For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for September 17, 2021

Har-dee-har-har, Elizabeth, on that last remark.

Yep. Teen girls have the worst perception of themselves. If anyone has daughters, don’t invest in any full length mirrors. Just a head-level mirror in the bathroom will suffice to keep their self-esteem intact.

So sad! That girl will develop an eating disorder if she hasn’t already. I remember hearing about a girl who went to the doctor about an eating disorder and the doctor showed her a picture of a concentration camp victim who was skin and bones and the girl said she had a good figure.

I agree, you should throw away your mirrors and go to a psychologist or psychiatrist, you need help!

This is the first intelligent thing Liz has said in the past week. Good for her.

Candace; Did you see the Karen Carpenter movie?

Also throw away all those ‘fashion magazines’, TV ads etc. that tell you that you have to follow them to be popular, beautiful and so on.

I THOUGHT this was leading up to anorexia…

I guess this means Candace is not going to buying any clothes after all.

Like I said yesterday, mental health issue about her non-existent excess weight. It affected so many back when this strip first ran, and most likely still does.

Just google “Karen Carpenter” for a sad example.

Actually, that’s VERY good advice. While you’re at it, why not cut down on the TV and radio usage. It’s their messages about “thinness” that are influencing you.

Maybe her parents have some fun-house mirrors at home.

I never would have expected to hear a fat person to complain of a nonexistent waist. Maybe next time I should compliment a woman who has been losing weight by saying, “Are you on a diet? Because your waist seems to be expanding from the last time I saw you.”

That’s what I did!

There are way too many girls who think this way. Throwing out their mirrors would be a step in the right direction.

She could throw out every physical mirror in the universe, but that won’t solve her problem, which is the mental mirror in her head that distorts how she sees herself.

Agree. Destroy the mirrors!

So very sad…

Funny how the things we hated about as teens, now seem like nothing. I hated everything about my body as a teen and hid under baggy clothes, but when I look back at those pictures, my figure was actually lovely.

Sadly, all girls are fat. If you don’t believe me, just ask them.

Don’t believe everything you think.

Does Candace have an eating disorder?

Unfortunately, 30 years later, this is still too true.

that’s an even better idea!

Body dissatisfaction is a really weird thing. I was in a “complex PTSD” forum with a guy who insisted he should not have a right foot. There was nothing wrong with it but it didn’t belong on his leg. He finally found a doctor who surgically removed his right foot and he said he had never been happier. I left the forum shortly afterward.

Typical signs of anorexia.

Saw a Carpenters tribute show last week. Very well done, but a reminder of what anorexia has taken from us.

If I was a teenage boy, I’d find Candace as hot!

Wow, someone needs some counseling/therapy. Lynn’s deliberately drawing her with a more defined figure than her friends and yet these delusions keep coming out of her.

“Maybe you should just throw out your mirrors!”

…said Elizabeth, upon reflection? d;o)

So sad that we have done this to ALL people with the ridiculous advertising that we see with the svelte models, the perfect smiles with the whitest of teeth, and everything else that is indicative of only a very small percentage of society. We have enough insecurities in life without being made to feel unattractive in our bodies.

Mirror mirror on the wall…

Nice,skilled drawings.Liz and Dawn with their hands in their pockets show how uncomfortable they are with this conversation;and that what Candace is saying comes as a big surprise.

Elizabeth is wise.

Atta girl, Lizard Breath!!!

It’s that time in life when the body is changing and not everything is changing at the same speed. It can be most troubling for people.

Eating disorder arc, here we come.

Good advice from Elizabeth. Young people’s bodies are still maturing and changing. They should worry more about getting the right kind and amount of nutrition rather than what their insecurities tell them. Plenty of time to adjust body shape later.

Candace does have a nice butt, but it’s not enormous

Body dysmorphia or budding anorexic? Either is not a good thing at that age, or any age for that matter.

And go to a “shrink” for God’s sake.

it is amazing what people with the problem that Candace see when they look in a mirror. women have been told they are too fat for years, are looked over because of their size being laughed at, bullied, ignored. super skinny people do not represent the majority of Americans and overweight people are finally coming forward and saying enough is a enough, that they should be valued as a person like anyone else. kudos to those who have embraced their size and lived life to the fullest.

Good idea Elizabeth; much healthier!

MINOR SPOILER:When April reaches this age, there’s a strip where she’s staring in the mirror in the school bathroom, thinking how ugly she is because she has zits. And another girl is watching April, lamenting how she would give anything to have a figure like April’s instead of being so skinny.

Go Liz & Dawn! Candace indeed needs your friendship right now.

Candace had a huge problem. Hopefully, her friends can help her out.

If Candace were any skinnier she’d need skis to shower. Liz is right. Toss out the mirrors.