Girls: what would you say is the main cause of your insecurities?

I'm going to sound like a massive arrogant tosser here, but I don't have many insecurities. I like how I look. I don't see the point in disliking how I look, this is me so I'm going to make the best of it. I like my figure, I think I have a fairly attractive face, and I always look nice. People come up to me and comment on it. So yeah, I like it.

However, I wasn't always confident. I was bullied massively at school for having big boobs and fair skin dark hair, was told I was ugly and looked like a man. I used to be insecure about having visible hair on my arms because I'm naturally black haired with fair skin so I used to think it was obvious and people used to take the piss, but now I don't care. At the time I used to be a bit insecure but now I'm alright. If someone doesn't like how I look it's not my problem. I know I look good.

I don't think I'm photogenic at all though.

Thanks! Yeah I know I'm not perfect, I just don't have a problem with it. I don't live to please others. I try to help others be confident as well

Because it's what they who publish it want their product to look like. The issue with the media here is that they aren't working with attraction they are only working with a product which sells their work.

Again, the media can do what ever they want but without those who buy into it it's worth incredibly little; people choose to attempt to live up to impossible images because they perceive it to be desired. I don't personally know any males who find digitally enhanced girls preferable over natural ones and very few females who actively think it's how they "should" be.

Guys, probably.

My mental health problems and my eternal singledom...

I wasnt born into a 'girls' body - and as such 20 years of testosterone has given me a hideous and awful body.

HRT is slowly helping this, but it still makes life near un-bearable..

imagine waking up with realy broad shoulders, hair everywhere, no breasts, etc. - yet still being a girl, - its not pleassant

So yes, this is the main cause of my insecurities..

I get what you're trying to say. I sat here trying to think what to write in response but I think you are actually right in saying that it's the way the public perceive what the media produces that may be causing all the insecurities. But remember that girls of 12 and 13 are very easily influenced by what they read or see, and in that way the media can be very very damaging to a young girl's self-esteem.

I remember as a young teen I used to flick through girly magazines and feel like absolute **** because I didn't have skinny thighs and long glossy hair like the girls in the photos.

Just like my Tyrone. I used to have insecurities too a few years back - but I managed to shift through all of them with much haste. I love the way I am now.

Unfortunately the media imo has a claw into the heads of young girls. Especially with the proliferation of social media sites nowadays, where images are shared at an even faster rate than ever before.

Though this is also prevalent in men - there are a lot of 'short guy' hate campaigns going on Twitter, ran entirely by women - I think social media has an even greater effect on people than magazines and TV - as these messages are being regurgitated and distributed at an alarming rate.

Just my two pennies

This is an interesting thread! Although I'm not massively insecure, we all have our 'bad days' and I guess for me, it's kinda my desire to always better myself. As in, I hate being average (at anything) and I just tend to think 'oh, if I had thinner legs' or 'if my hair was like hers..' and so on. Sadly!

I feel the same (I realise I'm not a girl so my place on this thread is a bit obsolete but the principles are the same). I know the weaker points of my personality and appearances and where I'm happy I'm happy and where I'm not I do things to try and make them more how I want (not how I and not how others want).

I agree, I think everyone should be confident. It makes me really sad that a lot of women dislike how they look. I spent too long disliking myself to give a fraction of a **** what anyone thinks of how I look. I don't read women's magazines, and I don't watch typical things with celebs and models in. Plus I've never really found them very attractive anyway

I really recommend reading this
http://fullerfigurefullerbust.com/

It's written by George who's a size 18 and really body positive. If you like her on Facebook, you'll see all the cool stuff she posts.

People calling me anorexic because I'm thin.

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I know that's true and it's horrible and a lot of the time it seems to be other girls who actually make it worse for each other which is completely dumb.

I hope that when girls start getting to know boys they realise that they're not looking for these images but that they're looking for real, un-airbrushed, people imperfections and quirks are interesting anyway. Not only is "perfect" inaccessible and ill-defined it is bloody boring!

Thanks I shall check it out!

It makes me sad when I see larger girls who are clearly confident in themselves walking down the street in say a short skirt, and you see girls or guys taking the piss out of them behind their backs

I get that too I sometimes find myself saying "oh if I had such and such I would be so much happier", but Ive come to realise that just isn't true. You gotta learn to love who you are now or you'll never be happy. Now I just gotta take that advice haha.

I'm glad you're happy

I get that too I sometimes find myself saying "oh if I had such and such I would be so much happier", but Ive come to realise that just isn't true. You gotta learn to love who you are now or you'll never be happy. Now I just gotta take that advice haha.