I feel these days, that as a woman, my appearance is under constant scrutiny, most of the time from myself. I am my number one critic and I used to be really harsh on myself and weeks at a time would go by where I was unhappy with my appearance.

This stems from a few things I feel: the fact that I went to school with some really mean people who would call me hurtful names and make fun of my weight; the fact that every time I turn the TV on I am bombarded with images of beautiful women and advertising that makes me feel I'm not pretty enough; and the latest body shaming trends.

And I'm not the only one who feels this way. I have so many gorgeous, gorgeous friends who are just as tough on themselves as I am on myself. Why?

This morning, I read the below blog post on Hello Giggles in regards to Kate Upton. I've never heard of her, but the title of the blog intrigued me. Kate Upton is a 20 year old model who was recently on the cover of Sports Illustrated and an anonymous blogger from a site called “Skinny Gossip” had this to say about her: Upton appears “lazy,” and “lardy,” has “huge thighs, NO waist, big fat floppy boobs, terrible body definition,” and “looks like a squishy brick”

This girl is absolutely gorgeous and I can’t even imagine how I would feel if someone said that about me. What posses a person to say such awful things about another human being?

http://hellogiggles.com/the-fat-shaming-of-kate-upton-or-why-ill-ne...

But this kind of thing doesn’t just happen to curvy women. These days, more and more women are coming under fire for being skinny.

I was friends with a girl at my school who was incredibly skinny. I could nearly wrap my fingers around her wrist twice, and someone with big enough hands could wrap their fingers around her waist. She was tiny.

She also ate like a horse! I have never, ever, EVER known any other female who could put away food quite like this girl. Her lunches usually included: a meat pie, a packet of chips, a soft drink, a packet of biscuits and a donut of some kind, most likely cream filled. She would eat and eat and never put on any weight.

Unfortunately, she would often have female teachers accuse her of having anorexia! They would blatantly say to her face, that she was anorexic and even though she would tell them she wasn't, they would huff and puff and think her silly.

Can you imagine how damaging that would be to a teenage girl? I've come to realise though, that these women were probably saying this to her because for some twisted reason they were jealous of her high metabolism. It is 100% wrong that they accused her being anorexic at all, let alone to her face. Luckily, she was able to take it with a grain of salt and never let it get to her.

I read this blog from Micheline and Laura this morning and was really happy to hear their thoughts on the matter. They touch on the fact that the PUG lifestyle is a community which should make all women feel beautiful and worthy. I actually love the fact that they refuse to hire models who are mean to other women. I was even prouder to be a PUG customer after watching their videos.

http://www.pinupgirlstyle.com/profiles/blogs/you-ll-never-be-able-t...

Why are some women so mean to others? Why do so many women feel the need to just tear apart another woman’s appearance and make her feel bad? Does it make them feel better? I couldn't imagine it making me feel better, it would make me feel like a horrible person. In my opinion, shaming anyone’s body, no matter what size they are is terrible. Some women are skinny, some women are curvy, but we’re all beautiful.

It's hearing people like Micheline and Laura talk about all women being beautiful that makes me really happy, and helps me to realise that I am beautiful and worthy. Pinup Girl Clothing makes me feel amazing and I just want to thank everyone on the PUG team for what they do every day.