by Hanny A

Created on: May 25, 2009   Last Updated: February 20, 2010

Why is the mirror an enemy to our body image?

The media has created our minds to subconsciously think that we are not beautiful, but we only think that we are not beautiful. Compared to models and actresses in magazines, who have been airbrushed and have the best facilities that money can buy in terms of fitness programs/instructors and cosmetic surgery, it is not surprising many of us look at the mirror as our enemy.

Why is it that we all want to wake up in the morning and see perfection, the modelesque figure and beautiful features? The media has conveyed that beauty is flawless and if one isn’t flawless they are not beautiful. The mirror shows us our reflection and one chooses what to perceive in that reflection, picking out the positives or the negatives. The mirror is our body reflection, but the reason why some may see it as an enemy is the constant remind that they do not look like those in magazines and in the media.

An anorexic person would look into a mirror and despise themselves. They'd think how they wish they were smaller. Nevertheless everybody else sees them as too small, sickly thin. On the other hand they are still striving to be thin. The idea of thin in their minds has been warped, manipulated in ways we cannot even begin to describe. What is the body they want to have? When will they be thin enough? The mirror will be their worst enemy, egging on for them to become even thinner until it is just too late.

Though imagine a world where you could see yourself through your loved ones eyes, where they'd love you no matter what your imperfection or your flaws were. Everyone would see themselves as a beautiful goddess. No one then would strive to be beautiful because our loved ones look past all our flaws, our imperfections, they perceive us to be beautiful. They will show us what we look at from our hearts, from the way we act.

Where did the idea of what is beautiful start anyway? One can argue that is the media, though the media portrays to us what we want to hear and see. We are the customers, the ones who purchase the magazines and hair products that claim to make your hair as smooth as silk. What we want to see and hear is dictated and then followed by the media and they’ve taken it by stride and knowing that it affects too many individuals. So much so that even when something is not true, we perceive it to be true.

Sometimes one will look in the mirror one day, feeling utterly content. Another day, one would hate what they see. The mirror can be our sole enemy or our best friend. This is probably why it is so dangerous. Your best friend knows a lot about you; your best friend may be the one who has the power to hurt you the most.

The mirror also has that power, however much we try not to hand it over to them. We have no control over it; it is something we just must accept. We should try to remember that a mirror truly does have no feelings, it is a reflection of who we are, who we are all determined to become.

Just picture in your minds that one day there would be a mirror that would show us perfection. Just what would that mirror illustrate to us? Would it be an enemy or a best friend? What is truly better, the truth or a lie?

We create the mirror as a foe because we want it not to display our imperfections. We may love ourselves one day yet despise ourselves the next. This is the cycle that society takes.

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