn pimple, then no boy will ever find you appealing. You can forget about dating until your skin is as smooth and flawless as a baby’s rump.

The media, basically, is turning women into plastic sex objects.

If I were to put myself in my sister’s shoes, I would feel pressured too. She sees these commercials in which anorexic models parade in front of the camera, declaring, “Buy this product, and men will want to have sex with you!” Girls, particularly preteen ones, are easily influenced. When they see things like that, when they see women who are perfectly gorgeous and wavering over the 80-pound mark on the scale, they’re going to think to themselves, I have to be just like her! And they will do whatever it takes. They’ll cake on unnecessary amounts of makeup, start munching on salad and nothing else, and demand nothing but perfection from themselves to conform to the media’s idea of a “beautiful woman.”

Women look to the scrawny plastic models on TV and in magazines as a sick kind of inspiration. Men look to them as the perfect sex toy.

So, does no one see the problem? Do we want our preteen daughters or sisters striving to be sex toys? I hope the answer is obvious.

Take note, girls: A couple of extra pounds never hurt anyone. So feel free to chow down on a couple of extra Oreos to satisfy that pesky sweet tooth. And when a girl doesn’t cake on two gallons of makeup, her natural beauty truly shines. Pimples are natural, everyone gets them, and it’s not the apocalypse if you wake up with a couple on your face. And so what if you don’t have a boyfriend? Being single is more fun, anyway.

So put that in a beauty magazine and sell it.

So there you have it. My mom said it sounded too abrasive. Pft. I would have been MORE abrasive if it wasn't for school. I would've cussed more, too.