Carlie Schwaeber ’12
Web News Editor 

The “perfect body” can have a variety of definitions depending on different people, but the one thing that is certain is that a lot of teenage girls want this.

According to the National Institute on Media and the Family, at age thirteen, 53 percent of American girls are “unhappy with their bodies.” This grows to 78 percent by the time girls reach seventeen.

The four years that teenage girls experience in high school can be a very emotional and stressful time.  A small but meaningful comment like, “you look great,” might just be what a person needs to get through the day.  Unfortunately, if the idea of having a “perfect body image” spirals out of control, it could lead into more serious matters like eating disorders and depression.  Whether it is wanting to be skinny, wanting to not be so skinny, or just wanting to have a normal body weight, the definition of having a “perfect body image” varies.

“A lot of people who are already healthy see a body that’s not fit for them,”  said Alex Dulin ’10, who expressed her opinion on body image as a whole at Staples.

Dulin continued to explain that a person who is short and has a normal body weight might not be built to be super skinny; for them to look like a Barbie doll could be really dangerous.

The need to be “perfect” can become a very significant aspect of a high school student’s life. 

“Part of perfection is definitely body image.  There is a lot of vanity here,” furthered Dulin.

Sandra Dressler, a social worker at Staples, explained how a person’s body is just one aspect of who he or she is and how it is important for teenagers to focus on themselves as a whole rather than just their body.  She further continued about how with unnaturally skinny actors and actresses in the news, advertisements, and in magazines it becomes extremely hard to not want to look like them.

“The bottom line is…you can’t discount the media,” said Dressler. 

Famous celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, or Cameron Diaz are constantly in movies or on the web.  Many teenagers are fans of these celebrities, and even consider them to be role models. But, not everyone is naturally built to resemble them.

Yet, the constraint for the perfect look doesn’t only come from the media.  Friends and family have a major affect as well.  Statements such as, “you really had three cookies?” or, “you are so tall, how are you going to find a boyfriend your height?” could make a girl feel like they are not good enough as they are.  Statements such as, “that shirt is so gay” or,  “dude, you run slower than a girl,” could also make a boy feel like they are not good enough the way they are.  Even a skinny person who says, “I am so fat,” can make someone who is clearly heavier than them think, “well if they are fat, then I must be obese.” 

However, these comments may not be said to a persons’ face.

“I think it happens more behind people’s backs, but if that person finds out then they feel pretty awful and it just lowers their self-esteem,” said an anonymous sophomore girl at Staples.

This is when Dresslers’ job comes into play.  Part of her goal is to help students feel confident with themselves on the inside, so that they can feel self-assured on the outside. For people who do have a poor image of their body, she teaches how it is important for them to think about how they express themselves .

“Body image and how you present yourself to the world is more than just how you look, it is how you act and what kind of person you are,” said Dressler.

 No matter what kind of body a person has, Dressler, along with many other guidance counselors and socials workers are here to remind us that although maintaining a healthy body weight is important, the kind of person someone is shines through.