The Big Problem With Mainstream Media and Body Image

We spend our lives striving to achieve the perfection we see in the media but maybe we should start taking more stock in ourselves.
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In the eyes of modern media we're all imperfect creatures striving to feel better about ourselves. As Chris Oflyng says in the video above, "our heroes literally sell us our flaws, and we buy them with a smile on our face."

Just take one look at this Maybelline ad. In thirty seconds it mentions perfection three times.

It's fun to obsess over the lives of the rich and famous. It makes us feel important, it makes us feel included, and for many North Americans it makes us feel insecure.

We spend our lives striving to achieve the perfection we see in the media but maybe we should start taking more stock in ourselves. If we're left with striving to be vapid reality television stars, we're almost guaranteed to lose ourselves and our sense of security in the process.

Reality TV shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians offer a mutated idolization of beauty with huge chests, bulging muscles, big butts, and injected lips. None of these things are natural. It's a warped form of beauty shaped by many hands. Don't get caught up in it. It's sure to swallow you whole.

Love yourself. Challenge your conceptions of who and what the media wants you to be and embody your own weirdness in the best way possible. Don't let someone else decide who you should be, it's disheartening and destructive. Be your own idol and be humble. You'll be happier that way, we promise.

For more from Chris Oflyng subscribe to his YouTube channel, and follow him on Twitter.

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