Many girls at school compare themselves to other girls. Some are brought down by the comments others makeabout their appearance. Sadaf Marzi, a sophomore, has often experienced judgemental comments about her body throughout her life. “People would still come up to me and ask if I was anorexic,” Marzi said. “There were a few annoying people who would pick on my weight because I didn’t have any boobs,” she said. But those comments made by ignorant kids did not stop her from embracing herself from top to bottom.

Our culture imposes the image of what a girl should look and act like, but in this day and age, everything is rapidly changing, starting with a girls image. At a young age, my family would often make comments about my weight, unaware of how horrible it would make me feel. Whenever people would talk about weight in general, I would feel like hiding in my room and crying because I did not like my size. I used to feel the nerve wracking fear of being told off by my peers because of my weight. I knew people were judgemental at school. Thankfully, after some time, I began to fully accept and love myself. All it took was not caring about what other people had to say, and just listening to myself.

Body and self acceptance has been a battle girls are begining to win. By educating girls at a young age to learn to love and cherish themselves, the whole idea of obsessing over flaws could be demolished for good. The problem began with common misconceptions of what a pretty girl should look like. Those ideas were conceived through television shows, ads, and even rules enforced by the school. Stores like Victoria’s Secret add on to the feeling of insecurity. Posting pictures for ads of models with a size 0 waist makes girls question “Why don’t I look like that” and “how can I look like that?” I have felt that way before. “I fully found myself. My sense of style has definitely changed since my middle school days, and a lot of people would look at me strangely for not wearing skirts or dresses,” said Ventura.

A song written by Meghan Trainor called All About That Bass has had many mixed reactions about her song and what it says within it. The song touches base with the topic of body weight and acceptance, which is great; it helps younger girls quickly understand the idea of accepting, but on the other hand, with lyrics like “yeah, my momma she told me don’t worry about your size. She says, “boys they like a little more booty to hold at night.” It makes it sound as though there is only one type of look guys like on girls.

In a setting like high school, people are constantly compared to one another; there are those judging, and there are those on the receiving end. On top of that, bullying continues on with no end. What matters is that those on the receiving end can learn to look past those comments, because at the end of the day, the only opinions that matters is yours. If you see someone getting picked on for whatever reason, say something, let that person know they are not alone.

When the school creates dress code rules, the rules are highly stressed by administrators because they do not want any ‘distractions’ clothing wise while school is taking place. “In school, girls have more rules and guidelines to follow. If we do not follow them, we are viewed with a negative eye,” said senior Jennifer Ventura. The type of clothes girls wear should not determine anything about a girl. It is just the way girls express who they are. It seems as though guys have it a little more easier than girls when it comes to clothing at school. Guys wearing weed socks on a daily basis has become habitual, but if a girl is seen wearing a pretty tank top, she is asked to cover up. How is that fair? “You can’t wear shirts with weed signs or show any gang member affiliations. The same rules apply to us [girls] as well. Only difference is, guys are not being told they can not wear certain shirts or shorts. There is no such thing as “cover up because it is distracting when it comes to guys,” said Ventura.

It has been drilled into the minds of people that a young lady should act and look a certain way, and she should be well acquainted with the type of reactions she may face based off of her looks and actions. We all know it’s unfair, but regardless, we still subconsciously commit the crime of judging; we jump to automatic conclusions on that girl, simply because of her appearance.

Social media has finally started to try and get a move on ending gender stereotyping for women of all ages. It is slowly beginning to make an impact on everyone. It is through our culture’s stereotypes that people are soon to cross this line, and the response so far has been mostly positive. Although people are starting to adapt to the new change, it irks me, along with many others, that we are told to act like ourselves, but if it’s out of the norm, we’re told to stop because it’s unacceptable. But the point is to learn to accept and celebrate change!

It is our job to put an end to stereotypes, so future generations will be able to fully explore and embrace themselves, without having to worry about ‘expectations’ they have to live up to, set by a one minded society.