In a society where unhealthily thin bodies are not only considered normal, but sought-after and expected in the media, we are overcome with images of pencil-thin, big-breasted, and air-brushed beauties on the cover of every magazine. All of them send us the same, miserable message: You (yes, you) are too fat, too tall, too thin, too short, too ugly — too real — to make it in the real world.

On Thursday, the University of Washington’s fourth-annual Everybody, Every Body fashion show strove to promote self-confidence and positive body image across campus by showcasing the real bodies of students of every shape and size.

Rather than propagating the normalization of an unrealistically thin body type — an unattainable, and at times unhealthy goal — the Everybody, Every Body fashion show focuses on showing how all body types can be seen as attractive.

So many aspects of life — grades, jobs, relationships — pressure us in some way or another. Why, then, must we also feel the need to have an effortlessly perfect body? How can we be expected to feel comfortable within our shells if we are perpetually confronted with images in the media of the so-called perfect body — slender, long hair, long legs, well-toned but curvy (or alternatively, broad chested, rakish grin, six pack, etc.).

Why are most beauty and fashion products advertised in such a manner, if not so that consumers can compare their own bodies to such lofty, idyllic images of the human form? While this makes sense from a financial standpoint, it opens the gateway to myriad body-image issues, some as dangerous as eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia or binge eating.

However, this event does bring rise to an obvious potential criticism. The issue of obesity in the United States is a huge one (no pun intended): About 25.6 percent of all adults in the U.S. are considered obese, according to the U.S. Obesity Society. So by showcasing all of these bodies, large and small, are we still promoting unhealthy body images? How do we know what a healthy body looks like?

After all, nobody (no body) is perfect, and what is healthy for one person may appear very different from what is healthy for another. But how can we expect people to work toward becoming healthier — but not necessarily thinner — if they lack the self-respect, motivation, no pun intended) the physical characteristics that often seem so important. While the unhealthy aesthetic ideals that we encounter every day in the media invite us to compare our bodies to those heavily air-brushed models, the Everybody, Every Body fashion show allows us to see that all bodies are beautiful, and that healthy does not necessarily mean pencil-thin.

Reach columnist Emily McFadden at opinion@dailyuw.com.