For whatever reason being a female comes with unwarranted and unrequested critiques of our physical appearance, which can come from strangers, family, friends, and ourselves. Why aren’t males subjected to such things?

By no means am I saying males aren’t criticized. I remember those “hair club for men” commercials and those ads for male enhancement drugs, but I am doubtful the criticism is to the extent of what we encounter as women.  It is unfortunate that there is an expectation of perfection when it comes to our appearance. How many commercials are aired about make-up and hair products? And what about those weight loss advertisements, and those “how to get bikini ready” magazine articles.

Don’t get me wrong – I like hair and make-up products. I have a growing list on one of my Pinterest boards. However, I wonder what kind of pressure these things put on females. Do they cause a sense of inadequacy and the desire to change?

Earlier today I read two articles that left me, well – befuddled. The first article is about Labiaplasty. I’m really not sure why I was so surprised to learn that there is an option to augment the labia for cosmetic purposes. Why? Are we so caught up in perfecting our appearance that we see a need to change the vajayjay?  I realize there is still a debate over whether to wax or not to wax, but plastic surgery on the girl? – come on.

I say I shouldn’t be surprised that labiaplasty is practiced because of the unnecessary coercion by society to be a certain way. We are shown images of how we should look and some of us succumb to it. It is true that full lips and a big booty are hot now, but when will that change? This brings me to the second article I read that is about Egyptian Anchors who were told to lose weight in order to keep their jobs.

I found it completely appalling to learn these women are being discriminated against because of their weight. How will weight loss make them better anchors? I doubt it would. It is all about how they look – are they aesthetically pleasing to the masses? The fact of the matter is, that we are different. We should not all look the same or behave the same simply because we are not the same. If we were all the same this world would be quite boring.

Until the next time, be you, and most importantly – love you.

Being uniquely you is being uniquely beautiful.

– B.B.