Powerful poetry

I just wanted to share this video with you.

http://www.upworthy.com/watch-a-student-totally-nail-something-about-women-that-ive-been-trying-to-articulate-for-37-years-6?g=2&c=ufb1

Wow, this is powerful and sad because it is so true.  This is a powerful statement about what our society, our culture, teaches all of us what women are expected to be like.  We are expected to be beautiful and to be beautiful we have to be slender and have the perfect body.  Women (and some men) are constantly trying to figure out a miracle diet that allow us to "shrink" and "occupy less space." A diet that actually works, unlike the sneak-down-at-midnight-for-a-lowfat-yogurt diet.  I don't know about you, but I can relate to this poem a lot.  Women filter what we say, we choose things based on its lack of carbs, we debate about having another slice of pizza because we don't want to look like a pig and we don't want to gain weight.

She talks about how her mother passes down these qualities, obsessions, etc, but it isn't just our parents who pass this down to us.  It is the people around us. It is everyone, peers, teachers, bosses, friends, etc. who pass these to us.  What is acceptable?  What is the "ideal" person?  The photoshop models who can have imperfect bodies cloned away?  They stop being actual people when you digitally change them.  Why do women feel they have to grow in?  Why can't we just accept we all have different body types and try to aim to be as healthy as we can.  Why do people who see a woman with curves or "thick" assume she isn't trying to lose weight?  If she's happy with her body, why does she have to lose weight?  To please others?  It should be to please herself, yet we all seem to want to change our appearances for each other.  Why?  Why are people mean about another person's appearance?  So someone isn't as aesthetically appealing to you as someone else, but this is subjective.  Why do people have to state that to the person's face?  I read on facebook and other social media sites comments when a post is made about women body types.  So many of the comments are disrespectful and people look at our little profile pictures to get information about someone, so they can be disrespectful to specific people.  They can call someone fat who has called them out for being disrespectful because they classify the person in their profile picture as "thick."  Is that why we are on this earth: to treat other people like they are inferior? like they are garbage? like they don't have feelings?  No one is superior, and no one knows everyone else's story.  Don't judge a book by its cover.  Back to these concerns being passed down by her mother: parents have a lot of influence as to what their children believe to be right or wrong, healthy or unhealthy, acceptable or unacceptable.  Love your child and try to let them know that you want them to be healthy and to do what they enjoy doing before judging them.  Take care of them, teach them by practicing healthy habits (not just food, but in self esteem).