In the second part of this candid essay, I focus on the battle to reclaim one’s image. 

Women’s bodies are warped through editing and dissected in tabloids to the point where people have become unable to recognize a real body. Take the recent invasion of teenage singer Billie Eilish’s privacy for example. The enormously popular 18-year-old is always pictured in baggy and oversized clothing because she wants people to focus on her music and not her figure. Yet, recent paparazzi photos sparked a media whirlwind when the singer was photographed running errands in a tank top. Despite her wishes, her body immediately became the topic of intense internet scrutiny as online critics felt the need to dictate their opinions of her figure. Why has this kind of behavior become acceptable?

Invasion of Opinions

The treatment of Eilish and the intense body-shaming she received for merely existing in her body is not only disturbing but reveals a deeply damaging mindset. People have become so conditioned to see images of highly edited bodies that when they see a perfectly normal figure, they attack it with shock and shame. One person went so far as to use the photo as inspiration for publishing an article about the dangers of obesity for young people. This happens to be an outrageous parallel because Eilish is in no way overweight. But if she was, why should her weight be the focus of any online article?

To further add insult, some publications posted the ultimate backhanded praise by dubbing the teenager “brave” for her appearance. It’s not brave to wear a tank top while running errands. It’s also not necessary to share damaging opinions on weight and image. People post all sorts of helpful or supportive comments that only serve to dissect one’s image in the quest to conform to a very narrow view of beauty.

For instance, a disturbing trend on Instagram involves people editing photos of already beautiful celebrities to fit them with more modern makeup. Imagine how bizarre it would be to see an image of yourself tweaked by someone else to represent their idea of beauty. The alarming part about these highly popular edits is that every face ends up looking uncannily similar, revealing a very narrow view of beauty. Such depictions become even more problematic when people of color are edited to have traditionally white features and individually unique appearances are shaved down to conform to cookie-cutter copies.

What sense of entitlement causes people to think that their beauty ideals should affect how someone should appear? People, no matter their level of fame, don’t exist to fit someone’s exact requirements for beauty. How pompous have we become to think that our opinions of someone’s body should dictate how it looks?

Sexualizing Female Figures

Furthermore, many women experience an unjust sexualization of their bodies online and in real life. If you’re comfortable with being a sexual person, that is awesome. You can own a sexy look and be confident in who you are. Being open with your sexuality doesn’t mean that you warrant any harassment, crude comments, insults, or threats of sexual violence. However, there are cases when people are sexualized without their consent.

Many women are thrust into a sexual spotlight by merely existing. Take the tabloid The Daily Mail. A celebrity can be photographed just walking to the store or the gym, but the caption will read that she is flaunting her curves or showing off her ample assets. Again, this situation traces back to Eilish’s body being dissected and sexualized merely because she has breasts.

What becomes even more abhorrent is when children and teenagers are sexualized. People have bodies. Girls can develop breasts at a young age. But the female body doesn’t exist to be an object of purely sexual speculation. That’s why it’s so violating when grainy shots of topless celebrities relaxing on vacation are published or when personal devices get hacked and intimate images are posted online for sexual pleasure or shaming purposes.

One doesn’t even have to be a celebrity to be a victim of revenge porn postings. Yet, somehow it is always the person in the photos who is blamed for taking the photo in the first place and not the poster who is violating an individual and sharing a private, intimate moment. What kind of warped misogynistic thinking have we come to normalize?

Theft of Image

We’ve arrived at the point where people, like model Emily Ratajkowski, have to fight to reclaim their image. Ratajkowski has been forced to do so in numerous instances throughout her career. Not only was the model sued for posting photographs of herself taken by paparazzi (without her consent), but she then had to face a photographer profiting off of publishing nude photos of her (again without her consent.)

Because Ratajkowski had already posed nude in photoshoots and appeared naked in a music video, some people thought it was okay for the private photos she had posed for to be released. However, they failed to grasp the violation she experienced by having intimate and private photos not only made public but used for someone else to profit off of. Such experiences show just how far the media and individuals can go to invade one’s life and try to claim proprietary action over someone else’s body.

Stealing someone’s image and posting it online is far from a victimless crime. Regardless of the photos Ratajkowski posed for in the past, having her private photos shared without her consent was a dehumanizing experience. The model had to buy back her images on multiple occasions and fight to retain her ground during repeat instances of being sexualized and reduced because of her appearance. A woman should not have to choose between being a sexual figure and being respected, and women should not have to live in fear of exploitation and image theft.

Closing Words

The battle to normalize and celebrate the body is met with friction at every step due to a constant barrage of criticism. The female body does not exist to be dissected. Women are not sluts for showing skin. Having breasts doesn’t mean a person deserves to be sexualized or harassed. Just because someone takes a sexy photo does not mean it can be posted online without consent. It is not harmless to comment criticisms about people’s appearances online.

When it comes down to it, every little insult is part of the problem, because each dig reinforces expectations about how women should appear and how it is okay to treat them due to their appearance. We have no choice but to exist in our bodies. But this shouldn’t be a punishment; it should be a celebration. People need to stop contributing to a world where women feel targeted for existing in their skin or the need to conform to specific beauty standards because it is demanded from them. It’s time we start to normalize real bodies, accept people for how they wish to be, and stop scrutinizing other people’s appearances.