If People Were Honest About Women's Bodies

I don't realize that what I think is
a compliment about your weight

actually makes you feel anxious,
insecure, and watched.

(air whipping, creaking noise as "BuzzFeed
presents" appears)

(music playing softly)

I'm looking you up and down because
I've been socialized

to judge other women and
take advantage of that.

I'm worried that if you don't have a
perfect body

people are going to think
that I'm a bad mom.

Literally everything that I don't like
about the way you look

is a projection of what I don't
like about myself.

I don't value your personality nearly as
much as I value your breasts.

I'm going to tell you your butt
looks great in that

even though no one really knows
what a good butt looks like.

I've never had a healthy relationship
with food.

And that's really going to fuck you up

I make comments about your weight because
I make snap judgements about what it means

when really I have no idea what's going on
in your life.

I'm uncomfortable with people of different
shapes and sizes but I'm not really sure why.

I accept the fact that our beauty standards
are based entirely on photoshop.

I'm going to tell you that everything here
is really slimming on you so that you shop

here over and over and over again.

I don't lift weights because I've been
conditioned to think that looking

beautiful and feminine means not looking
strong.

I think your life will be easier if you're
thin.

So I'm going to try to encourage that
from a very young age.

This dress will look good on literally
any body type but the smaller sizes

look better on the rack so we keep
everything else in back.

I don't like the fact that you are not
conforming to a misogynistic ideal of

female beauty. And I can't think beyond
that.

I criticize skinny girls to cover up the
fact that I'm actually really concerned

about my own weight.

I'm putting my own issues on you when I'm
completely unaware of the damage that

I'm doing.

I'm going to tell you that this covers up
your flaws. You don't really have any

but I work on commission so I need you
to buy this.

I've been conditioned to be critical of
myself and use self-deprecation as a

coverup so people don't think I'm
conceited.

But the truth is, I look amazing.

Mannequins are all the same size even
though none of us are.