Women are implicitly told through every medium possible that they are not beautiful enough. Women wake up and turn on the morning headline news, and female broadcasters are almost always young, fit and caked with makeup, as opposed to most of their male co-hosts.

On the commercial break, a cosmetic advertisement is aired featuring a young woman with bright, clear, wrinkle-free and airbrushed skin.

Pick up the morning newspaper between sips of coffee, and a lingerie advertisement insert falls out depicting overly sexualized, unhealthily thin and unnaturally large-breasted women with zero cellulite, sag or stretch marks to speak of.

All of this is seen in the first hour of being awake.

Women are bombarded with unrealistic, unattainable ideas of what it means to be beautiful in America. After having this beauty ideal burned into our every thought, we compare ourselves to our friends — who is closer to the beauty ideal given to us by corporate America?

For example, they sell me foundation so “my face can be as clear as hers.” They sell me shampoo so “my hair can be as shiny and full as hers.” They sell me clothing so “I can look as thin as she does in them.” They sell me magazines so I can “please my man like she does.” They sell me mascara so my “lashes can be as long and feminine as hers.”

As soon as we encounter another female, the questions begin. Is my hair as full as hers? I might need some more hairspray. Is my waist as small as hers? I might need to buy some diet pills. Is my face as clear as hers? I should buy some foundation to make it look better. Is my outfit as impressive as hers? I’ll need to get some new clothes.

Corporations that manufacture beauty products encourage your insecurity, and profit from it.

The reality in America is that 90 percent of adult women have cellulite, the average dress size is a 14 and the average weight is 162.9 pounds, according to an article in Los Angeles Times.

Most women will never see a body even slightly similar to her own declared beautiful or sexy.

Through mediums such as magazines, commercials, movies and television, women are taught they must fulfill an unrealistic ideal to be beautiful. We are told we aren’t beautiful enough without the assistance of costly products.

Women: I challenge you to stop. Stop supporting an industry that thrives on our insecurities. We as women deserve to feel beautiful and sexy. We deserve the pursuit of pleasure and the expression of our naturally beautiful bodies and sexuality to the greatest extent we as individuals desire.