In response to Shannon Cutts: Beauty Sickness- Do You Have It?

Shannon Cutts responds to a YouTube video called “An Epidemic of Beauty Sickness.” In the YouTube video Renee says “Beauty is not just desirable, it is also rare.” Our culture and society is so focused on the idea that “thin is better.” Girls today put themselves through so much unnecessary pain, discomfort, and health risks for an unrealistic image of what you are “supposed” to look like. Women today spend too much time worrying about their looks rather than how smart and beautiful they really are. Renee said a statistic that “54% of women would rather be hit by a truck than be fat.” This just shows how powerful the image of beauty really is, being skinny is the new way to be pretty. 

Over 1.5 million plastic surgeries were performed in the last year and 1.3 million of the surgeries were done on women. Altering your body because other people think beautiful looks like a certain image is stupid in my opinion. We are all made to be different for a reason and we are all beautiful in our own skin. “Beautiful is the most important, most powerful thing a girl or woman can be.” Being beautiful and owning your own body is so powerful and sends such a great image to other women who worry about their body image. Over-exposure to images of skinny women in bathing suits or underwear in the media causes women to have increased depression and decreased self-esteem. We ask too many questions about ourselves because we are too focused on the ideas of what the media shows what women should look like.

Shannon says that she still struggles to put down the mirror, that affects her ability to experience and enjoy life. She believes she has this beauty sickness and is still recovering from eating disorders. Eating disorders are a major problem among women today. Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating are the eating disorders found among young women today. Women don’t feel comfortable in their own skin so they resort to not eating or vomiting after they eat to make themselves feel skinnier. You can always eat a piece of fruit instead of that bag of chips. Or you can take the stairs instead of going up the elevator at work. Go for a walk instead of watching TV. There are so many different ways to get to a better body image rather than starving yourself or making yourself vomit after every meal.

Shannon says “I am not going to stop striving for freedom from beauty sickness, because the quality of life I want to live requires it.” This shows just how important it is to Shannon to feel comfortable in her own body because she wants to stop worrying about the way other people perceive her. This is so important because we should not care what other people think about the way that we look. If we are not perfect in someone else’s eyes then that person is not an important asset to your life. People are never going to stop being judgmental so you can’t always worry about what everyone else thinks of you at every waking second of the day. Shannon took Renee’s advice and tried to do things that wouldn't lower her self-esteem such as purchasing reading magazines with models and celebrities on them. Shannon is also finding other ways to praise her niece and nephew other than the way they look or how they are dressed so they aren't worried about how they look starting at such a young age.

I believe that what Shannon is doing is the best way to go about her struggle with her body image. She is taking her negative feelings about her body and taking away the temptations of reading magazines, and instead telling herself that she is beautiful and the only people she needs in her life are the people that believe she is beautiful too. By focusing her niece and nephew’s attention on things other than their appearance, Shannon is improving their self-esteem at a young age by telling them how smart and creative they are instead of how beautiful or handsome they look.