Of all the TV shows on air at the moment, Riverdale arguably has the greatest number of good-looking people in its cast. They’re ridiculously gorgeous and all of them look like they were chiseled out of marble. It’s all enough to make you feel bad about your own body image, and it’s something that Lili Reinhart is more than aware of as she too struggles with the unrealistic body standards on display on her show.
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In a (now deleted) tweet, a fan asked Lili Reinhart, “Don’t you think TV shows like [Riverdale] aimed at teenagers are contributing to unrealistic body expectations [and] body image issues?”
Rather than shy away from the question, Lili got honest about the unrealistic body standards on Riverdale and revealed that “not everyone” on the show is “perfectly chiseled” and she actually feels intimidated by the physiques of her castmates (who have had their own share of troubles) when she has to do “bra/underwear scenes.”
Beyond her castmates, Lili says she also feels “insecure” due to the body standards people have for what women “should” look like on TV, but she’s managed to come to terms with her body and how she’s “not the kind of person you would see walking on a runway during fashion week.”
While the unrealistic body standards on Riverdale and media in general is something she struggles with “on a daily basis,” Lili says she feels an “obligation” to “be strong” and confident in herself as a way to show other young women that she’s okay with not being a “size 0” or a “perfect hourglass shape,” and people should be comfortable in their own skin.
Lili then directs her truth-hammer to the industry she’s in by stating how it struggles with “accurate representation of female and male bodies” before tipping her hat to all the women who have pushed said industry in the right direction.
Lili has been open about her mental health over the years and it’s quite refreshing to see a star like her be so honest about the topic, especially when it’s in reference to her own show. Sadly, she’s far from the only young person who’s struggled with their body image.
Stars like Jessica Simpson and Taylor Swift have opened up about their own personal struggles with body standards and the pressure to look a certain way, which reinforces Lili’s comments on just how twisted the entertainment industry can be when it comes to body image.
Here’s hoping that celebrities like Lili Reinhart keep speaking up about the issue of body standards because that’s how change will eventually come.
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