MORE FROM HUFFPOST
MORE FROM HUFFPOST
teen-body-image
Sometimes I think about what I wish someone would have said to me at that age to lighten the burden of my poor self-image. Like, "Your worth is so much greater than your physical body", or, "You are such a hardworking student", or, "You are beautiful because of how you make other people feel".
Prom season is here and along with the dresses, shopping, corsages, and Instagramming also comes the not-so-pretty side of prom -- crash diets, higher risks for eating disorders, and fat-shaming.
Let's stop body shaming already, and embrace that we all have our own beauty. We don't need Sports Illustrated or anyone to give us permission to feel comfortable or sexy in any kind of bathing suit or clothing.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Having anorexia must be hell for those teenagers that have it, especially in the merciless and superficial world we live in today. However, it is also hard for the friends of those who have it, and it puts us in a quandary nearly every day.
I heard my mom asking the lady at the shop for something, anything for me, and she said, "I'm sorry, she's too big for the costumes we have here." But all I heard was: "She's too fat to be a princess."
My generation has grown up in a society that places an appalling emphasis on body image.
The media is slowly changing and now many unconventional beauties and ways of life are being recognized: non-skinny body shapes, curly and dark hair, bronze/darker skin tones, assertive women, non-aggressive men and many others.
We are the generation of social media, and we all look to each other to determine how we should be using it. For some weird reason, we all use it differently.
Good Chinese girls, after all, are supposed to be "guai" -- docile, obedient. I can remember being called "guai" from the time I was old enough to understand Chinese. Incidentally, that was around the same time I decided I wanted to be white.
