I work as an art tutor for high school students. One of the most difficult obstacles I’ve faced is getting my students to draw realistic women’s bodies in their works. Many of my students are first introduced to the world of illustration through the gaming and animation industries; consequently, their art reflects the culture they’ve been exposed to.

For me, illustration should be used as a visual tool for communication and self-expression; therefore, it is vital to portray accurate representations of oneself. A number of my students illustrate female bodies in unrealistically distorted, sexualized ways. It’s distressing to realize that those bodies are what they project onto themselves — and that they don’t realize the problem at hand.