Ragne’s Abyss

A look into my mind and an entrance to my soul.

“Language alone protects us from the scariness of things with no names”

Toni Morrison

For Business Inquiries, Here’s my contact information:

sumeragneg@gmail.com

Ragne's Abyss

A look into my mind and an understanding of my soul.

recent posts

    • Transform Your Self-Care Routine: Go Beyond Social Media Trends

      Sumeragne
      Photo from Pinterest

      Self-care is horribly portrayed on social media. The entirety of self-care and self-improvement videos on TikTok are just girls doing their skincare, drinking water, or walking on a treadmill. Though all of these things are great, essential even for a smoother day, they aren’t what help you transform into your best self. They’re simply parts of a routine, they themselves won’t develop you as an individual. It kills me that I rarely see any videos on how to truly “glow-up”. Instead the videos are just showing the Pinterest aesthetics of self-care. It’s all just eye candy–for views because people enjoy watching others indulge in healthy habits. I myself enjoy watching others do healthy habits while in bed. The videos can be used as motivation, yes–but oftentimes, it’s just entertainment. 

       There are stepping stones that need to be placed to achieve the goals that you want. So, the routine you found on TikTok isn’t going to work. Routines should be catered to your personal needs and your personal goals. So, how does one work towards being their best self? By creating a personal routine, incorporating discipline, doing mental and physical activities, and allowing yourself grace. Let’s talk about it. 

      Photo from Pinterest

      Creating a personal routine

      Creating a routine personal to you can be hard and time-consuming. You have to curate a list of things that you need to do daily, set a time for when you’re going to do it, and actually follow through with it. I’ve failed on countless occasions. But, every time that I had failed when it came to routine was when I created a routine that wasn’t tailored to me. I would often use the routines of others that I found on TikTok or Pinterest. 

      I would use other’s gym routines because I wanted their body, other’s morning routines because I wanted my morning to look like theirs, so on and so forth. Though there isn’t anything inherently bad about using someone else routine, it can easily become draining chasing someone else. Not every routine is for you. It’s just like skincare–someone’s skincare routine may not be suitable for you. They may have dry skin when you have oily skin, so they’ll use more moisturizing products when your skin needs the opposite. When creating a routine that is personal to you, it needs to be just that, personal. 

      If you want and need to wake up early, set your schedule to start at an earlier time. Don’t wake up at 4AM if you genuinely don’t need to just because everyone on TikTok is doing it. I’m a victim of this, waking up hours earlier than usual just because TikTok deemed it as “productive”. If you need to be at work or school at 8:30AM, wake up at 6:00AM. That’s enough time to shower, get dressed, have breakfast, do makeup, and leave. Waking up hours earlier can easily lead to burnout and ruin your sleep cycle if you aren’t heading to bed at 8PM every night.

       Routine goes for physical activities too. If you want to start going to the gym, create a workout routine that fits your personal goals. If you genuinely don’t want to do weights, then don’t do them. Do pilates, yoga, or even calisthenics instead. You don’t always have to pick up 20-pound weights, you don’t always have to lift. Do sets and repetitions that your body can handle. I myself have fallen into doing more than my body could handle because I’m following someone else’s gym routine. I always ended up hurting myself, tearing a muscle and having to go weeks through recovery. Listen to your body, not the Influencer. 

      Don’t feel bad either! It’s so easy to feel guilty when at the gym because you’re surrounded by people who can lift large amounts of weight. I used to feel embarrassed because I could only lift 10 pounds. The thing is, no one is paying attention to you. Your body will naturally start to progress when you stick to a consistent gym routine. It’ll become stronger and you’ll be able to handle heavier weights, longer reps, and more sets. So, don’t feel bad if you can’t handle heavy weights right now. Know your limits and what your body can handle so that you can stay consistent with your routine. 

      Incorporating Discipline

      Discipline is extremely important, especially when starting a new schedule. It’s so easy to fall off of patterns when you don’t have self-discipline. Trust me, I’ve fallen off a couple of times because of this. Being lazy feels so good in the moment but it holds us back from the our goals. If you want to become your best self, discipline is a MUST. I like to tell myself, “just do it”, like the Nike ads. Saying this to myself always pushes me into doing what I need to do. 

      I would love to sit in bed and scroll on my phone all day but that’ll keep me stagnant. So, I push myself to do the things that’ll benefit me. The same should go for negative things as well. When I want to snack on some sweets, I tell myself “don’t do it”. If I feel like skipping out on the gym, I remind myself to stay disciplined. This is having self-discipline–controlling your urges and feelings to do what is right for you.

      Photo from Pinterest

      Doing Mental and Physical activities

      I’ve spoken about the importance of creating a gym routine that caters to your needs but I didn’t mention the importance of creating a routine that trains your mind. You’ve probably seen the self-care videos on TikTok that mention writing down gratitude. This is a great habit but it’s deeper than just writing five things you like about your life. Writing down what you’re grateful for is a great way to start your day. It allows you to appreciate your life. However, it doesn’t help you grow and expand your mind. 

      Journaling, I feel, is the best way to expand your mind and perspective. When you journal, make sure you’re self-reflecting. Self-reflection allows you to step outside of yourself and look inwards. It’s a great way to get to know yourself; your likes and dislikes, your needs and wants, what hobbies you enjoy, what goals you want to set for yourself. I’ve learned a lot about myself once I started journaling. I also learned a lot about my weaknesses and strengths through certain journaling prompts as well.

       I found prompts to be difficult to create when I first started journaling. I had no idea what to write about and the journals I saw on Pinterest were full of prompts that were surface level. I overcame the surface level prompts by asking myself questions that I would ask to a stranger. It was like making a new friend and learning some things about them.

       It was refreshing for me because I got the opportunity to understand myself better and to learn things about myself that I wouldn’t have known unless I asked. Journaling became easier when I started doing that. 

      Reading expands your mind as well and it’s heavily underused.To grow mentally through reading, I always look towards expanding my vocabulary and perspective. So, reading classic literature is the way to go. It’s an easy way to learn new words and to learn new philosophies. The best part is, they’re stories that are engaging and interesting! 

      Spending at least ten-minutes a day reading will broaden your mind. You will start to see improvement in the way you write, the way you speak, and the way you think. You’ll have more things to talk about with friends and family. You’ll have references stored in your mind for schoolwork, and you’ll be strengthening the cognitive connections in your mind. It’s important to always stay learning so that our minds can be in the best shape for when we age. Think of it as going to the gym but for your brain.

      Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961)

      Allowing yourself grace

      The most important thing to self-development is allowing yourself some grace. You’re not going to be perfect and there are going to be times when you fall. That’s okay! We have the tendency to give up and to doubt ourselves when we stumble. Stumbling is a part of the process–failing allows us to grow too. When we fall, we’re given the opportunity to readjust; change some things up so that we have a steadier footing. If you push yourself one day and don’t make the target you intended on, that’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up about it. I would always inflict negative thoughts onto myself whenever I failed at doing something. This led me to self-hatred. I gave up on everything I wanted to do. I was afraid of failure. Self-inflicted hatred is the worst and it’ll only lead you into a hole you can’t dig yourself out of. 

      Allow yourself free-time as well. Free-time to do whatever it is you want to do, to simply relax. Watch TV, eat a little snack, scroll on TikTok. Just don’t allow your free-time to become your day. Working 24/7 without a break is only going to drain you and make you feel like quitting. 

      I’ve done this time and time again. I’ll be on a working streak and get drained because I’ve eliminated time to have fun. I end up quitting on my goals, and my free time takes up all of my time. Having to start over again is hard, so don’t let yourself go. Give yourself that grace when you fall, it’s okay. Help yourself up and keep going. The journey can only go on if your feet are moving forward. 

      Stop allowing influencers to control your life. You don’t need to be like the next person in order to be your best self. Dictate your own life. Decide what you need, not what you wish for. Invest time and effort into yourself. Discover what your body needs. Understand what your mind wants. By doing this, you will become your best self. Spend time with yourself, create a routine that fits your body and mind, do what your body can handle without straining, train yourself, stay consistent, and give yourself grace. It’s deeper than face masks and warm baths. Self-development is a lifelong journey of love and care to end your life as the best person you could be. 

    • Falling Into the Disease of Fitting In

      Photo from Pinterest

      I’ve always been a writer at heart, an artist too. I remember making mini books in elementary school and reading them aloud to my class or my mom. I would read my stories to my grandma too. She absolutely loved hearing my work and seeing the drawings that I would give her. I remember she told me, “Don’t ever stop writing and drawing”. I stopped writing. I stopped drawing, painting, smiling, laughing. I never expected my youth to disappear. It was gone in the blink of an eye. 

      When we’re young, we see the world through colored lenses. The world looks extremely vibrant, just like in the cartoons. We laughed, cried, explored the world full of whimsy and curiosity. Everything and everywhere was a new adventure. When I was young, I would imagine that I was an explorer, traveling the world and facing the dangers that were placed in front of me. That had a lot to do with my obsession with Dora The Explorer, admittedly, but at the time I felt unstoppable. I was the hero of my own story and the master of my own craft. My smile never faded from my face. In every picture, I smiled from ear to ear with my gap and missing teeth. I was a happy kid.

      As our age starts to hit double digits and puberty rises, we become conscious and self-aware. We realize how fleeting our childhoods are, how beautiful those simple times were. The moments we were once living are now nostalgic. You end up regretting taking those moments for granted and wish you could rewind back. Unfortunately, life isn’t a movie. You can’t rewind. 

      Middle school is the kicker, the era in our lives that changes use. It’s the time where kids are exposed to new things, encountering different people and various events. Middle school is when I got into social media. I was eleven years old when I created my Instagram account. When I was in 7th grade, the perception that I had about myself switched. I used to wear mismatched clothes and brightly colored shirts with leggings under my skirts. My eyebrows were bushed and I had hair on my arms, legs, and upper lip. My hair was very curly and I would always wear it out. But after looking around and noticing that I was the oddball in the sea of middle schoolers, I felt insecure. When you start to hit puberty, you obtain this dire need to be accepted and wanted. I felt like, in order to make friends I needed to fit in. The best way to fit in was to change myself. 

      I was seen as “cringe-worthy” and annoying. I carried the same personality I had in elementary to middle school with me, a huge mistake. I would be ridiculed for my body hair, my curls, the clothes I wore, the gap in my teeth, my height; just about everything. I had never been laughed at before, so it felt like a culture shock when I started getting picked on. All of the things that made me who I was, I changed in order to fit into the new world I was experiencing. I wanted to keep my new friends; I didn’t want them to leave me. 

      Photo from Pinterest

      Since there was no age restriction on social media, I was exposed early to it. I was pushed into maturation at the prime age of eleven. Seeing beauty standards displayed all over the internet, what the boys liked and what got their attention. I didn’t look like the girls at school and I definitely didn’t look like the girls on the internet. I felt so insecure, ugly even and all at eleven years old.  I had yet to even get a pimple! 

      I started to mimic, copying what I saw. I straightened my hair, I copied the outfits I saw girls wear at school, I started wearing mascara and painted my nails a different color each week. I remember begging my mom to trim my eyebrows and upper lip because a boy in my class told me that I had a mustache like a man. I later begged her for a razor so I could shave myself after a girl pointed and laughed at the hair on my armpits. I even went as far as copying other girls’ personalities. Yes, entire personalities. 

      When I started changing, forcing myself into areas I wasn’t invited in, I was being seen. The bullying paused, I started making friends and being known. It was great, tiring but great. At least until the “trend” changed on social media. The clothes I begged my mom to buy me were no longer in style, the makeup changed, hairstyles changed. Now all of the things I “fixed” about myself  had to be adjusted once again. I fell down a beauty rabbit hole and I continued to fall, even through high school. 

      By the time I reached my sophomore year of High School, my hair was fried, my skin was unhealthy, and my mental health was plummeting. I caked my face with makeup every day, shaved my body every night, and kept my hair done every month. I stopped drawing and writing. My new hobby became posting on Instagram before I left the house. I would exaggerate the way I spoke–embelleshing to be more attractive. That’s how all the popular kids had friends, so I mimicked them.

      I was a puppet—my strings being pulled in every direction. Until, I finally tore.

       I broke. No matter how often I adjusted, I was never “good enough”. I changed so much, I became a stranger to myself. Depression leached onto me and my eyes were always swollen. I’d grieve my younger-self, the girl who smiled effortlessly. I consciously dimmed her light. 

      I missed her deeply. I missed me. 

      No matter how loud I cried, I never got an answer. Friends drifted away. I felt alone, sitting in a puddle of sorrow as I watched life fall apart. The person I had built finally crumbled. I stacked the blocks too high. 

      Photo from Pinterest

      After High School, I wanted to find myself again. I had to save myself since no one else would. So, I cut my hair—all of it. It was rejuvenating, removing all the dead and seeing my curls after so long. I made my socials private, removing those who never spoke to me. I closed doors that were never truly opened. I was alone, but for the first time, It felt like relief rather than abandonment. I spent time alone and I asked myself the questions I had been avoiding: “What do I want?”, “Who am I becoming?”, “How do I want to live my life?”. 

      Each day was a stepping stone to reuniting with myself. I used makeup to highlight my features rather than bury them, I wore clothes that made me feel comfortable, not accepted. I started to write again. 

      When I started to do things that I actually wanted to do, that’s when I ran into myself. She was always there, I was the one who left. The girl that loves to explore, loves to be outside, loves to read, loves to write, loves to dance and listen to jazz. The girl who laughs at everything, enjoys exploring philosophy, has empathy for wild animals, and gives her heart to those she loves. I’m so happy to know her, to meet her again. It felt like coming home. 

      Being a teenager is hard. It’s even harder to be yourself when so much is expected. Insults can be unbearable—but names are simply that, they’re subjective. What one deems as copper, the other sees as gold. Don’t surround yourself with people who love lilies when you’re a rose. 

      People come and go, but you are the only person you’re guaranteed to be with. Till death does you part. You can’t fill everyone’s cup— but you can fill your own, and you get to decide what you fill it with. 

      So, get to know yourself. Forgive yourself. Enjoy your own company and draw on your scars. 

      Pick up those colored-lenses again and keep them on this time.

       You deserve to see life in color. 

    • Success is a perception not made for dictation

      Sumeragne
      Photo from Pinterest

      From an early age, I’ve been conditioned with the success mindset; getting a career that will lead to a large revenue. My mom has always told me that I would be going to college, there was no negotiation on that. From the prime age of four, I knew that I would be going to college and getting a career that is successful. My mom would always say, “Make sure you get a career that will allow you to live comfortably”. That statement has always been in the back of my head. My family worships money. My aunts, uncle, and cousins would always push the notion of making a lot of money; that was the most important thing. I would be absolutely useless if I didn’t make money; my life would amount to nothing. As I got older, in High School, I started to realize that there’s only a few careers I could choose from that would allow me to make good money. I had to make at least $200k a year if I wanted to live a good life, so I’ve been told. So, I browsed my options; Medical, Law, Finance, Tech. I ended up choosing medicine. My plan was to become a doctor, an anesthesiologist to be specific.

       I researched their salary and found that they can make over $500k a year, so I decided this was the perfect job for me. I would be wealthy, successful, my family would be proud, my mom even more proud, and I’d be able to live comfortably. The plan was to go to college, major in biology, go to medical school, and then get the job; simple. I stuck with this plan until the summer after my High School graduation. Two months before college started, I had a mental breakdown. I realized how much I absolutely hate science. What am I doing majoring in biology? I struggled in biology, even more in chemistry. I’d much rather do manual labor work than do sciences and I hate getting my hands dirty, so that speaks volumes. I’m not good at science, even worse at math. I can’t allow myself to pursue a major in a subject I know I will struggle or potentially fail in. So, I changed my major. 

      I knew that I was intrigued by the human mind. So, I decided to major in psychology. I’m a huge mental health advocate, so having the ability to help people with their mental health sounded luxurious. This thought was paired with the fact that I could be making at least $190k-200k a year, perfect. That’s the major I entered college with, I had gotten my plan back together. I knew what I was doing with my life again. Going through a couple weeks of Psychology 150, I came to the realization that, this too, is something I’m not interested in. Sure, I’m curious about the human mind, but to the extent of making it my career? I think not. I was lost, once again. I had fallen completely off of my path, my thoroughly constructed path. Without a plan, I felt like I would only disappoint my family, even more so my mom. All of the careers that made large sums of money were in subjects I couldn’t see myself in; subjects that weren’t me. I cried for weeks, juggling the idea of becoming a nobody. Would I really amount to nothing? Who am I if I’m not making money, if I’m not successful?

      My obsession with salary drove me into hysteria. For the first time in my life, I didn’t have it all together; I was failing. I changed my major four times in the span of four months. It’s gotten to the point where both my mom and my family believe that I’m going to switch my major three, four more times before graduating. I felt like they had lost hope in what I was becoming. They too knew that I had no idea what to do with myself, and that broke me. I was disappointed in myself. I didn’t know what to do and I always knew what to do. What’s going on with me? Why am I so–lost? I heard stories about how people enter college and end up confused about their life, but I never imagined it would happen to me. I didn’t think I would ever be confused on who I was, on who I was becoming, on who I should be.

      After resting in my disappointment, I started to reexamine what success truly is. Success is subjective. You’re going to hear different words when asking people what they believe success is and it’s not a simple one-word answer. So, it didn’t work asking anyone. I had to really question: What is success to me? Taking away the outside noise of my family, the opinions of my mom, and the conditioned thoughts I’ve come to house; What is success? I sat on this question for a long time. It’s funny how hard it is to answer a personal question when removing the conditioned response. I had to sit in isolation like Henry David Thoreau and conceptualize what success is meant to look like in my life. After pondering, I came to an answer. 

      Success isn’t about money. Yes, money is great and achieving a lot of it is also great. But, I whole-heartedly believe that money doesn’t encapsulate everything. Passion is what’s important. To be able to get up and go to work without grumbling, without secretly hating your job, with a smile and excitement; that’s what success looks like. Being able to take a step outside of yourself, observe what you’ve accomplished, and smile; that’s what success looks like. Being able to talk about your career with enthusiasm; that’s what success looks like. To pursue a career in a field that you are good at, that you know, that you love. It doesn’t matter how much money I have if I’m unhappy. Going through life and realizing that I’ve accomplished the goals of everyone else will only lead me to distress. It would be agony having to accept that I have let myself go for the smiles of others. My life is only lived by myself and no matter how hard I try to share this life, I can’t. I’m the one that has to live with my decisions, my actions, my thoughts. I have to live with myself, I will always have to live with myself. So, why am I subjecting myself to puppetry? Allowing someone else to dictate the route I travel on. 

      I changed my major, again. This time, I changed it on my own terms in a subject I’ve always been good at. A subject that I always loved and find myself retreating to; English. I’m a reader and a writer at heart. I indulge in various forms of literature and I write on a daily basis. There’s nothing in this world that I would love more than to spend my days reading and writing. Growing my vocabulary is a fun activity for me. I mean, I play scrabble for fun! English is the perfect representation of me. It’s who I am, most importantly, it’s who I’ve always been. I know that there aren’t a lot of careers that make good money with a degree in English, but that no longer matters to me. For the first time, I understand how passionate artists feel about their career, about their work. My success is being able to pursue my favorite things. Identifying myself as nobody else but me. 

      Photo from Pinterest

      We shouldn’t subject ourselves to the aspirations of others. Following our desires and dreams isn’t naive, it’s critical. No goal is unrealistic, nothing is impossible and I refuse to subject myself to that caged abstraction. So, my new plan? I am to finish college, get my degree in English with a minor in Journalism, and to try my absolute best to get my work published as a columnist; working for Vogue, New York Times, LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, and so forth. Though it may seem unrealistic, it is my reality. Don’t allow others to determine what your reality is. So, I will now ask this; What is success to you? For, you are the only one who can determine that. Let us shed the thick walls of what we’ve been conditioned to believe and rebuild new structures of faith. Allow your dreams to fuel you into ambition and question the ideas that have been taught to you.

    • Knowing myself was easier as a kid

      Sumeragne's avatar

      Written by:

      Sumeragne

      Why is it that when you become an adult, you start to question everything about yourself? Questioning your style, your personality; “Do I actually enjoy this?”, “What am I good at?”, “What do I actually like to do?”. I find myself questioning everything about myself almost all of the time. In a society where everyone is performing to be liked, I catch myself following the crowd a lot. Purchasing skincare that I really don’t need, buying clothes based on an aesthetic I saw, wearing my hair in styles that fit the “era” we’re in. I mimic TikTok trends and dress like my Pinterest boards but I never enjoy it. I never enjoy mimicking what I see because it’s not me. Just because I find it appealing doesn’t mean it’s something that represents who I am. But, how can I represent who I am if I don’t know who I am? I’ve been following the crowd for so long, I’ve lost my path. I know, I’m not the only one to feel this way.

        We’re the only species that thinks outside of ourselves. I mean, thinking about who we are and our place in the world. Adults always try to become somebody rather than simply being. We’re humans, isn’t that enough? Why do we always have to chase after the wind, trying to be somebody when we are somebody. It’s excruciatingly tedious always having to figure out who you are. Children never have to deal with this problem. When I was a kid, I knew who I was. I knew my favorite color, my favorite movie, my favorite food and dessert. I knew the career I wanted, what hobbies I loved to do, what clothes I liked to wear and what made me happy. Maybe I knew myself so well due to childhood being noncomplex in comparison to adulthood. Being a child is like being an animal but with emotions. Knowing their place in the world simply by their surroundings.

      I’m in a constant chase for the satisfaction of my existence. So, I follow the lives of others and mimic what I see. It’s in hope that I can find myself through them, but I’m not them and they aren’t me. I’m not who I see online, I’m not who I talk to in person. We’re all so different, no matter our similarities. Perhaps my identity amnesia summoned from the longing fear of living a mundane life. I can’t conceptualize living a life of generic routine. It honestly scares me, constantly living on a checklist until I reach my deathbed. Yet, that’s the life the majority of the world lives. I don’t want to live a life of stressful dread. Living the same routine everyday, unable to slow my mornings, constantly living in the fast-lane.

       Auto-play, not having use of my own autonomy. So, I follow those on the internet who portray their lives to be unique and stress-free. Thinking that if I mirror their lives, I’ll be able to live it. It doesn’t work. You’ll eventually realize that no matter how hard you try to be someone else, you’ll always end up lost and confused (and broke, severely broke). Even with coming to this realization, I have no idea on how to find who I am. How to learn about myself without the noise of social media and trends. I don’t know who I truly am–so, I regress. I go back to the stage in my life where I knew exactly who I was, childhood. Am I using nostalgia as a scapegoat from facing reality and self-discovery? I’m not sure because a part of me wants to believe that who I was as a child is who I still am, but older. Yet, I’m also not the same person I once was. I’ve changed drastically. I’m always pondering the concept of knowing one’s self without distraction. You can’t identify a sound when there’s music playing in different directions.

       With the world being so performative, it’s hard to reveal authenticity. Especially, being that embarrassment is a world-wide phenomenon that’s locked everyone’s creativity in a box. Wabi-sabi is now being celebrated on the internet but people are still shamed upon for not blending in with the crowd. In case you don’t know what wabi-sabi is, I’ll tell you. It’s a Japanese philosophy that focuses on the appreciation of imperfections. Social media celebrates imperfections only from those who are famous or are conventionally attractive. Even in Japan, people get shamed for not blending in. Bold colors are frowned upon in society, the world glorifies vanilla. 

      So, how does one find themselves in a world that conditions white-bread characters? When I say “find themselves”, I mean, truly find themselves. Not forcing themselves to be a different font of the same text. When walking into a store, you pick out clothes that actually represent you. When making a playlist, you use songs that you actually enjoy, not just what’s popular. When someone asks you what you like to eat or what you enjoy doing, you have a genuine answer to give. Essentially, being so authentically yourself to where there’s no room for a self-questionnaire; because you already know. Even when you grow and you do start to change, you still have a grounding of who you are.  

      The question I’d like to contemplate is, Is “Who Am I?” a simple question with a simple answer, or does it involve a long journey of trials and tribulations in order to solve it? The question can’t be answered simply. Years can go by and you still have no clue who you are. Giving up on the question is never the solution, though. For, searching for the answer highlights the path to self-discovery. And though it may take years, one day you’ll look up and realize you truly do know yourself; that’s the answer.

    • The Dark Side of Diet Drinks: Impact on Mental Health

      Sumeragne

      Weight loss is the glorified goal for many people, especially Americans. Being that America has an obesity rate of 42.4%, and 30.7% of all Americans are overweight, it’s understandable why many would want to lose a few pounds. With fattening foods being so accessible, placed on every corner of every street, obesity rates are bound to be high. Especially being that fattening food is far cheaper than balanced meals. Though, almost half of the U.S. is obese, weight loss and thin physiques are advertised everywhere. Commercials, Billboards, TV, Magazines, Advertisements, and Social Media are the warehouses for promoting beauty and body standards. Weightloss isn’t promoted by companies to advertise and produce healthy habits; It’s promoted to dig into the insecurities of people, especially women, and convince people to give these companies their revenue. Everything promoted and advertised is for a profit, but are these advertisements influencing disorders? 

      Dieting is often glorified in the media. It’s one of the many ways of losing weight and obtaining that model-thin physique. To have the body of Bella Hadid, Doutzen Kroes, Heidi Klum, and Candice Swanepoel, dieting and fitness is essential. Fashion models often have to monitor their food intake in order to keep their body fat low. For many, calorie counting is the key to keeping track of their food intake. To an extent, calorie counting can be healthy; but, counting calories and heavy dieting can often lead to an umbrella of problems. Two of the major problems being OCD, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Eating Disorders. The heavy promotion of dieting, beauty standards, weight loss all play primary factors in Eating Disorders due to these factors being able to weaken the mental state of many individuals. Eating disorders are often caused by depression, anxiety, trauma, OCD, dieting, and starvation. The desire to be thin, as promoted by the media, can lead one into a depressive state due to comparison and body dysmorphia. Depression mixed with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) can easily lead to OCD and cause extreme levels of dieting and even starvation. The craziest part is that eating disorders consume 9% of the U.S. population, resulting in almost 30 million Americans who suffer from the disorder. 9% seems small, but it’s genuinely not when comparing it to the population of America as a whole. It’s the most deadliest mental illness, with an estimated 10,200 yearly deaths in the United States alone. For eating disorders being as deadly as they are, I would expect them to be discussed more often, especially in the context of mental health. With all of this said, this leads me into the topic of diet sodas. 

      Diet sodas are advertised as a great way to continue to drink the beloved beverage everyone loves whilst not gaining any calories at all. Having the opportunity to eat all of your favorite snacks and drink all of your favorite drinks without gaining any weight, sounds like a dream come true. They’re marketing the idea that we’re still consuming our favorite unhealthy food but it’s not “really” unhealthy since it has no calories. This is the idea that many soda companies want us to believe in order to buy and consume their products. Those with eating disorders are easily susceptible to falling into these advertisements. It’s been noted that individuals with eating disorders often consume significantly larger amounts of diet sodas than those who don’t have eating disorders.

      This is notably due to diet sodas being aimed to contain no calories and without calories, no weight is gained. Diet sodas also tend to have caffeine in them, more caffeine than regular sodas. Caffeine can act as a weak appetite suppressant, and tied with the carbonation of the soda, many tend to feel a temporary fullness after drinking a can or two. So, drinking multiple cans a day with maybe a bite of a salad here and there, it’s easy to become full and go the entire day without a meal. From this perspective, it’s understandable why individuals with eating disorders resort to diet sodas. 

      The thing people don’t understand is that brands understand beauty standards. Hence why companies like Coca Cola advertise their diet products with models and actors who have that body the world strives for. The word “diet” and the advertisement of zero calories encourages calorie counting on its own. These companies obtain revenue for their products by leaching onto society’s insecurities and promoting beauty standards. What we need to be looking at most when it comes to diet sodas are their ingredients. 

      Looking at the ingredients of a Diet Coke and a Coke Zero, it’s evident that they both contain artificial sweeteners. An artificial flavoring that the two drinks share is Aspartame. Aspartame is a low-calorie artificial sweetener that is found in almost all diet soda; Diet Pepsi, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, 7UP Zero, Canada Dry Zero, Diet Mountain Dew, Sprite Zero, the list goes on. There’s much controversy around aspartame, actually. It’s been often questioned in regards to cancer. In the late 2000s, a group of Italian researchers studied lab rats for cancer. Their studies suggested that aspartame could increase the risk of blood-related cancers, such as leukemias and lymphomas. After finding out this information, I went into a further dive into aspartame. If it could suggest a risk of blood-related cancer, why isn’t it banned? So, I did a little research on the FDA website. Aspartame was approved by the FDA but then suspended in 1974 due to its concerns about potential cancer risks and toxicity. Later on, it was reapproved for solid food only in 1981, then for soft drinks in 1983, and finally, all restrictions were removed in 1996. It took 22 years to remove all of the restrictions and yet, there are still concerns amongst the ingredients. The FDA deems it as “safe” as long as the daily intake is limited to 50mg per kg of body weight per day. There is an FDA stated limit on aspartame, the ingredient in almost all diet sodas. Aspartame has its side effects, both long and short-term.

      In a 2017 study I read, conducted by Linseth and Coolahan, of 80 people who consumed 30mg of aspartame, 40 with depression and 40 without, only 13 participants were able to complete the trial due to the severity of reactions in the depressed participants who consumed aspartame. The side effects experienced by the dosages of aspartame were increases of depression, especially in already depressed individuals, headaches, and mood swings. So, drinking diet sodas could be making those with eating disorders even more depressed. Matter-a-fact, it could be making anyone with depression experience higher levels of depression. Moreover, aspartame has been linked to people with phenylketonuria, and or PKU. PKU is a rare genetic disorder, presented at birth, where the body can’t break down phenylalanine, an amino acid found in many foods. In a nutshell, the artificial sweetener in diet sodas has many health risks and can increase the symptoms of depressed individuals. Those with eating disorders are incorporating diet sodas into their low-calorie diet and risking an uprise of OCD, BDD (body dysmorphic disorder), and depression. 

      Addison Rae – Diet Pepsi

      Many modern diet soda commercials, especially Coca Cola, tend to illustrate their drink in ways similar to the symptoms of drug and nicotine use. Depicting their products as drinks that bring a euphoric feeling to the body, lowers your stress, and overall eases any tension that you may feel. So, in a way, diet sodas can be placed in the drug category; being that many diet sodas contain higher contents of caffeine in comparison to their regular counterparts. Caffeine, as many of us know, can make an individual susceptible to addiction. To be specific, a caffeine addiction. The dosage needed in order to become addicted, and or have a physical dependency to caffeine is as low as 100 mg a day.

      That’s a little over a cup of coffee, depending on how big your morning mug is. A can of Diet Coke holds about 46 mg of caffeine; Three Diet Coke’s, during your breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and you’ll have yourself a caffeine addiction. Don’t get me started on Celsius; that’s another topic for another day. Caffeine addiction has withdrawals just like many other drugs; yet, the concept of it being considered a “true” addiction is still being discussed. Beats me why it’s even being discussed. You can get withdrawals from caffeine, sounds like a drug to me. 

      To come to a conclusion, from the research I’ve done to write this article, diet sodas are influencing eating disorders through their media promotion and through their ingredients. With soda companies displaying positive emotions like love, fulfillment, and happiness in the commercials for their drinks and using models and actors that many admire and that fit the beauty standards, they feed into the insecurities of their consumers. Promoting calorie watching, extreme dieting, and influencing OCD and BDD. It is important that we look at everything, even simple commercials with a critical eye. Yes, it may seem unnecessary to do so during a time where thinking critically is seen as being too “woke” but I find that thinking critically is important especially with large, multi-million dollar companies in mind. We’re consuming their products, it’s important to know who they’re targeting, what their advertisements can lead to, and what they’re actually selling to us. It broadens our minds on important conversations that need to be had and can potentially lead to the decrease in mental disorders. Plus, critical thinking is chic. 

       Stop picking up diet drinks, you’d do better with a regular Coke or Dr. Pepper. I would say stop supporting companies that benefit off of our insecurities, but then that would leave none for us to consume. 

    • Reclaiming Humanity: The Cost of Overstimulation

      Sumeragne
      I, Robot (2004)

      Our brains are slowly frying. We’re losing the ability to think critically. We no longer have long attention spans. We can’t engage in conversations that aren’t forced upon us in work settings. We’re also losing the ability to be creative. We’re losing the ability to be human, to be natural, to be authentic. Social Media, especially TikTok, is full of overstimulating content. This overstimulation has resided in us for so long, our brains are now uncomfortable with low-stimulating activities. We sit in silence and find ourselves uncomfortable, we use 2x speed to watch a three minute video, when the conversation is awkward we pick up our phones instead of trying to find a new topic.Connections are being lost, authenticity is being forgotten, and we are devolving solely due to the comfortability of overstimulating media. We need to take a break from it and become human again. How many times in a day do you pick up your phone? Don’t tell me it’s once. Naturally, we pick up our phones, without even realizing, multiple times in a day. You do it, I do it, everyone does it. Our reasons for picking it up may be different, but in general it’s because we’re bored. What else is there to do but scroll on our phone? We need to understand the stagnation that we’re in now. Our overuse of technology is causing us to accommodate ourselves with overstimulation. This overstimulation is one of the primary factors to our minds declining; We’re becoming animals. We’re losing our complexity. Every time this is mentioned in the media, it’s deemed as dramatic. One is being far too woke. Though it sounds dramatic, allow me to illustrate what’s truly happening every time we scroll TikTok, use Instagram, or snap on Snapchat. 

      Euphoria (2019)

      Short videos with high amounts of overstimulation cause our brains to be uncomfortable when doing low-stimulating activities. We can no longer read a book for longer than five minutes, we can’t get through a documentary, and we find mingling with others strange, weird.  We’ve lost the ability to sit for a long period of time or to focus on one topic for an extended period. I mean, we’re bouncing from one app to the next. TikTok, then Instagram, then Snapchat, then Pinterest, maybe a little bit of Twitter, and the right back to TikTok again. We can’t even stay on one app for a period of time, let alone an activity that holds some form of substance. Conversations can’t be held correctly due to our diminishing attention spans. Attention spans are shorting, especially in the newer generation. Shortened attention spans only lead to a decrease in relationships, decrease in school achievements, decrease in work achievements, an increase in procrastination, and a decrease in creativity.

      I’ve come to believe that the need to make life easier has allowed us to create avenues that chop our attention spans. Why would we need to watch a ten-minute video on the Black Death when we can easily search it up and AI can give us a run-down of the main points? The easier life gets, the easier it is to become ignorant, uneducated. Not only are our attention spans decreasing, but we’re also becoming robotic. We’re becoming what we’re creating.

       Scrolling takes you out of reality. It takes away the opportunity to experience what’s beyond your screens. The more we encase ourselves in a daydream, the more we find reality to be prosaic, mundane. We stare at pictures of the lives we want instead of living the lives we have. Less experiences leads to fewer conversations, fewer conversations leads to fewer relationships, which then leads us into isolation. I’ve come to realize that social media has the tendency to glamorize egocentric isolation; The idea that being alone all the time is far better than having any form of social-life. This idea is being pushed in a negative way; it’s more than simply being introverted. Social interaction is a fundamental need for both mental and physical well-being. Without it, mental health issues arise, our likelihood for disease increases, our life is susceptible to shortening, and our cognitive functioning diminishes. Social isolation is a health concern, not a flex. 

      We need to put down our phones and pick up physical media. During our dinners, put the phones down and talk to the person you’re having dinner with. If you’re having dinner alone, bring a book to read, a physical solo game you can play like Suduko or a Crossword Puzzle, or focus completely on your meal. Being able to sit in silence brings a form of peace and self-control not many have. It allows you to be comfortable sitting with yourself. During your free-time, paint, draw, journal, go for a walk or a run, go to the gym, get out of the house and explore new neighborhoods; connect with the physicalities that surround you. When we put our phones down, it’s evident how much there truly is to do.

      Little Women (2019)

      See, we’ve lost touch with reality because we’re housing ourselves in the digital realm. When committing to reality, you’ll find that your days will automatically feel better. You’ll be more motivated and productive, you’ll feel like you have more time in your day, you’ll be broadening your knowledge and your creativity; you’ll get your life back. When you disconnect, it gives you the opportunity to spend time with yourself, to spend time with others, and to spend time with the world. We have to appreciate the world we live in; the life that we have, for we only have one. As Dr. Jane Goodall said, “We are the most intellectual species to walk the planet, but we’re not intelligent. If you’re intelligent, you don’t destroy your only home”. Though she’s speaking about the destruction of the earth, this quote goes with the appreciation of our lives as well. Intelligent people are ungrateful for the only home they’ll ever have and we destroy our own minds in hopes of obtaining the lifestyles of others. 

      Confessions (2010)

      Technology, social media specifically, is dehumanizing us as the human-race. Animals have more of a communion than we do. We’re losing our creativity by watching others fake creativity on the internet. Authenticity is becoming a facade. We’re uncomfortable in low-stimulating situations due to our mind being comfortable in overstimulation. We’re isolating ourselves because our minds are being conditioned into thinking that being alone is ideal. We can’t focus in school, we’re procrastinating and pushing our lives further back; living our lives in stagnation. We’re losing out on life because of dang that phone.

    • The Demonization of Commitment

      Sumeragne

      Though I’ve been seeing many couples getting married on TikTok recently, I’ve also noticed the rise in “hookup culture”. I find many women in relationships with married men, both women and men going through relationships like a bag of skittles, and men treating women as dolls in their private collection. It’s been normalized to encourage women to have the same mindsets as men; dehumanizing men for the satisfaction of your own. It’s a twisted concept that is normalized in the media. We no longer are encouraging marriage, if anything, we’re demonizing it. Encouraging having everything but the ring and certificate. Men are having multiple “baby mommas” and women are becoming the “baby mommas” to men.

      Though this isn’t a new concept, women have been the accessory to men for centuries, it’s now being labeled as a “power-move”. It isn’t, it simply isn’t. Wouldn’t it be far more powerful for a woman to live on her own without a man? Instead, what’s powerful is for a woman to treat a man exactly how they treat us. But, wouldn’t that be counterintuitive? I mean, sleeping with multiple men without your feelings being involved. Sleeping with multiple women without your feelings being involved. It’s all a gifting system; exchanging your body for theirs. Except, love isn’t a part of the equation. It’s simply trade for temporary satisfaction and a high risk of disease. Humans are intellectual creatures that shatter their own intelligence through the commitment to their stupidity. It’s like selling a diamond for five dollars so you can buy yourself a bag of chips that’ll be gone in the next five minutes. It’s a surplus notion that is over promoted, especially in the entertainment industry.

      Many worship the entertainment industry, celebrities of all avenues. For a celebrity to glorify polyamory and deem it as a normal thing, it’s expected that the world will mimic what’s seen and celebrated. Even with saying this, I don’t blame celebrities. Polygamy has been honored throughout the centuries of human history. I feel that humans enjoy mimicking animals to an extent; especially since we do find ourselves sharing biological needs with them. Humans can not embody the same lifestyle many animals have due to the human mind being able to experience complex emotions and have the capability to think far beyond one’s self. Now that polygamy is considered illegal, the next option to still hold multiple mates would be polyamory. But why do people have multiple mates and refuse to marry? That runs into the topic of commitment.

      Many would rather obtain the physicalities of relationships, like sex, from multiple people rather than having to commit and pour the emotionality that a relationship needs into one person. This notion is often housed in the minds of men, especially being that men, at least said by many, need the physical aspects of a relationship more than the emotional aspects. So, essentially, polyamory would be more beneficial to men than it would women. Though, polyamory is a waste of time, energy, and money for both sides of the coin. Our society is lazy, always looking for ways to make things easier, faster, and less expensive. We look for an easier route in absolutely everything; AI is a prime example of this. We’re no longer enjoying the complexities that we hold as human-beings. Many would much rather live life with satisfaction and without responsibilities. Yet, that’s unrealistic. Responsibilities always find themselves returning eventually. Life is full of obligations to one’s self and others; there’s no way around it.

    • Black Panthers in Ivory Snow

      Sumeragne

      (BPP) The Panther 21 Trial outside the court house – New York City, 1969

      We have celebrities embracing our race and culture when it’s beneficial, when it’s aesthetic and covering the bills. Kim Kardashian saying she makes good soul food every thanksgiving; a good cornbread. The non-black take our voice, our sound, our features, our clothes, our hair, our accessories and claim that it’s theirs as much as it’s ours. We’re too loud, too much, too chaotic, too ghetto, too dangerous, too angry. 

      We should be angry; It wouldn’t make sense if we weren’t.

      Stereotypes house themselves in our communities. Even when we think we’ve gotten better, it still follows us, subtly. The Black Man chooses the white woman who acts Black, yet the Black Woman is too aggressive, too much to handle, too ghetto. White women wear bonnets and straight backs in their heads whilst Black women straighten their hair and wear European wigs. “Hair weaves like Europeans, fake nails done by Koreans”, that’s what Ms.Hill says. Everything of Black culture is rooted. We transcend far beyond soil. All of our music, how we dance, how we speak, how we wear our hair, our jewelry, our practices, what we eat, what we drink, the way we think; it’s rooted. There’s meaning behind it all, it isn’t for the aesthetics. We replicate our ancestors unconsciously, that’s how connected we are. Dominating music in the industry as our ancestors sang hymns, braiding our hair as our ancestors braided theirs, dancing at gatherings as our ancestors did Zaouli, Eskista, Indlamu; We’re rooted. 

      We aren’t to be mimicked and definitely can’t be replicated. To be tossed around and labeled as “E” for everyone. Why is our being diminished and shared? When we have something in our grasp it’s taken away. Why can’t we have something sacred? We do, but it must be shared. 

      We can not allow ourselves to fold into a mold that does not fit us. When you force yourself into unfit molds, you’re defying your anatomy. You’re breaking your bones, killing yourself. The mold wasn’t made to hold us, it’s meant to bend us until we break–until it’s too late to scream. Our Black roots are hidden by society, white society to uphold their superiority. Stop fitting into a culture that doesn’t exist. America houses stolen people, we of whom don’t know our origin place. We know it’s Africa, but where in Africa? Our connection to our ancestors are being severed, cut and buried. We have to do DNA tests and swabs just to be shown a jumble of different countries. We shouldn’t be succumbing to a world that doesn’t suit us. We have culture, they don’t, why look to them? They are lost in their identity, they have no idea who they are. They steal bits and pieces of other puzzles, taping them together and calling themselves artists. They deem themselves as intelligent when their education comes from everybody else. Why are we following the blind? They have no idea where they’re going. They look to us to see what the next steps are; Like infants taking their first step. We built their civilization; we housed them, fed them, raised their children, cleaned them, washed their laundry, dug their gold, built their establishments, picked the material for their clothes. But we are lazy, we are clueless. They hold the guns and make the bombs but we are dangerous. They kill relentlessly while we’re tender to their children but we have no mercy. Yet, we still give grace. Giving out N-Word passes, calling whites “white chocolate”, labeling them Black when they make soul food or have twang in their voice. Tanning their skin, listening to Tupac and Lauryn Hill, now they’re Black. Dating a Black woman and now they’re heavily praised; praised for loving a Black woman as if that’s a beast need of conquering. Letting hispanics say the N-word tenfolds and deeming it as okay. That’s not normal, it’s never been normal. It’s not normal when the whites say it, it shouldn’t be normal for anyone to say it. A slur that was made to dehumanize Black people, to categorize them as anything but human. Now we have rappers placing it in every verse and kids mimicking what they hear. 

      It is said that we are conscious of what’s going on but we aren’t. Demonizing being “woke” is allowing ourselves to mask discrimination in its subtle form. Racism is still racism, regardless of how severe the derogative is. Let us not allow ourselves to be mimicked and for that performance to be labeled as “appreciation”. For, it’s only ever appreciated when it is shown by a white body, a white mouth. It is only considered culture when it is not Black. This message isn’t for the white body, they’re aware, they’ve always been. Black individuals, stop subjecting yourself to a culture that’s been stolen. To a society that’s been built by everyone but their hands. Don’t allow yourself to be controlled, to be manipulated into the mold of white suburbia. Escape that narrative, it’s been written far too many times. Racism is still here, it hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s here, stop closing your eyes when it stands before you. Stop allowing it to move; in jokes, in film, in media, in celebrities. No one else will stop it; their privilege is too good. Stop giving them the gun and allowing them to shoot you in the foot. Letting the vultures eat what isn’t deceased. Stop killing each other, giving them a show they enjoy and leaving us little. They call us “monkey’s” but they are the ape’s. Stand firm in your Black identity. 

      Don’t mimic the echo. 

    • Women

      There are so many responsibilities as a woman. 

      I can’t have the same wants as a man for he doesn’t fear his life being shattered. When a woman gets pregnant, her life is forever altered. Her goals become dreams and her wants grow further away, as the man continues to prosper and do everything he sets his mind to. She now has an obligation to her child and the man gets to choose if he wants to. She can’t get a ring on her finger because it’s too large of a commitment but her giving birth isn’t. They have the ability to choose. Men have the privilege of going out and being able to work for what they want. While women work so hard and still not achieve. Not trusting the ledge only to fall through the planks. Lowering our standards in order to get our needs and wants. Having to be talked to about the risks of sex but men praised upon when they do it. Being taught of men’s health before our own, not ever knowing the truths of our cycles. Having to educate ourselves on our body due to schools not teaching. Having to dress a certain way to be attractive. One small flaw and they can’t look past it. As the eyes of a woman embody all of their flaws, seeing them as art. To be told to speak with eloquence but not to be educated. Do not be over a certain weight or you’ll have difficulty finding a partner. For you must find a partner, that should be your goal. Finding a partner and starting a family as your husband works towards his goals that don’t have room for yours. For your goals are simply dreams, they aren’t to be accomplished. Women are conditioned, taught, to believe that this is their life’s purpose; To satisfy the man’s needs. They get a full cake as we get a slice, but as long as they’re not hungry. 

      If you say no, everything is taken away. Innocence, Happiness, Peace, Life. Our humanity is diminished, eradicated. Constantly living in fear, living in stress. Nothing was made for us. Everything was made with men in mind. We give birth in incorrect positions, unnecessarily straining ourselves. Women dying from creating a soul, a being. We live on a 24-hour clock when our body functions on lunar cycles. Going to the gym for physique, to look better rather than for our health. Singing hymns about loving a man, caring for a man, treating a man with the utmost respect. Having to give grace, yet receiving nothing but a mustard seed. It’s unfair when a woman gets something a man doesn’t; Tell the president, something must be done about this! “I want six children”, some men say. Already dictating what we can and can’t handle. Speaking of pregnancy with ease, discussing birth with simplicity. As if women aren’t traumatized enough. When she miscarries, she’s to blame; “You must’ve been doing something wrong”. Our dreams are just that, we aren’t meant to seize them. Going through relationships at their pace, not ours. Always ready when they are, for if we’re not, we’re discarded. Praising single dads as single mothers are normalized. Men hit the news for doing what women have always done. “Extra, Extra, read all about it, local dad teaches his son the ABC’s!” We give far too many excuses for men to abuse. To misuse, taint, and soil. We’re disrespected in the media, dehumanized in music. Talked about like we’re easily replaceable, like we’re capsules waiting to be filled. When a man cheats, we look at the woman.

       “Shame on you for luring that man away from his wife!”

       “Don’t you know he has a family?” 

      Time and time again, we take the man back, but a woman returning shall be exiled. As if men aren’t capable of controlling their actions. “Well, he doesn’t know better,” his mother projects. “You must’ve not been giving home what he needs,” shouts the world.Thousands of products flood our desks to keep our youth. Older men with younger women; “I know he treats her well”. Older women with younger men; “Why would he ever want to be with her? She’s too old for him”. A man could never understand a woman, no matter how many articles are written or how many books are read. No matter how many movies are made or how many speeches are said. They will never be in our shoes, they wear a different shoe size. Everytime he opens his mouth, it’s profound, it’s made known. Taught to schools, for he’s a genius. Everyone listens to him, but to her, she’s prettier when silent. His tongue is gold but hers, copper. We’re the artists but they claim the art, writing their signature in ink. “I want to be a ballerina”, what a naive dream, choose a career with substance. “I want to be an NBA player”, brilliant, follow your dreams. “I wish to be a doctor!” That’s a lot of schooling, are you sure? That’s more of a man’s job, they can handle more. You’re far too emotional for a career like that. Just find yourself a husband, that’s what you really need. A good husband that can take care of you. The intellectuals aren’t intelligent. Forced to treat them like adults when they act like toddlers. Tantrums, uncontrollable anger, easily frustrated, act on autonomy, base their actions on emotion. Women are plummeted into adulthood before they start algebra. Men live out their youth as we cater and house them. 

      Talk about men and we will be loved, talk about women and you’ll be repulsive, obnoxious, sour. All you women do is complain, don’t you have enough? Where is your modesty? You should always be covered; He’s sweating, it’s fine that he wears no shirt and short-shorts. The tears of women are too regularized; The tears of men are too absent. Gender is put upon everything to confine us, to stop growth. Women are complex beings with the closest ability to magic. We shouldn’t be frozen into molds made by the hands of men, dusted by ourselves. 
      Yet, we’ve always been this way. Why should we change now? Everything’s perfect.

    • Short Hair

      Written by Sumeragne Gibson

      Femininity has been illustrated as soft, nurturing, sensitive, and vulnerable. These traits define how society expects women to behave, as well as their appearance: a bright smile, soft features, and long hair. Throughout history, the world has deemed long hair a woman’s “symbol”. Ancient Egyptians associated long hair with fertility, social status, and wealth. In contrast to that idea, The Holy Bible mentions that a woman’s long hair is her glory and covering; as the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:15, “But that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:15 NIV). Long hair has become one of the most predominant features of traditional femininity, while short hair has been marked as masculine–rebellious, assertive, and intimidating. As taught in kindergarten, “Girls have long hair, Boys have short hair.” This binary applies to pink and blue, skirts and pants, heels and sneakers. 

      “Short Hair”

      A deep dive into the societal standards for women.

      This contrast is predominant in movies, TV Shows, and cartoons, where the short-haired female character is independent, edgier, and more challenging than her long-haired counterparts. An example is GoGo Tomago from the 2016 Disney film Big Hero Six. Her uneven bob with blue streaks compliments her cool girl persona. Her design signals that she differs from the average “girly”  female character and she defies the rules given to her; she’s “not like other girls”. She automatically fits in with the male crowd because she’s not feminine, she has mystique. “Woah, a girl that knows sports, drives motorcycles, and plays games!” is the reaction whenever it comes to women with shorter hair in animated films. Even in live-action films, the woman with shorter hair is rebellious, a trouble-maker, she lives on the edge and she’s simply not your average girl. When a female character is known to have short hair, she appeals not because of her short hair but normally because of her body and her persona. Take Wreck It Ralph  (2012) for example; There’s a female character named Sergeant Calhoun. She has short hair, an edgy and aggressive personality, and a body with round hips and hourglass-like figure. If her hips were reduced or her breasts flattened, would she have the same appeal? I think not, her intrigue comes from a mixture of her body figure and her personality. She’s edgy just like her hair but for almost every film that I have seen, the short haired woman is edgy and her body is what brings forth her appeal. Almost like if you have short hair, you better have an attractive body to go with it or else you’re really not going to be appealing.  Now, what if a character starts off with long hair and then later ends up with her hair cut or completely gone; What would be the reaction? Same body, same face, same personality, simply a different haircut. Let’s take a look at Rapunzel. 

      In the 2010 Disney film Tangled, Rapunzel, the main character, started with extravagantly long golden hair. Her hair was the premise of her story; it’s seen as the most desirable factor due to its magical powers. Later in the movie, when Mother Gothel is “defeated,” Flynn Rider cuts Rapunzel’s hair; essentially symbolizing the freedom Rapunzel now has from killing Mother Gothel. The cut left Rapunzel with a brunette pixie that reached slightly below her ears. The pixie was a little choppy but that’s normally how pixies look. The audience reacted so negatively to this sudden change, claiming they liked her long locks more. Her face stayed the exact same, her figure was still petite and curved, her personality was still bubbly, she stayed the same, it was just her hair that changed. But, her appearance was no longer “soft” and “vulnerable” but instead became “ragged”, especially for a princess. Though, it would make sense for Rapunzel to look ragged being that she’s been on an extremely chaotic journey; can’t expect her to look put together the entire film, she didn’t bathe once in that movie but anyways. The symbolism of Rapunzel’s hair illustrates her journey from being held captive due to her hair to finally being free from those chains. To the audience, regardless of the meaning, her look became “boyish”, she lost her femininity because her hair was cut. Many viewers of the film expressed disappointment at the sudden transformation, even though the character stayed relatively the same; which reflects a societal discomfort with women who do not appear traditionally feminine. In an online discussion I read about long hair, a parent on Quora asked  “Can I force my daughter to grow her hair like Rapunzel?” (Quora).  Alone, this question demonstrates how long hair is a desirable beauty factor being that the word “force” was used. I mean, forcing a child to uphold what society deems as attractive, that’s twisted. Especially being that most beauty standards are targeted towards adults. In regards to the question, another commenter replied, and I quote,  “Rather, tell her why you want her to grow long hair and let her decide on it. If she falls on your side, be happy, or if she disagrees and goes for short hair, you try to accept her tomboy look.” (Quora). I’d like to highlight the term tomboy that was used in this reply. It’s so clear that short hair is perceived as masculine, even in the most feminine characters such as Rapunzel. It’s even seen as a negative thing. Society has tied gender to hairstyles but is this societal view American? Where did this idea of long equals girl and short equals boy come from? There are many cultures where long hair is normalized on men and short hair normalized on women. Native Tribes have long hair embedded into their culture; it represents their history and their spiritual connection to their tribe. African women maintain mini-afros and, outside of the eurocentric view, are seen as beautiful beings; far from masculine.

       Going back to the word tomboy, according to the Urban Dictionary, a tomboy is a woman who exhibits characteristics or interests that are normally associated with boys. This term is normally used amongst young girls, but its context remains the same for any age of a woman. Doing more research on where the word came from, I’ve found that it dated in the 1500s and it was used to describe girls who were energetic, interested in sports and games, or they were spirited individuals. The word from my eyes is an insult, it’s sexist. It was created to place women in a box and make them feel low of themselves when they try to travel outside of that box. The word is basically saying that you as a woman are not allowed to have any form of a personality outside of the boundaries of what a woman should be from the male perspective. Am I getting too deep? I don’t think so. A ton of female characters with short hair are considered tomboys, especially in animated films which are directly targeted towards children and adolescents. It’s conditioning European societal gender norms. The example travels further than animated films, it’s in live-actions films too. Like Jinx Johnson in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day. 

      Jinx portrays a bold, independent, confident woman as well as being a skilled NSA agent. She matched Bond’s personality with her charm. Though her character would arguably be the same with longer hair, her pixie cut amplified her “cool-sexy factor.” This image is because short hair fits in the fearless, and self-assured category compared to long hair. Though these are all good traits, they are traditionally projected toward men more than women. While many men find women with shorter hair attractive, long hair is the more socially desirable standard. It is natural for a man to be attracted towards their opposite. Feminine traits are often symbolized by physical features–specifically long hair. Which is why so many short-haired characters are normally fearless. The dynamic of men liking the image of longer hair appears in the sitcom Friends as well. Bonnie (Ross’s girlfriend) shaves her head because Rachel convinced her that Ross was attracted to “bald women.” This conversation occurred due to Bonnie’s earlier comment about how much easier it was for her, hygienically, when she used to shave her head. Though Bonnie remained the same flirty and attractive woman she is, Ross’s reaction to Bonnie’s transformation was negative. Ross retreats both emotionally and physically to his ex-girlfriend, Rachel, who now has a more “acceptable” appearance. Though Bonnie had become completely bald, the message stays consistent to the idea that: escaping from the traditional feminine look risks becoming less desirable in the eyes of society. Long hair is the beauty standard for women, hence why it is favored. 

      In a small survey I conducted with eleven men from my university, nine stated they preferred women with long hair over short. Whilst the survey is limited, it still showcases the societal image that long hair is the marker of femininity. Is the traditional view of femininity a proper portrayal of women? Fortunately, it is not. More correctly, the word “femininity” derived from the Latin term “femina” –which when translated, it becomes “female”. Femininity is not a performance–it is a being that resides in every woman. Something as inconsequential as a hairstyle does not define that. Whether a woman wears an afro, a shaved head, long hair to her feet, a bob, cornrows, or a pixie cut, her femininity is never revoked. Though society has regarded independence and confidence as masculine traits, I wholeheartedly believe those belong to women as well. Women do not need to prove they are strong, nor must they become lenient to be seen as soft. Femininity is not black and white–it is a palette of many characteristics and that is, the beauty of women. 

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