Instead of people standing up and saying, "Screw standards. Be happy and healthy." The culture is once again setting a standard for beauty: women with ripped bodies. This is much better than the previous rail thin girl that is impossible to attain unless you are genetically built little, but still this new standard is wrong (in my opinion). Yes, these women are beautiful and should be applauded for their discipline and ability to stack on the muscle, but a lot of the time the women on the stage and covers reach that point at a cost to their health.
Many of these women follow strict diets that cut out carbs (besides those in vegetables and fruits) and some even cut out FRUIT (because there are sugars and carbs). Some of these extreme women in the bodybuilding arena will stop showering and brushing their teeth (no I'm not joking) in order to get that extra lean and "cut" look before they hit the stage or step in front of the camera lens. Now I'm not baggin on everyone in the industry, but rather the ones that are taking it to the extreme in an unhealthy way. Girls will once again look at this and think they need to have cut muscles and deep six pack. They will punish themselves if they don't see those appear. How do I know this? Because I've already seen it talked about in the locker rooms and in the hallways of my college.
Unfortunately, standards will exist as long as we let them. So why don't we decide that healthy is the new standard?? To eat the right foods (vegetables, fruit, eggs, fish, meat, etc.) in the right amount for our physical goals whether it's a triathlon, a sport, a marathon, or just be able to do a push up by yourself. If you do that your body will naturally fall where it should be- happy and healthy. We all need to stop comparing ourselves to ANYONE else because we are not taking the same journey as anyone around us.
I wonder if people realize that the original "paleo" women were not ripped low body fat women. There natural body fat was closer to 20-25% BF because they were more worried about carrying on the species than having the same six pack as the other women in their tribe. Most women can't bear children if their body fat percentage is lower than 15%. Women should use these women of the past and role models, like Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn, not because of her curvacious body because that would just be another standard, but because she didn't give a damn what others thought about her curves. She was healthy, independant, and owned her body with pride. That is why I use her as a role model. I will never have her curves, but you bet your a$$ I will love my body just as much as she loved hers. Yes, men and women loved her because of her curves, but do you think there's a HUGE art piece in Chicago because of her curves?! Hell no! It's because she was a bad a$$ broad who stood up for what she believed in and didn't give a damn if others didn't like her.
So who else is with me? I may never have cut arms or chiseled abs, but I'm okay with that because my body has done SO MANY amazing things other than that. It's crossed 4 marathon lines, 2 half marathon lines, sprinted for too many soccer games to count, danced for years, and lifted like a beast! So screw you standards..I've made my own and I couldn't be happier :)
