Overnight Celebrity

In a culture that is obsessed with celebrities, it's not hard to see why the pursuit of physical perfection is so prevelant (how's that for alliteration!). All cultures have standards of beauty, and none of them exactly mirror another, but America's standards are chock-full of contradiction. Big breasted hourglass figures are supposedly the most sought after, but the vast majority of models are pin thin with chests that rival that of a 6th grade boy. And there is nothing wrong with that (as long as this body type is natural and not the effect of starvation or disordered eating), but it does send mixed signals to the impressionable females of the younger generation. Not enough is being done to promote healthy body image. Instead, we're all trying to look like famous people-an elite group that is fortunate enough to be able to afford weekly facials, massages, waxes, dyejobs, boobjobs, manicures, pedicures, botox, bleachings, and other enhancing procedures. Celebrities make their money based on their appearance, and they understandably want to stall the aging process in order to continue to be relevant in an industry where youth is everything. But those of us whose incomes do not depend on our lack of wrinkles don't have to subject ourselves to such procedures, we do it as a result of sheer vanity. The amusing (or not so amusing, depending on how you interpret it) thing is, the vast majority of our country is overweight. Meaning, we're a country of fat people who covet the looks of slim people who can afford to keep up their youthful appearances. We're obsessed with this idea of perfection, but not interested in putting in the work to attain it. We want to join prestigious gyms, but not actually go to them. We want to eat a supersize BigMac meal a few times a week, but are baffled by the fact that we aren't getting any thinner. We spent millions of dollars a year on diet pills that we should KNOW do not work, because if they did, no one would be fat. Women spend thousands of dollars a year to change their hair color, buy makeup to cover their skin, enhance their eyes, contour their cheeks, plump their lips. But going too far has disasterous results. We've all seen the 40-something woman walking through the mall wearing what seems like her teenage daughter's skinny jeans and Ugg boots, while carrying a Mochaccino and texting on her iPhone. And what do we do when we see this? Fall over each other to admire her beauty? No. Usually, we snigger as she walks by, because in her attempt to turn back the clock, she has actually made herself stand out as someone who is, well, attempting to turn back the clock. There's a fine line between looking youthful and vital and trying too hard. Perhaps it's time to start teaching the youth that exercise and eating right should be the foundation for a healthy and beautiful body, and that it isn't always necessary to smother ourselves with products that drastically alter our appearance. We don't all need to look famous. We need to look like ourselves. We just need to be willing to put in the work to make it the best version of ourselves we can be-without the nips and tucks.