Taking an image for what it is versus editing it and removing all insecurities is what sets females (and males) apart from the confidence we all should have. Most girls in their teenage years struggle with the day-to-day battle of trying to fit in or look their best.

However, most girls do not know how to reach their comfort zone when it comes to their appearance. The ads in certain magazines or online occasionally make a girl feel worse about accepting themselves and leave them wanting what they do not have. It is true that ads for things like Victoria’s Secret, prom dresses and other ads can subconsciously ruin a teenager’s mind. Models show the world’s idea of perfect, but the model’s body is typically edited to look “perfect.” I am a firm believer that anybody, no matter their size, is beautiful, but it takes a lot for somebody to gain that confidence.

Teens with severe insecurities can obtain many faults. According to hellogiggles.com, 42 percent of girls in grades first through third want to be thinner. Though no seven year old child should be worried about losing weight or have to be self conscious of their body, 78 percent of teenage girls are unhappy with their bodies. Thirty percent of high school girls and 16 percent of high school boys have developed an eating disorder due to insecurities.

The recent Aerie/American Eagle ad has taken in girls for who they are to show that everybody can have an engaging appearance. Iskra Lawrence, a model who was denied and called overweight was accepted to Aerie’s “Confidence Makes Me Real” movement. Lawrence is a size seven, yet she was still claimed as “heavy”. In the movement, editors accept all their insecurities knowing everybody has them. In the campaign, photographers take real photos of each girl and do not edit out insecurities of the models.

Similar to Lawrence, 19-year-old model Barbie Ferreira who was also considered overweight was finally seen for only her beauty and charm. The body positivity that editors attempt to emplace in teens’ minds helps rule out all insecurities. The object of this movement is to show that appearance should not be a main factor in how we judge people or feel about ourselves. The idea is simply that every size is unique and everybody should be accepted in this society for who they are.

“I was so insecure and I had no one to look up to who could make me feel like all my dreams are valid,” Ferreira said to Time Magazine. “I know so many gorgeous women who even inspired me to model to break this boundary, and it makes me feel like girls out there can dream about something without having to think about the things that they can’t change.”

Though most models are photoshopped, a model’s body being fake isn’t always the case. Models do work hard for their bodies and there are requirements needed to become a model in the first place. After a healthy diet and numerous amounts of vigorous workouts, you are still expected to maintain a certain size.

Now there are several apps you can download onto your phone that enhance your appearance. Apps such as Photowonder, Airbrush and many more are apps used by teens everyday to tweak selfies we post on social media everywhere. Should teens really be judged for editing selfies to fix their insecurities when that is what we are taught by all of the models in the magazines? Singling out kids for editing their pictures where they do not feel 100 percent degrades a person’s self esteem.

We started with simple touch ups like removing a zit here and there, but now photoshop has come to making girls look a whole size smaller. Instead of changing anything, we should embrace everyone’s natural beauty and help women feel comfortable in their own bodies.