Nobody ever forgets high school. We all remember watching our bodies change in the mirror, feeling them grow and shift around us and waiting to grow into our adult selves.
But some people still feel awkward and uncomfortable with their bodies—even if they don’t talk about it. Negative body image leads to issues like social anxiety, low self-esteem, and often, depression.
We had sex education, but where was the body education?
Schools, especially high schools, have a responsibility to open a wider discussion on body image as part of education. Studies show that we are more critical of ourselves than others are of us, and an open discussion about body image at this important time of life could show youth that they are not alone in this feeling.
The media bombards youth with unrealistic expections of beauty. While some companies have been making an effort to show more realistic models in mainstream media, today’s kids need these ideas to be reinforced. They need to know that their peers, the people who they live with every day, are going through the same things they are.
Open discussions on puberty, media, and body image in high school classes have the potential to change and to possibly save lives.
