Sexualization- The Negative Effects

            Living in a society that promotes the idea that a woman’s value comes only from her sexual appeal or behavior is horrible. I feel that this problem is much more common that many of us are aware of.  I have a story about a close friend that proves just how traumatizing sexual objectification can be.

            My friend always was confident with her appearance until she started high school. High school was a time when many of my friends changed in appearance and personality. The requirement to be beautiful and sexually desirable in high school determines your “popularity.” My friend took this to the extreme. She went from being a tom boy that liked to play sports and never wore makeup to a Barbie lookalike that wore short skirts and lots of makeup. This did get her the attention she wanted at school but with negative side effects. Boys called her all the time and she had many boyfriends, but they were all short term. The boys were using her because they thought she was “easy” by the way she dressed and acted. She had a new look and hung out with the popular crowd so she thought she had it all. After many relationships failed after short periods of time she was diagnosed with depression. Many of her “popular” friends were not there for her and she developed an eating disorder (anorexia nervosa). I was still there for her. I talked to her about her problems and assured her everything would get better. My friend eventually got help and stopped trying so hard to be the sexualized image of Barbie. After my friend stopped hanging out with the “popular” crowd and she went back to her beautiful, down to earth self.

            My friend did recover from anorexia nervosa but she is still scarred from everyone that used her. This just goes to show some people are only fair weather friends and you should be careful the way you present yourself to other people. You never know what might happen or how any situation turn out. I feel for so many girls that go through this same experience. Girls should be who they want to be without any outside pressures. Everyone should feel beautiful in their own skin.