The Real Body: nature vs. society

The real body.

What do real unadulterated, unrefined, non-supplemented, non 24 hour - fitnessed bodies even look like?

We see all these images in media this day in age. From Facebook to Instagram, Twitter to blogs, magazines to commercials, YouTube vlogs, all with a variety of displays telling us what the best and the worst look like. Instagram hosts thousands of profiles that swear by their plates of food and their work out clips. They will tell you its easy and the money is worth it. Just start by following them (literally and figuratively); you can get that "perfect" post, too.

The key words there are get and perfect.

Get: You can get it, meaning it's not natural, you have to do something(s) too achieve it.

Perfect: what does that even mean? Perfect body? What scale measures body perfect levels?

That reminds me of this guy I met at a patio restaurant once while eating with a friend. Granted, I am slightly convinced he was on drugs as he was asking us for a dollar to spare and if he could borrow our phones, but that isn't the point... he was obviously extremely smart based on the verbiage he used, almost so stuck in his high IQ he couldn't figure out how to function and fit in with society, so at some point he turned to drugs. Yes that is my analysis of him and I'm sticking to it. Still not the point... The point: in his long speel of random information he said "what makes a triangle a triangle? Who decided a 3 - sided object was to be designated by the name triangle? What if I want to call it something else? What makes me wrong if I wanted to call that by another name? Why is it society conforms by the terminology and decisions of others?

Who gets bothered by what a shape (a triangle) is named? This guy... but seriously, think about it. He really does have a point...

Why is it that society conforms to what others determine is the perfect body shape? Who decided a triangle was to be called a triangle and who decided what the perfect body looks like?

Who decided that the perfect shape for a woman is either supermodel worthy long and lean, or Kim Kardashian-esque firm and curvy. Your hair has to be multi-toned, soft curl capable and your eye lashes need to be a certain length. And, by the way, nothing in between is good enough to be deemed the "best" on a magazine cover Who decided for a man you need to be the "perfect" combination of tall enough, strong enough, muscular enough, tan enough, with a certain style of hair (& make sure you don't have too much body hair, gentleman)?

Not one of the above? Don't worry, that society that determined the standards above have plenty of solutions:

Botox
Fillers
Injectibles
Highlights
25 types of curling/straightening irons
Blow bars (hair salon blow bars that is)
Hair products times infinity
$50-$500+++/month weight loss & fitness programs
   Cross fit
   Boot camp
   Spin
   Body pump
   Les Mills
   T25
   Brazilian buttlift
   PiYo
   Countless other DVDs
   Shakeology
   Body by Vi
   Quest
   Pre-packaged "fit" meals
   Garcinia cambogia
   B 12 shots
   Nutrisystems
   Countess other fad diets
Miracle oils
Anti-cellulite creams
Hair implants
Hair dye
Laser & other hair removal
Implants
Liposuction
Other surgical procedures
Chemical peels
Skin bleachers, tanners, and "correctors"
Other skin treatments
Countless brands of the "best coverage" make up
Younique & Co eyelash length enhancers
Tattooed-thick eyebrows
And many, MANY more...

We haven't even talked about getting dressed yet. But when you do, don't forget your Spanx control and/or enhancement hoses before you put on whatever society has deemed as the "it" wardrobe choice.

Don't know what's "hip" this season? Flip your TV channel, browse the latest Internet fashion blog or runway magazine, and only after by way of society you've determined what you MUST HAVE, add to shooping cart. Worry how you'll pay for them along with the solutions and enhancers listed above later.

Rent, or Crossfit pre-Botox paired with 3-tone highlights, a Mac makeover & Louis Vuitton? We know...life is full of the toughest of choices.

Ya know what? Maybe you like the fitness program you participate in. Maybe you like getting your hair blown out and curled. Maybe you love your Shakeology every single morning. Maybe you prefer tattooed eyebrows over your real ones. Maybe you'd rather pay for hair removal than shave. Good for you.

But, and this is a huge but... who are you doing it for? Yourself? Or society's self?

Ode to the original point...
Do we even know what a real body looks like anymore?