This New Internet “Challenge” Is Making Me Furious!
These internet challenges come and go and some are mildly entertaining and others I just roll my eyes at. I read about a new challenge trending on Twitter right now and it's the worst thing that's come up yet!
I understand that the Tide Pod Challenge was sending kids to the hospital, but we can all agree that it was just a really stupid way to act out. This new challenge, the "Cinderella Challenge," though, hits home and preys on insecurities in the worst way.
Many of us have body image issues anyway, especially with how the body is portrayed in media. We don't need something like this making things worse. The way the "Cinderella Challenge" works, according to The Mirror, is challenging participants to have a BMI of 18 like Cinderella's waist in the movies.
If you're unfamiliar with the scale, a BMI of 18 puts someone at underweight. Twitter users are now posting on Twitter how much weight they'd have to lose to reach their "Cinderella Weight." For example, for someone 5'5" would end up having to weigh about 100 pounds to reach that BMI. That may be natural for some, but to force yourself to that weight is unhealthy.
All this is doing is romanticizing extreme weight loss and perpetuating those body image views that are thrown at us from every which direction. We need to find a way to support each other and support every body type. Being someone that has had their various struggles with eating disorders and body image views, this is not okay. If you see a Twitter friend of yours posting about the "Cinderella Challenge" take a second to let them know what a great person they are, they don't need to force themselves to be underweight to feel whole.
If you or anyone you know needs help regarding an eating disorder, you can always call the 24/7 National Eating Disorders Association Helpline: 1-800-931-2237.