America the Beautiful

Although I didn’t see the entire film, what I did see of “America the Beautiful” was still very eye-opening to me. I believe that Gerren Taylor’s story is just one of many that represent the harsh feedback that many models and celebrities receive. I remember being about six years old and always looking up to my babysitter, Kim. I thought she was so pretty and she was always so fun and nice to my sisters and me. One day, I overheard her telling my mom that a modeling agency had asked her to model for their company. Kim had agreed to try it, but when she had gone for her first appointment, they had told her she would need to cut her hair and go down two pant sizes in order to model for them. I remember being astonished that anyone would ever say such a thing to a young woman I had always thought was beautiful. While Kim had stood her ground and said no, I know that many girls in today’s society would have taken this advice more personally, thinking that they were overweight and not pretty enough, just as Gerren Taylor may have thought. Gerren Taylor’s story shows how much the modeling world can truly damage girls self-esteem. As a young woman in contemporary American society, I see the impact of society’s views on beauty on my friends and classmates. I’ve witnessed multiple friends of mine point to girls in magazines—who I thought were way too stick-thin—and say things like, “She’s so pretty. I wish I had her body.” When we are constantly seeing stick-thin, photo-enhanced, professionally done-up pictures of celebrities and models portray the image of “beautiful,” it is hard for any of us girls to see true beauty in ourselves. And once girls start to think they are not pretty enough, their confidence and outlook on life immediately changes. I think all girls my age should visit the America the Beautiful website at "http://americathebeautifuldoc.com/original/". I think that there should be more inspiring, informative movies like “America the Beautiful” in order to instill confidence and better self-esteem in young woman living in today’s American society so that all girls know that they are beautiful just they way they are.