Flashback to the 80s, where being slim with a tiny waist was glorified. Big blonde hair and slim fit were the beauty standard of the day. Going into the 90s, that all changed. Bigger women with bigger figures became the standard. Sir Mix A Lot’s song “Baby Got Back” was the anthem for bigger women. From then to now, the situation has gotten better for teenage girls and boys when it comes to the subject of body acceptance.

Issues such as fat and skinny shaming are denounced, and everyone is starting to love themselves and one another, no matter their shape or size. Although this is true, insecurities are still there. Nowadays, with the ever growing popularity of makeup and PhotoShop, some girls seem to take it too far.

“I think that [with] beauty goals, a lot of people try too hard. People need to stick to being themselves. You’re only you once, and you’re made specially to be you,” Tiara Miranda (11) said.

Kim Nguyen (11) already knows how she wants to look.

“I’m comfortable in my own skin,” she said.

Boys are also susceptible to insecurities, just like girls. It just isn’t shown as much. Unlike Nguyen, senior Dillon McCormick feels differently.

“Of course I’d want another body,” he said. “I would like to be tall and muscular like the other guys are.”

So it seems that there’s a new issue in today’s society. Teenage girls are more confident with themselves, while boys are denouncing themselves quietly. It’s the boys’ turn to turn their confidence around and build themselves up.

It’s this generation’s job to become more confident in ourselves and realize that, in the words of Miranda, “You’re only you once.”