I'll be honest - I suffered with body dysmorphic disorder for years. My self-perception was so off that I really thought I was much heavier than I truly was and much uglier than I truly was. You see yourself as very ugly and not the way you really look. You could stare in the mirror for hours, focusing on 'flaws.' You stay inside in isolation and avoidance, missing school or cancelling events, from anxiety based upon your appearances. You have very low self-esteem, you are depressed, you may suffer from social phobia and anxiety attacks. I had all of that and severely. It took me so long to build myself again and to develop confidence. I think it's okay to strive to be more beautiful (I believe all women are beautiful initially) and to take care of yourself, as long as you do so in a healthy manner.

To the media, yes, there can be pressure - but you have to be strong and realize that who you are is more important than who "they" tell you to be.

~~Mary~~

My ideal beauty is somewhat different from that which media portrays, and instead more of what people prefer.

For women, I like a short frame, pale skin, dark or vibrant red (not orange!) hair. Big hands with long, thin fingers, extremely tiny waist and large hips with a round ass. Small rib cage and narrow shoulders, with large natural breasts. Long legs (relative to frame, not necessarily relative to anyone else), and bright green eyes. Oh, and thick lips! That would be awesome.

For men, broad shoulders, tall(!), facial hair, short dark hair, medium-to-dark skin. Arms proportionally big relative to torso (no scrawny torso with huge hulking arms, or vice versa). Amazing abs (!) Narrow hips. Round ass. Strong legs. Large hands! Thick lips, and bright green or brown eyes. Oh, and a nice penis.

As that child matures sexually, she will look around to see if she is "pretty" in relation to the other girls.  There's no stopping it, just if she becomes confused and jumps into fire.

Females between 17 - 30 make healthier babies.  That's why males are attracted to them.  More productive males tend to be able to provide for their offspring/ have a higher quality potential. It's evolution.   

Some girls really do look like that naturally.  I sat next to a model on a plane that seemed insecure about her beauty, and I was like, why would you be?  I mean she was kind'of dumb, and she wasn't being rude at all.  It's just like, some people get lucky while others do not.  //Sigh

It seems like you are trying to tell that 13 year old that she needs to be more like you, does she?  Are you insecure?  Let me help you feel better... go into a drawer and pull a picture of yourself from 5 years or so ago.  You will notice that you were a lot prettier than you thought you were and that you are prettier now than you realize :)  You have to work with your own beauty.  That is, if you care.  The girls on the covers seem to sell themselves and fade quickly. They work for the cover, clothes, school and evolution.  It's a serious job, apparently.  Do you really need to put that much effort forth every day? Do you like the taste of cotton balls? 

I don't think anyone's ugly. Everyone has a different view of beauty. I overcame bulimia, which I was from the ages of 16-20 (i'm 22 now). I used to throw up 9-11 times a day, and now i've thrown up probably 4 times this entire year (january-november; not too bad! :D).

I'm still struggling.

i have struggled with anorexia and i think the media is 100% what causes these kind of issues. It sets (dangerously) thin as the standard of beautiful in everyone's mind. When everyone around you reinforces the ideal image that the media produces; it hard not to give in especially at a young, impressionable age.

Yup.
I've been through that.
Since being away at University, i've really come to love myself. but my self-doubt and anxiety has transfered into relationships instead of worrying about what I look like.
I'm still working on it

I think that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Though I do get pissed off when people say that real women are curvy. I am a naturally skinny girl. I did not go on diets to be like this.

I love curvy women, though. Which is why when it comes to pressure from the media, I actually want to gain weight. But we should love ourselves for what we really are. I cannot be bothered changing myself anymore. It gets tiring.

That picture of Eva Mendes - it's airbrushed but she IS beautiful, nevertheless. Not because she is thin, but like I said, beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

The media plays such a HUGE role in self perception. In a psychological study, girls were given a short time to look at magazines. I can't remember the exact duration, but it was short. Based on their responses on a questionnaire before and after looking through the magazines, their self esteem had decreased quite a bit.

It's hard to believe that you are beautiful when all you see around you is what you aren't. I have struggled with my body and self esteem quite a bit growing up. Now I can see the beauty in the mirror, but before I couldn't. I never had problems with eating disorders, but I could have been a good candidate had other things in my life been different. A lot of what the problem is that we have a "perfect" image drilled into our heads. We end up wanting to look like that "perfect" girl. Since "perfect" is far from unattainable, we can do nothing else than fail. This then keeps the vicious cycle of trying to reach "perfect" going.

One of the most important things I have learned over time is to embrace what you have. Whether you are small, large, short, tall.. someone out there envies you. Someone out there wants what you have. Maybe it's another girl who wishes to look as good as you, or a guy who sees the true beauty in your figure.

Not all guys like a skinny girl. My boyfriend is good proof of that. I'm a size 14 in jeans, but many people say I don't look it. Whether or not I do, my boyfriend thinks I am beyond sexy. The next guy might prefer a smaller more fit body shape than mine, which is fine. Everyone has their own idea of what beauty is, and despite what the media may portray, everyone is beautiful. What can make or break that is your confidence. Being confident can only enhance your beauty.

So be confident! :D

media like magazines play a big influence on what people specially teens perceive to be beautiful, not just by the pictures they put but also by the contents they publish, we read about articles on how to be thin - thinner, or what are the star's diet regimen, etc. , and these seem to imply you have to be thinner, --otherwise would be undesirable. we as readers have to know better. my idea of beauty is whatever that makes the lips smile, whatever that makes the thoughts happy.

Thin girls get their share too. I've never past a size 0 and have always been picked on for being thin. I think people of all sizes should be happy when themselves as long as they are healthy. Being too thin isn't healthy nor is being a fatass. 

"...whereas being thin like the girls she sees in magazines is God playing Russian Roulette with metabolism"

^ hahaha

nicely put xP

@hUoNgIeFeR@xanga -  yesss i agree. most people don't understand that gaining weight is difficult as much as losing is. it took me 2 years to gain 20 pounds and it was easily dropped last month.