[Poll] Do you feel that there is pressure on you to look good?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
81

<p>16 year old male. About 6’0’’ and 140 lbs. (According to my doctor, I’m not underweight.)</p>

<p>I do feel some pressure to look good, but I can’t imagine what it’s like for girls. </p>

<p>It really bothers me when people misuse the terms “anorexic” and “underweight.” Being thin (even if you aren’t underweight) does not make you anorexic. I get this a lot. People will say I’m anorexic even though I’m perfectly fine with my weight and don’t do anything to maintain it (good metabolism/genetics I guess).</p>

<p>I don’t know if this was posted already, but you can see if you are underweight, normal, overweight, or obese using this BMI calculator. </p>

<p>[Calculate</a> your BMI - Standard BMI Calculator](<a href=“http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/]Calculate”>http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/)</p>

82

<p>^ I need to gain 8 pounds to be “normal”</p>

<p>I once tried to gain weight… last summer my mom told me if I gained 10 pounds she would buy me a Fender Stratocaster for my birthday. I really wanted that Strat… and I couldn’t gain weight =(
She still got it for me though ! <3</p>

83

<p>@ Runningwriter</p>

<p>Oh my god. I feel the same way. I actually take offense to being called anorexic you know. Its just as bad as being called fat!</p>

84

<p>runningwriter: Same here.</p>

85

<p>Lmao Liverpool! My parents did something similar. They’d always buy junk food and take me to McDonalds when I was younger, hoping that I would gain weight. It never worked :)</p>

86

<p>I’m 5’8 145 pounds, which is a normal BMI but I still look really skinny.</p>

<p>oh yeah, 18 year old male and I have a massive farmer’s tan</p>

87

<p>I have a farmer’s tan too, though less than it used to be. I also have a very defined tan line around my ankle that I got on purpose but now regret.</p>

88

<p>i have a beeeeeeeeg farmers tan,… due to tennis…</p>

89

<p>16 yr old female
i’m not exactly sure were the pressure is coming from, but its definitely there. my body is naturally 5’9 and 120 lbs (which is unusual for my community). since i’ve always thought of my body and mind (different thought process, too focused on pleasing others, etc) as way different than others, it has been hard for me to deal with small things such as gaining weight. i’ve gained 10 lbs this past year! as much as i hated it at the time, i grew used to comments on my strange body structure. this doesn’t happen as often, and i worry that i’m losing who i am (even though i’m not)</p>

90

<p>male 18, 5’8’’ and 122 pounds, which is extremely skinny for a guy (although that’s just enough to fall into the Normal category according to BMI lol). So yeah there is pressure to look good, but contrary to most people on here, I am under pressure to gain, not lose weight ^^. </p>

<p>Mostly it comes from myself and my peers I think, but I don’t let it control my attitude and my life. I have a pretty active lifestyle, so I don’t spend half an hour everyday in front of the mirror, and I don’t comb my hair - that’s why I always keep a short and tidy hairstyle, which requires minimum maintenance (although that doesn’t mean I don’t wash my hair often lol. I shower twice a day). I’m not obsessed with dressing in the best clothes I have whenever in public. In fact, I go out with what I wear at home all the time. Sometimes I go to school in what people may call lame-o outfits, my friends would laugh at me and we would all make jokes about that (it’s funny and I’m not offended at all lol). I run and exercise/ work out everyday although I know it’s not gonna help me gain weight, because I just like to stay healthy. I feel good about myself because I know I’m indeed healthier and stronger than many of my fitter-looking guy friends, although it doesn’t look that way. </p>

<p>I’ve been around 120-122 pounds for about 2-3 years :D. My parents and I both want me to gain at least 20 pounds, but somehow I don’t usually feel really hungry. Plus, my mom, to be honest, is not a very good cook and the food gets old pretty quickly.</p>

<p>Regarding girls feeling pressure to look good, yeah attractiveness is almost always what guys notice first when looking at girls I think. Attractiveness is a factor (and to be brutally honest, a pretty big one :smiley: admit it, who doesn’t want your gf to be pretty?), but I agree that it’s ridiculous and immature to judge a girl base on that, like when some guy sees a girl and acts like “ugh she’s a ghost,” then crosses her off his “targets” list. I try to talk to and treat every one of my female friends the same way. </p>

<p>Bottom line is: there are immature guys out there, but to echo what someone said earlier, don’t blame them and the media for everything. Eventually it’s your own decision whether you’d rather be confident with your body and be what you want to be, or let others influence the way you live your life. I do feel it’s not that guys have that much less pressure to look good, it’s the way guys deal with the pressure that help them be less self-conscious. Girls who are confident and have positive self-images, regardless of how attractive they are, will be 2x more attractive in guys’ eyes.</p>

91

<p>Female, 18, 6’ even, 142 lbs. I am not super skinny, but am athletic. I am VERY much a tomboy and have always been super involved in sports (mainly coed) so beauty was never a big thing growing up. On a team, you don’t wear make up and if you dress pretty to play, well, quite simply, no one wants to play ball with you.</p>

<p>Do I feel pressure to look good? Absolutely, but I couldn’t give a rat’s bottom. The only make up I own is from 12 years of dance. I was blessed with pretty colored eyes (they’re a strange blue-green) and pretty hair (or so I’ve been told) that I keep long. I never do anything with it. I wear baggy clothes and jeans, so people rarely see any skin. </p>

<p>Has it hindered my social life at all? Absolutely not. I have had the same boyfriend for three years, but I still get asked out all the time by girls and guys (yes, I’m bi) who don’t know I have a boyfriend.</p>

<p>I dislike people that wear too much makeup and constantly want to tell people to wash that crap off their faces. You don’t need to hide who you are under fake crap. Being comfortable with yourself makes you more attractive than any artificial gunk ever could.</p>

92

<p>^ I disagree. I wear makeup almost everyday, and I don’t think of it as fake crap. Although I don’t wear ALOT of makeup. The secret to wearing makeup is to make it look natural, so thats how I wear it. I don’t wear silver sparkles around my eyes or anything like that.
But what makes you think that girls are hiding under their makeup? Couldn’t it be a way of expressing who you are?</p>

93

<p>^makeup is fun</p>

94

<p>Haha I’m hella fatter than anyone here…
5’9" and 155 lawl
Eh who cares…? I got a boyfriend for two years so I don’t care about impressing anyone</p>

95

<p>Liverpool, I said TOO MUCH make up.</p>

96

<p>still think makeup is fun</p>

97

<p>@ INVENIAMVIAM: You’re right, you do look pretty good.</p>

98

<p>makeup is fun! i don’t wear anything over-the-top…really sheer foundation&powder, minimal blush, “egyptian” colored eyeliner, eyeshadow (neutrals, a medium brown and a cream), mascara, and a little lipgloss. and coverup if i need it. and my glasses.</p>

99

<p>I agree w/ “Makeup is fun!” </p>

<p>Most of the time, I use natural tones/no makeup except a little bit of mascara, but sometimes I wear sparkly eyeliner/shadow and brightly-colored stuff, even though my ex didn’t like it and my current bf is indifferent, because I find it artsy and fun. I definitely don’t do it for the approval of others – I just find it a mode of self-expression, like clothes.</p>

100

<p>^ Yeah, I know what you mean with TOO MUCH. My older sister spends like $100 on makeup a month (she only buys her makeup at lancome and estee lauder and the expensicve places) and she wears WAY TOO MUCH. It looks good, but I always tell her to lighten the load. </p>

<p>But sometimes I let her do my makeup when my friends are over, she definately is the best person to give you a cool makeover =) (but make sure you dont go out in public;) )</p>