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As I was laying out to soak up the sunlight I knew that I was going to see women walking around in almost nothing and men flaunting their "cut" bodies, but I was still perturbed. I know I may sound bitter or jealous, but that's only because I am. Last I checked we were at a beach not a brothel, for goodness sakes.
As I have mentioned before, I have been going through some tribulations over losing weight. Going to the beach wasn't as relaxing as I had hoped. Sure my feelings were caused by my own insecurities and jealousy, but at the same time why do they [those that "look good"] feel the need to parade around?
I've noticed that when I see someone toned and slim, but know that they were once bigger and thus had to work hard to look as great as they do-then I don't feel jealous, but rather inspired. Maybe it is all my internal troubles that cause me to envy others, but for now we can just blame it on the "pretty ones."
P.S. Here is a link to nytimes' blog, where they ask for the opinions of thirteen year old+ students whether or not attractive people have advantages. The comments here offer good insight into what and how our youth feel about physical looks-very relevant to today's society.
Here is a link to huffington posts blog post about Perez Hilton's 'Transformation.'
Here's a funny aside about people on the beach in Myrtle Beach. My mother's friend has a condo there, and we used to go every year. At the condo pool about three years ago there were honest-to-goodness Amish/Mennonites on vacation, a mom and dad in their 50s (wearing hats and hair coverings and very modest bathing outfits, circa 1910), and 5 girls in their mid-teens. I guarantee you that they were *not* scantily clad! Everyone must love the beach...
ReplyDeleteI understand your stress here. But isn't a beach basically a place where people go "to sun," and they generally wear bathing suits? That just leads to the seeing of the flesh, right? And aren't there many more people who are exposing us to their bodies who aren't in great shape? The majority of the people I saw down there over spring break were not of the "fit" variety. A good 5-1.
So I wonder what that says about fitness in America, about weight "averages," and about the cult of envy. We all have it, right? No matter how much we lose, there's always somebody smaller, taller, who has better hair, etc. Do any psychology sources discuss the cult of perfection?