Like My Photo-by Lauren Barrett.

Lauren Barrett suffered with Anorexia after being bullied throughout her teenage years.

Today she writes in the Havering Daily about the pressures women feel in a society where they are expected to look perfect.

“I wonder how many likes I’ve got”. The question most teenagers are asking now. 

“That post has been up for two hours and only has like four likes. She should take it down”. 

Why should she take it down? Can you answer that question. Because I can. She shouldn’t take it down. The amount of likes you get on a picture isn’t what it’s all about. You cannot judge someone’s worth or appearance based on their likes.

The main question I want to ask. Why do you treat each-other this way? Why are you tearing each-other down instead of building each-other up? Is she not good enough? Is she not pretty enough? The answer to that question is yes. She is good enough. She is pretty enough. Because WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL. I personally believe the culprit to this is of course the society’s beauty standards. It’s the ideas the media puts into our heads of what beauty really is. But what most people don’t know is how photo shopped advertisements really are. 

Even your celebrity icons. For example Ariana Grande. Beyoncé. Yes they are beautiful. But when it comes to advertisement and magazines. They are so photoshopped. Why can’t we just see them as they are? Showing all their imperfections, whether that be spots or stretch marks. Cellulite or flab. Why is it so important to make women and young girls think that they should look like that no matter what. It is unrealistic and just unfair to the impressionable and vulnerable. ‘Normal people’ get spots. We have stretch marks. Our teeth may not be completely straight, we have thin hair. We have thick hair. We are skinny. We are thick. We are medium. WE ARE US. Stop trying to change us.