It’s no secret. Women constantly alter their appearances. From a new lip color to going as far as surgical procedure. It happens we live in a generation of “now.” I want to be instantly famous because I get 100+ likes on my #Selfie, and I have acquired over 100k views on Youtube; therefore, I deserve your attention and credibility. Right?? Wrong. We sit down with 19 year old LaNia Roberts, who is known for being absolutely honest about self-image issues.
Sexualization of women and girls today
There’s no point in dissecting how people today have discarded the respect women in history have fought so hard for. The sexualization of women and girls today has reached new heights. The American Psychology Association (APA) formed a task force to examine this subject, and they found that
- A person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness (narrowly defined) with being sexy.
- A person is made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making
- A person’s value comes only from his or her appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics
American Psychology Association (APA) researched proved that women and girl are more likely than men and boys to be objectified and sexualized in a variety of media outlets. In fact, in magazine advertisements there is evidence that sexual objectification occurs more frequently for women than for men and that women are 3x more likely than men to be dressed in a sexually provocative manner.
Self-image and confidence
Unequivocally, self-image and confidence in youths today has been immensely damaged as a result. We are born a certain version, and we “elevate or inflate ourselves into version 2.0.” Lip service, cheek service, breast augmentation, eye brow lift, tummy tuck, butt job, liposuction. But why?
Why is hard for women to own up to their evil, deep, dark, insecurities? Is it a crime to acknowledge that, yes, I may not look my best most days because I’m lazy or, better yet, hurt? Let’s be honest with our ourselves. Why are we women so insecure? What are we competing against each other for exactly?
LaNia Roberts
Roberts, a Syracuse University Art student no longer takes the opinions of other into consideration. Instead she continues to create waves in her work and with her voice. Acknowledged by Huffington Post RISE, Cosmopolitan, and Daily Mail UK, Roberts is a motivational speaker and uses her paint brush to evoke thought provoking conversations on the acceptance and recognition of the beauty in all types of body images.
“I’m going to set that mark. I am going to become the definition of what beauty is.” – LaNia Roberts
What was her “aha!” moment? When did she decide to share her perception of beauty with the world?
There were two primary guys in LaNia Roberts’s life. One day, she decided to be honest with them and let them know how attractive they were. The first young man was her Resident Assistant at a previous school. One day towards the end of class she told him, “You’re the most beautiful man on campus.” According to Roberts this caught the gentleman off-guard, but much to her surprise, “He didn’t run away.” The second young man she had a crush on was code named “Hercules.” Not only did she share her interest with him, but she shared her time, her life, herself:
“I felt like I was giving away my confidence card through their acceptance of me. For example, say you have 10 confidence cards awarded to you, and you give 5 to your mom, 2 to your boyfriend, 3 to social media followers through images your post – in hopes that others are intrigued by you enough to award you with ‘likes’. Essentially, you’re giving away all of your confidence cards because you allow others to validate your every move and sometimes existence. As for me, I needed to take mine back.”
In middle school, Roberts was bullied based on her appearance by her fellow classmates.
“Throughout my sophomore year in high school, I lost about 50 pounds. I was eating right, I was working out, and I was doing what I needed to do to live a healthy lifestyle. Senior year, I gained it all back,” she said.
“I looked at myself in the mirror and cried. I would say to myself, ‘I love me, but I don’t like how I look.'”
Asked what advice she had for the thick girls that indulge in social media and want to be skinny, Roberts replied:
“Look in the mirror and appreciate what you have because it can be gone just like that. What do you think—you’re going to get more beautiful with time? You have to love yourself today; don’t wait for tomorrow. Why don’t you try to look at things you can change? Why not root for the things you can change, like loving others?”