The Midriff: "Here me roar"

                                                                                         

      I recently watched a documentary called, The Merchants of Cool provided by PBS/Frontline entertainment. This video introduced me to precisely how we, young people, are seen by the marketing industry. I discovered that we're viewed as individuals who prefer to do nothing but desire drugs, sex, and drinking. These subjects certainly cross our radars, however they shouldn't be what totally characterizes those within the same age range as me. Without a doubt, my friends and I have discussions and debates about religion, music, icons, and numerous topics relating to certain individuals. Yes, high schoolers have authentic and meaningful discussions. What a surprise, isn’t it?! 

     At this very moment, however, I want to address what defines our world’s current teenage girl - the midriff. The midriff constantly surrounds me. Majority of my friends wear shirts that show a little bit of their waist. I do not know what the reason is, either than to be noticed or that the clothing was cute. This trend has become so popular, as stores are selling crop tops or tight clothing to promote the midriff. As the advertising industry continuously searches for what's "cool" and drifting among young people, they chose to generalize the perfect teenage girl. Because of this, they currently assume they precisely know what we are into and how to persuade us. I feel this is actually what has caused such a great amount of discussion, no doubt, among all young girls presently. Is it the fact that one feels more free in showing their midriff find this as "cool"? They revealed to us this new definition would prompt and encourage women empowerment, helping us make our very own identity and even showcase our identity more. 

Britney at age 37 (Now)

     The midriff is the grown-up female who is informed that she should display her body and sexuality. At the time, the primary example that young ladies should look towards for motivation was Britney Spears. Britney Spears is a popular pop artist, who is still well known to this day. She was always flaunting her fairly fit body and was presumably what all girls in the mid 2000's needed to be. She was the logo of the midriff. Britney was youthful, hot, her songs were listened to numerous young girls because they were relatable. Thus this made her such an impact in the late 90's and mid 2000's. Even today, Britney continues to wear shirts that show her midriff. However at this point, I think the line is somewhat obscured from what we might want to be and what we think society expects us to be. In any case, everything comes from media. Media made this "perfect teenage girl" and that is the thing that I feel is demolishing all of us. All girls are built differently. When they are introduced to advertisements and told what they should ideally look like, they are brought to tears because they feel that they do not compare to that Victoria Secret Model or Britney Spears. Stereotypes and generalizations like this can lead one to eating disorders and have anxiety. So, how can one be considered "the it factor" or "cool" when it is hard for them to?