The Boyfriend Manual

According to this article, 77% of girls consider themselves ugly. And who can blame them? We have false images of perfect bodies shoved into our faces everyday. It's nearly impossibe for that kind of influence not to affect the way you see yourself and cause insecurities. In some cases, these insecurities lead girls to go to extremes to achieve the "perfect body", believing that then they will be considered beautiful. The sad truth is that the "perfect body" is unattainable. It's really disturbing that girls in our society are held to a standard of beauty and "perfection" that cannot be attained without the help of a makeup artist, a plastic surgeon, or a computer. In many cases, it's all three.

To find out how you see yourself, start by taking this quiz, then check out the links I've posted below. They really help expose some of the lies fed to us by the media every day. Make sure you click at least the first and last ones.

The Photoshop Effect (must see video)

Deception of Perception (part II of "The Photoshop Effect")

Professional Photoshopper's Portfolio (MUST click! And be sure to check out the thumbnails on the righthand side.)

Professional Photoshopper's Portfolio (different photos)

Now take a minute to absorb all of that. Did you realize that they took photoshopping to such extremes? Write down what you think about that (It helps, I promise). Here are a few more lies that the media shoves down our throats every day.

1. To be beautiful (and happy) you must be skinny.

2. To be beautiful you must wear the lastest fashion.

3. Only certain clothing brands are hip.

4. You must look like everyone else to be cool.

5. Modesty is out of style

6.You must dress sexy to attract the attentition of guys. (Remember that guys that are attracted only to your body, aren't attracted to YOU. They probably won't respect your morals, values, beliefs, boundries, etc. Getting involved with a guy like that won't get you anywhere.)

7. Your value is determined by how you look.

8. Casual sex is cool.

9. Abortion is a woman's choice.

And, my personal favorite...

10.  Makeup is mandatory.

(Source for "The Ten Lies": Wlid About You, by Angela Thomas)

For more about learning to love your body click here.