Each December, an event takes place that leaves men drooling and women envious. Runways, high heels and expensive lingerie flood television sets across America as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show airs. After watching this annual production, women’s self-esteems plummet as the nation ogles over seemingly-perfect models. After looking around at school, work or even the community, it is blatantly apparent that not every women has a perfect hip-to-waist ratio framed by long, thick hair and a pearly-white smile. Though people may not know it, fitting into a pair of size zero jeans is not the goal of the female gender across the globe. In the West African country of Mauritania, the opposite holds true for women. Jutting hip-bones and flat stomachs are the opposite of the cultural view of beauty. In this traditional country, young girls are actually sent away by their families to gain extreme amounts of weight in order to find a husband. Rolling layers of fat accompanied by plentiful stretch-marks does not mean laziness or unhealthy lifestyles in this part of the world; these traits mean a female is wealthy enough to be provided for, and is therefore desirable to the opposite sex. It may seem strange that the taboos of our country are sought after in others, but very often, we are stuck looking through a cultural lens when it comes to beauty. What is attractive to one culture may be repulsive to another, but women in particular get trapped in the idea that they have to look a certain way to be wanted or accepted. Just because cultural perceptions may vary, it does not mean that one culture is less guilty of pressure than another. Not every woman is made to have a flat stomach or curves, just like every man isn’t made to have washboard abs or broad shoulders. The simple fact that beauty can be held so differently between two cultures shows that not every person views attractiveness the same. Don’t feel inferior because your body isn’t perfect or supposedly worthy of a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show; beauty is culturally subjective. The most important goal to keep in mind is confidence and happiness. Of course, striving to be healthy is important, but eating 500 calories a day to be thinner is not healthy in the least. Understand that we’re not all supposed to look like carbon copies of one another. Most importantly, be comfortable in your own skin; you never know who will find you beautiful.