This commentary is in response to the article: “Going Skin Deep" posted below.
The article is about many teenage girls who are too obsessive about their looks and become too fixated on flaws in their appearance.
This occurrence arises due to several reasons.
Firstly, the media gives a very wrong impression about the over-importance of looks, as many popular and successful celebrities and idols are good-looking. This would lead to many teenagers trying to lose weight and doll themselves up to look better as they think that looks will bring them success and popularity. Moreover, they compare themselves to the celebrities, and use the celebrities as a standard for their looks, and thus naturally feel inferior, and start to focus too much on their flaws.
Secondly, peer influence is another factor. Many teenagers make fun of others who are ugly or fat, calling them names and ostracizing them. This would make teenagers want to avoid being fat or ugly, as no one would like to be called names such as ‘fatso’, and sometimes, may lead to certain disorders such as Anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder of a person who has a severe fear of gaining weight.
I completely agree with Miss Celeste Phua, Chairman of the Youth Advolution for Health, who said that "What is most important is taking good care of your body, not feeling bad about how you look." A person’s health is much more important than her looks. Living a healthy and long life as an ugly person, able to go out often and take part in many activities is much better than being a sickly person who is often stricken with illness in bed and dies young, yet looks pretty. Thus, teenagers should not put too much emphasis on their appearances to an extent that they would sacrifice their health to look good.
Moreover, looks are not all that matter. Looks do not last forever, age will soon catch up with a person and they will no longer look as pretty as they used to. A person’s character and upbringing is what truly matters. A person with good character and upbringing would still be more popular than a mean and selfish person, regardless of how much better-looking the latter is than the former. Would you rather have a good-looking friend that treats you like dirt or a friend whose looks are not so pretty but treats you with respect? I believe that the answer is obvious.
To conclude, I hope that teenagers will learn not to be too self-conscious about their looks, and learn to appreciate what truly matters most.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Personal Commentary Article
GOING SKIN DEEP
Section: In
By: TESSA WONG, ALFRED CHUA, RAJESH MISIR, MARK LIM, ERMA DZALIN
Publication: The Straits Times 05/03/2007
Page: 8,9
No. of words: 586
INDEPTH
THE BIG STORY THIS WEEK
TEENAGE GIRLS FACE PRESSURE MEETING IMPOSSIBLY HIGH STANDARDS IN LOOKS. TESSA WONG FINDS OUT WHY BEING FIXATED ON PHYSICAL FLAWS IS ANYTHING BUT HEALTHY
Nor Hidayah Zainudin, 15, is planning to have plastic surgery when she is older.
"I don't like my nose, it's too big. I wish it was as sharp as that of Hollywood stars," said the Secondary 4 student at Jurong West Secondary School, who has hated her nose since she was a lot younger.
She is not the only one. Too tall, too fat, too big-haired, too flat-nosed – all are worries of teenagers unhappy with their appearance.
The girls, that is.
A recent survey by skincare and toiletries company Dove found that up to 60 per cent of Singapore's teenage girls are unhappy with the way they look and their weight.
The study also revealed that one in five young Singaporean women would consider getting plastic surgery to alter their appearance.
Before she goes under the knife, Hidayah pinches her nose often to make it sharper, a habit she developed when she was 13 after gradually realising that "sharper noses look more beautiful".
While social worker Carol Balhetchet points out that it is natural for teenagers to feel self-conscious, being fixated on flaws is not.
"It becomes dangerous when girls get obsessive and start having false ideas of how they're supposed to look," said Dr Balhetchet, who is the director of the Youth Development Centre at the Singapore Children's Society.
It may be down to the fact that teens are constantly under pressure to conform to an impossibly high standard in looks.
"Nowadays the media advertises perfection in looks and fashion, and this does impact on a young person's vulnerable self-esteem and confidence," Dr Balhetchet said.
She added: "Many get their benchmark for looks from well-known celebrities and personalities and like to compare themselves to them."
But the very celebrity icons featured feel just as insecure.
The rail-thin star of TV's The Simple Life, Nicole Richie, has become the dubious poster child for eating disorders, while pop princess Britney Spears recently shaved her head and got tattoos in response to the pressures of constant fame.
The fashion industry, often blamed for glorifying feather-weight models, is beginning to wake up.
Still, it took a tragedy to make that happen.
Last December, Italy and Spain banned too-thin models from fashion catwalks after several models died from eating disorders.
Models now must have a healthy body-mass index and must be certified healthy by a doctor before taking to the catwalks.
Here in Singapore, the prevalence of girls with low self-esteem about their bodies has led to the launch of at least two new campaigns in the past two years to combat the problem.
Last month, Dove launched its Dove Self-Esteem Fund, whose main programme BodyTalk teaches girls to deal with negative feelings about their appearance.
Professional trainers tour secondary schools islandwide, including many girls' schools, to teach realistic standards of beauty through slideshows, videos and talks.
Meanwhile, Youth Advolution for Health (YAH), a group started in 2005 by the Health Promotion Board, is a student-run organisation that promotes a healthy lifestyle, by encouraging anti-smoking and loving one's body through various events.
Said the chairman of YAH, Miss Celeste Phua: "It's important that avenues exist for teenagers to share their worries about their bodies, and learn more about doing the right things to stay healthy.
"What is most important is taking good care of your body, not feeling bad about how you look."
Additional reporting by Erma Dzalin, Alfred Chua, Rajesh Misir and Mark Lim
Section: In
By: TESSA WONG, ALFRED CHUA, RAJESH MISIR, MARK LIM, ERMA DZALIN
Publication: The Straits Times 05/03/2007
Page: 8,9
No. of words: 586
INDEPTH
THE BIG STORY THIS WEEK
TEENAGE GIRLS FACE PRESSURE MEETING IMPOSSIBLY HIGH STANDARDS IN LOOKS. TESSA WONG FINDS OUT WHY BEING FIXATED ON PHYSICAL FLAWS IS ANYTHING BUT HEALTHY
Nor Hidayah Zainudin, 15, is planning to have plastic surgery when she is older.
"I don't like my nose, it's too big. I wish it was as sharp as that of Hollywood stars," said the Secondary 4 student at Jurong West Secondary School, who has hated her nose since she was a lot younger.
She is not the only one. Too tall, too fat, too big-haired, too flat-nosed – all are worries of teenagers unhappy with their appearance.
The girls, that is.
A recent survey by skincare and toiletries company Dove found that up to 60 per cent of Singapore's teenage girls are unhappy with the way they look and their weight.
The study also revealed that one in five young Singaporean women would consider getting plastic surgery to alter their appearance.
Before she goes under the knife, Hidayah pinches her nose often to make it sharper, a habit she developed when she was 13 after gradually realising that "sharper noses look more beautiful".
While social worker Carol Balhetchet points out that it is natural for teenagers to feel self-conscious, being fixated on flaws is not.
"It becomes dangerous when girls get obsessive and start having false ideas of how they're supposed to look," said Dr Balhetchet, who is the director of the Youth Development Centre at the Singapore Children's Society.
It may be down to the fact that teens are constantly under pressure to conform to an impossibly high standard in looks.
"Nowadays the media advertises perfection in looks and fashion, and this does impact on a young person's vulnerable self-esteem and confidence," Dr Balhetchet said.
She added: "Many get their benchmark for looks from well-known celebrities and personalities and like to compare themselves to them."
But the very celebrity icons featured feel just as insecure.
The rail-thin star of TV's The Simple Life, Nicole Richie, has become the dubious poster child for eating disorders, while pop princess Britney Spears recently shaved her head and got tattoos in response to the pressures of constant fame.
The fashion industry, often blamed for glorifying feather-weight models, is beginning to wake up.
Still, it took a tragedy to make that happen.
Last December, Italy and Spain banned too-thin models from fashion catwalks after several models died from eating disorders.
Models now must have a healthy body-mass index and must be certified healthy by a doctor before taking to the catwalks.
Here in Singapore, the prevalence of girls with low self-esteem about their bodies has led to the launch of at least two new campaigns in the past two years to combat the problem.
Last month, Dove launched its Dove Self-Esteem Fund, whose main programme BodyTalk teaches girls to deal with negative feelings about their appearance.
Professional trainers tour secondary schools islandwide, including many girls' schools, to teach realistic standards of beauty through slideshows, videos and talks.
Meanwhile, Youth Advolution for Health (YAH), a group started in 2005 by the Health Promotion Board, is a student-run organisation that promotes a healthy lifestyle, by encouraging anti-smoking and loving one's body through various events.
Said the chairman of YAH, Miss Celeste Phua: "It's important that avenues exist for teenagers to share their worries about their bodies, and learn more about doing the right things to stay healthy.
"What is most important is taking good care of your body, not feeling bad about how you look."
Additional reporting by Erma Dzalin, Alfred Chua, Rajesh Misir and Mark Lim
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)