Imperfect Is The New Perfect

HILLIARD, Ohio -- What is beauty -- really? As defined by Merriam-Webster, it is the qualities of a person that give pleasures to the senses.

However, in today’s society, there is an immense amount of pressure put on teens and young adults in regard to beauty and appearance.

Is your clothing trendy enough? Are you pretty enough? Did you spend enough on that designer bag?

We're bombarded with unrealistic images of beauty, perfection and self-image.

Such societal definitions are not new.

A major global study titled, "The Real Truth About Beauty: A Global Report" was published in 2004.

In total, 3,200 women were surveyed throughout 10 countries -- with shocking results.

"The study validated the hypothesis that the definition of beauty had become limiting and unattainable, as if only thin, young and blond were beautiful." according to www.Dove.us.

According to the study, the current definition of beauty has an incredible effect on the self-esteem of women.

Only 2 percent of women around the world describe themselves as beautiful, and 81 percent of women in the United States strongly agree that the media sets an unrealistic standard of beauty, according to the study.

Today, the media plays one of the biggest roles in influencing the youth.

The entire industry exalts great pressure on young women to look a certain way -- with stick-thin models and actresses who do not live healthy, normal lives.

Recently, Australian model Gemma Ward went under fire when photographs surfaced showing her larger-than-cover-model size. After a two-year modeling hiatus, Ward was rumored to have gained 20 to 30 pounds since she graced magazine covers at age 16.

Now, under intense scrutiny, it is suspected that she will quit modeling all together.

Such examples are disheartening. However, there are campaigns aimed to change this.

Singer and actress Caitlin Crosby, along with fellow actress Brie Larson, created a Web site aimed at helping teens and young adults.

Called LoveYourFlawz.com, the goal of the site is to help people learn to love and embrace their unique flaws.

There are inspiring quotes, visitor-submitted photos, and even a blog for people to share poems, stories and quotes of their own.

The site highlights people of all shapes and sizes who embrace their imperfections as part of who they are.

Another more common campaign for helping raise self-esteem and self awareness is the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty.

According to Dove’s Web site, it is currently focused on how girls are showered with unrealistic messages of beauty.

"The campaign was developed to help girls realize what they see in movies and magazines represent an unrealistic standard of beauty, not an everyday achievable look," according to the site.

With such campaigns focused on helping youth redefine beauty and become comfortable with themselves, there have been positive results.

A recent article on Discovery News, fittingly titled "Good News Study: 3 out of 4 Teen Girls Happy with Their Bodies" by Benjamin Radford, was written on the heels of last month’s Fashion Week in New York City. The article shows a large improvement in the way young women view themselves.

When the Girl Scouts of America surveyed 1,002 teenagers, they found that girls’ friends and peers have a far greater influence over how they feel about themselves than models or the media.

This story first was written for Hilliard Darby's Panther Press and shared with NBC 4 as part of a media collaboration between school and the station.