How are girls so confident in their bodies?

Most men nowadays are reluctant to even take their shirts off at the beach. Meanwhile, girls have no problem wearing small bikinis, hotpants, posting body pics on social media or even getting naked in front of random guys. How do they do it?

Ape Out, Gorilla Mindset Shirt $21.68

Rise, Grind, Banana Find Shirt $21.68

Ape Out, Gorilla Mindset Shirt $21.68

  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Bc girls are hot anon

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    What's the equivalent of the Dunning Kruger effect in terms of confidence?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      The Stacey-Becky effect. It's when a woman thinks she is a Stacey or Becky even when she obviously isn't.

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Here's are a few possibilities
    1. They're attractive and they know it
    2. They're ugly hampigs but delusional so they dress inappropriately
    In both cases however, they're immodest prostitutes who need correction according to Shariah.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      cringe

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Incel detected

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        What’s funny about her posing is how fricked her back is believing her waist is that slim.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        AWOOOOOOGA

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Name?

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          i'm steve. whats yours?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Does she have a tumor? If not, what’s that bump on her left breast?
        t. someone who doesn’t know who she is

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          have you ever seen a woman before anon? that's called underboob. ie she's wearing a bikini a size too small

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          have you ever seen a woman before anon? that's called underboob. ie she's wearing a bikini a size too small

          Her left breast, you idiot, which would be to our right. It's in the upper left of her left breast. Image quality is shit so it might just be an artifact.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >Shariah
      go back

      [...]

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    because we get told we’re perfect/beautiful/sexy as long as we aren’t morbidly obese (even then it still happens, just less) all the time! i’ve lost weight and started lifting and my body looks better than ever but i’m still getting the same amount of praise i got when i put in zero effort. this is just from people in person. i’m not on social media but that just ramps everything up. if people call you pretty and special all the time you start to believe it.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      men call you pretty because we all want to frick any hole, any time, as long as you're not totally obese and disgusting (and even then you can find a monster that would give anything to frick you)
      girls call each other pretty idk, because they're nice people, mostly?
      also listen here sweet bby etc

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      At least now you know they're probably not lying. Thing with women, though, I've learned, is you don't actually care if someone is telling the truth, just that you hear what you want to hear. It's so fricking weird and makes me understand more why men should rule and women should serve.

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Bc you idiots act like horny morons even when you think you are being smooth.

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Women have hot bodies by default, it's kinda unfair tbh

    >tfw a girl like this, who's probably never even set foot in a gym or counted her macros would have the same attractiveness as a man who's dieted and lifted for years

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Simps. Plain and simple. There will always be a line of men with poor judgment throwing time, attention and money at women purely in homes of getting attention from them no matter how shitty a standard is.

    The end result is women of course will have blown up egos and compete for attention by showing off their bodies, with the ones that have the ideal physiques being blown up on social media, only encouraging the process.

    Ultimately you have a society of women who value the wrong things because the wrong things keep getting rewarded by attention and more by those men.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      [...]
      [...]
      It's literally a ugly dude from /soc/ that they applied filters and shopped hair on. this is proving an unlovable man will still be sought after as a woman because men have no standards and will provide attention to anyone.
      >also, summer already?

      Women are ridiculously insecure. Men just have no standards and frick them anyway.

      spot on for mentioning standards. The conventional standard for an attractive female body is literally just "no deformities" and "don't be fat".

      https://i.imgur.com/dEgv44z.png

      Most men nowadays are reluctant to even take their shirts off at the beach. Meanwhile, girls have no problem wearing small bikinis, hotpants, posting body pics on social media or even getting naked in front of random guys. How do they do it?

      https://i.imgur.com/76kexOw.jpg

      >A girl will never face serious competition in most social settings.
      lmao talk about socially inept incels talking about things they don't understand.

      women face just as much competition of men, sometimes even more. women are a thousand times more bitter, jealous, catty, two-faced than men.
      Back in high school if you had a problem if a dude you just told it to his face and solved it through fisticuffs or dialogue. Women never do that. Their social lives are war 24/7, you just don't realise it because you can't comprehend a word were conflict is always non-physical.

      are good examples of this. Both have a cute face, depending on your taste, but both of their bodies are just... normal. Standard. Expected. Neither are fertility goddesses with big cans, big ass and birthing hips. Nor do they look particularly fit. Surely >minimum cardio, but nothing impressive.

      And hey. that's ok. No shade from me, both are better than your average american woman nowadays. But it's not an impressive standard to reach.

      By comparison, the male body standard put out by hollywood, fashion models, and what most women sploosh the hardest over is pretty fricking fit. All solid lifters with <10% BF, and most on some amount of gear. That's a pretty fricking labor-intensive standard.

      Yeah yeah yeah there are plenty of chicks attracted to "dad bods" and there are chubby chaser dudes. I get it. But the reason so many mid women are confident in their bodies is because, frankly, mid is an acceptable standard to most men.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        I’ve legitimately never met an adult woman who was actually confident in her body. b***hes lie. If you’ve grown up with sisters or female cousins you’ll be able to understand that look of envious despair they get when they see a hotter woman.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          oh for sure. 7 years married with several female cousins and i don't disagree at all with a lot of the psychoanalysis in this thread.

          I'm only approaching from the angle of the social-media presentation that women in general put out there. Regardless of actual, internal confidence, girls post pictures for affirmation, and typically as long as they're not just SUPER weirdly built or lardasses, they recieve that affirmation. Because in general, that's mens' standard

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        > both of their bodies are just... normal. Standard. Expected. Neither are fertility goddesses with big cans, big ass and birthing hips

        you're fricking blind if you think

        https://i.imgur.com/76kexOw.jpg

        >A girl will never face serious competition in most social settings.
        lmao talk about socially inept incels talking about things they don't understand.

        women face just as much competition of men, sometimes even more. women are a thousand times more bitter, jealous, catty, two-faced than men.
        Back in high school if you had a problem if a dude you just told it to his face and solved it through fisticuffs or dialogue. Women never do that. Their social lives are war 24/7, you just don't realise it because you can't comprehend a word were conflict is always non-physical.

        doesn't have elite hips and top 10% boobs.

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Most men nowadays are reluctant to even take their shirts off at the beach
    That's because most men don't life and/or are overweight. Meanwhile women just need to either be skinny or have good fat proportions. Even then, overweight women still have big breasts to boost their confidence.

  9. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >imagine preventing yourself from feeling comfortable and getting sunlight all over your body just because ''people'' might judge you

    couldn't be me, lad. Don't let the thought of judgment live rent free in your life, most people don't even spend more than a passing glance on 99% of people. You're not that important. Ironically it takes another special kind of narcissism and main character syndrome to think people are oggling you at all times. But I heard that narcissists are insecure too, deep down.
    I guess if you can't suffer the ego wound of showing your fat rolls at the beach, then you're probably never gonna make it on a spiritual level.
    Remember, it's not just the body that needs work.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      When I was in high-school I got bullied for being fat and a redhead. I am 23 years old now and random people still make comments on my phenotype. Just last week some dudes shouted "Ed Sheeran" at me.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        yeah if you stand out, for sure you're gonna be an easy target for people looking to be freely aggressive. Sorry about that bro. All you can do about it is pity those people for the kind of sad, angry lives they must lead.
        On the other hand, don't ever let that prevent you from having the time of your life, riding the waves, playing in the water and getting some nice vitamin D on your skin (mind you, not too much in your case, be safe). But even in other settings where you have to wear your body out, wear it loud and proud bro, this is you, this is what makes you unique and be proud of it. Love yourself bro.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          I always wondered why people hate redheads so much. It's also the most unattractive phenotype to women. Even Indian men are more appealing.
          I don't have a model face so it's mostly over for me.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            just dye your hair dumb carrot

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Not everyone hates redheads - but you always hear of the most vocal ones because obviously they're loud and also because its an easy target to pile on. It's disgusting behavior and I'd say you should be above that even in your teenage years.
            Basically exclusion has always been a form of social bonding for normie NPCs who need to feel part of a group. So they will pile on the visual odd one out.
            But honestly you're not beyond finding someone bro. Don't have that mindset because it's often self-fulfilling.
            You can be the best version of yourself and maybe show someone what is worth loving in you. Maybe you are a really non-judgmental person with a lot of empathy, care and respect for others. You can still stand out in other ways to people.
            Like for example you are a good musician and people will not say ''wow did you see how pale that ginger was?'' but instead ''wow that ginger's got soul''.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            spanish girls and old ladies are the only ones that love red hair. go for the spanish girls

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Just go Canelo mode

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            not liking redheaded women makes you gay. simple as.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >Just last week some dudes shouted "Ed Sheeran" at me.
        dudes rock

  10. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Because you spend all your day on social media.That girl is in the top 5%

  11. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    kek but they’re not. everything high waist, sucking in their gut in photos. very rare to meet a girl who doesn’t have body dysmorphia

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      social media worsens their self-image. filters, editing their photos to appear slimmer or bigger hips n ass. you’re only seeing the top one’s from around the world who are willing to show off and are pushed to the front of your social media feed like this guy said

      >imagine preventing yourself from feeling comfortable and getting sunlight all over your body just because ''people'' might judge you

      couldn't be me, lad. Don't let the thought of judgment live rent free in your life, most people don't even spend more than a passing glance on 99% of people. You're not that important. Ironically it takes another special kind of narcissism and main character syndrome to think people are oggling you at all times. But I heard that narcissists are insecure too, deep down.
      I guess if you can't suffer the ego wound of showing your fat rolls at the beach, then you're probably never gonna make it on a spiritual level.
      Remember, it's not just the body that needs work.

      and even then they’re not 100% secure in it

  12. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    A girl will never face serious competition in most social settings.
    Most of the time, there are no social consequences for women if they lose fights or arguments with others, if anything, being a victim will trigger white knights to come to her rescue.
    On the other hand, men live in a world of violence.
    If you are fat, they will give you shit for being fat, if you are skinny, they will bully you for being weak, if you are buff, they will pick a fight with you to prove they are tougher then you are. There are serious consequences for men when they lose fights and arguments.

    In short, women take no real risk in social settings, including showing of their bodies, while men do.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      addendum; this is only true in first world countries. In countries with less developed legal and social protection systems, women also face risk and consequences socializing, but in first world countries, most women, as in women who are not soldiers or police or something like that, face very little real consequence in social settings.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >men live in a world of violence

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Even in the face of near omni-pervasive smart phone surveillance, violence is still with us in large part. The de-construction of economic wealth through the centralization and monopoly of the economy to mega corp automation, has rendered local states with so few resources they lack the ability to adequately fund law enforcement.

        The surveillance and domestication of man has been undone by his destitution.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        That pic and that caption would make a good meme

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous
      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        If this is real, this is the best ad for gun control I've ever seen.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >A girl will never face serious competition in most social settings.
      lmao talk about socially inept incels talking about things they don't understand.

      women face just as much competition of men, sometimes even more. women are a thousand times more bitter, jealous, catty, two-faced than men.
      Back in high school if you had a problem if a dude you just told it to his face and solved it through fisticuffs or dialogue. Women never do that. Their social lives are war 24/7, you just don't realise it because you can't comprehend a word were conflict is always non-physical.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >problem with* a dude
        >a world* where* conflict
        fix'd, frick me

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        I understand women can have bitter non-physical rivalries, but I'm saying most of the time they don't matter. there's no real social consequence to a female losing a confrontation with other females. If anything, a lot of men would have an instinctual urge to protect a woman who is being picked on or ostracized by other women.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >women face just as much competition of men
        No they don't, men pick. Women face intra sex competition, but even if they fall to the absolute bottom of their female totempole, a man usually doesn't give a shit.

  13. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Why are women so insecure about their looks when it really isn't that hard to be an attractive woman?
    Be thin, know how to apply makeup, and that's it, you're an easy 8/10. Yet they still all have body dysmorphia and cry because they think they aren't pretty enough

    Meanwhile men are expected to look like chris hemsworth and be tall shredded and jacked with a full head of hair

  14. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Not the only reason, but one reason certainly is the societal shift towards body positivity and the emasculation of men.

    For women: Being fat and out of shape is now a positive thing, and you can be "beautiful" when you are very clearly not beautiful. Women have swallowed this up and now think its okay to embrace something that ugly, and thus have no problem showing off their ugly bodies to the world (not in your pic, tho, OP. That girl has a fantastic body).

    For men: Society has embarrassed two sides of the man-- you can either be like Thor (massive, strong, bold, brave) or you can be a soft-bodied homosexual like Sam Smith. Most men don't want to be a soft-bodied homosexual, so they think they have to be like Thor-- and if they don't look like Thor then that MUST mean they are a soft-bodied homosexual and shouldnt show off their body.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >Meanwhile, girls have no problem....
      >...getting naked in front of random guys

      You answered your own question, OP.
      Why would they need to have an attractive body when they'll still get dicked down anyway?
      There is no reason for them to eat right and take care of themselves when they'll still get the positive validation they need from men.
      Not to mention this

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >societal shift towards body positivity and the emasculation of men.
      This happened for two reasons.
      The western justice system and social morality is based on victim defense and elevating and protecting victims, which ironically gives victims social power. The other reason is that the capitalist system has resulted in fine tuned control technology to mentally break people and psychologically addict them to obscene amounts of material consumption. This loss of self control and the perception that fat people are victims because they lack traditional markings of power (as in physical fitness) result in a condition where unhealthy people have both a large demographic and social power through victim morality.

      The key to deconstructing this mishap is understanding that fat people are not victims, but rather, are responsible for their own choices, even in the face of corporate psycho-viral advertising and addiction technologies leveraged against them, the consumer. Fat people are also not victims as they have easier access to physical violence than people who are not as heavy, thus are actually more capable of violence than people who control their diet.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        ...And Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
        This is all correct.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >Fat people... are actually more capable of violence than people who control their diet.
        A fatso taking off its shirt is an act of violence.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        It's sick and twisted that major corporations only support "body positivity" because it means there will be more obese sick super-consumers to buy their products.

  15. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    1. Men are attracted to them regardless. No matter what girls are getting positive male attention blasting their egos up to 11.
    2. There is no 2, this is why.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      That's cause most men just like every women

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Kek, a bunch of BIPOC and a white, dysgenic incels; and she's still gonna be used for only one thing.

        no way she was 20 here

        It's literally a ugly dude from /soc/ that they applied filters and shopped hair on. this is proving an unlovable man will still be sought after as a woman because men have no standards and will provide attention to anyone.
        >also, summer already?

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          oh yea i see the eggman

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Kek, a bunch of BIPOC and a white, dysgenic incels; and she's still gonna be used for only one thing.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        It’s a man. That’s the whole point. They took a photo of a literal below average man with no editing and it still got a ridiculous amount of simping

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >Bipoc
        If you still fall for this bullshit "people of color" speak when the most aesthetically diverse and colorful people are whites, who basically react to different climates/situations in a rainbow pattern, then you are moronic.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      no way she was 20 here

  16. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    How many girls do you know? They aren't confident with their bodies at all

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >They aren't confident with their bodies at all

      He probably doesn't know many

      https://i.imgur.com/8O5Xixr.jpg

      AWOOOOOOGA

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      it’s a weird thing. like i can hate my body but know that men will find it attractive. so in some ways i’m confident that i’m desirable but i still pick out the flaws on myself

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        There are no women on IST

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        post pussy

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >How many girls do you know?
      I have lots of female friends and they hook-up with random guys constantly. They are normal college girls.

  17. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    She's only 23 you sick fricks

  18. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Is not like that, although things have change a lot girls still are insecure. And I think still more than men. Don’t take TikTok bawds as the real thing.

  19. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    "I guess I 'settled' (I don't like to think of it that way, but in the beginning my partner was very different from me and did not align with the goals I had in life). I was not immediately attracted to them, and thank god for that, because I'm much happier now than I think I would have been otherwise. I've learned quickly that love is an action and a choice, and my life and relationship are better for it because I choose love everyday."

  20. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    See plenty of fatties at the beach male and female. What do you mean by most op? Site some stats and sources

  21. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    sheeeeeeeeeeeeexhhhhooooooooo

  22. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Possibly in the US south it is like that, in Western Europe water is seriosly cold.

  23. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Because of endless streams of praise and validation just for the mere fact that they have a pussy.
    If thirsty simps stopped validating fatties, the obesity problem would get better.

  24. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >How are girls so confident in their bodies?
    They aren't.

  25. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    How the frick do you get women to stop being so stupid and insecure?

    >gf is thin with nice perky breasts, the best body I could ask for on a woman
    >is still extremely insecure and prefers to have sex with the lights off

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      maybe she doesn't want to see you

  26. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    it's mostly a hot girl thing.
    fat girls are very self-conscious.

  27. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Are you fricking moronic? Girls are more insecure than man will ever be. Your lack of ever being around or listening to women is absolutely astounding.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Just about everything women do and wear is to mask their insecurities. The disgusting fatties that flaunt it are just trying to pretend they aren't disgusted in themselves by showing off.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        who is taking pictures of this chick? looks like theyre making a scene considering the mfer in the mirror looking at them to

  28. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >How are girls so confident in their bodies?

    You've definitely not had a girlfriend. The hottest girls tend to be the most insecure, that's why they keep themselves so hot.

  29. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Women are ridiculously insecure. Men just have no standards and frick them anyway.

  30. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    That is their thing. It's how they put themselves out there and show off what they have. For men it's like how at work even the smallest weakest guy will try and carry the heaviest piece of equipment or attempt to break the most rusted bolt.

  31. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    How about the prostitutes in porn? Getting naked in front of one to a dozen people for the world to see.

  32. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >how are girls so confident in their bodies

    They aren't. Try talking to women anon, stop being a virgin incel anon.
    No matter how hot a girl is, no matter if they are a 10 or what, every single one hates the way they look in one way or another and if you successfully comment on it you will destroy their mental and rip their ego to shreds.

  33. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    it's annoying how hard i get from just looking at some hoe in a bikini. It's been a while.

  34. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Men are reluctant to take your shirt off? What the frick am I reading lol, no grown man is shy about his body even if he’s a fat frick, if anything girls are way more self conscious.

  35. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Reminder: Hot men are more attractive than hot women. Male beauty is superior to female beauty. Women can't even be 10/10s, as they max out at 8/10s, even with copious amounts of makeup. Men don't need makeup to be hot, as we can achieve it naturally. Also, a women would have to be a theoretical 15/10 just to be as attractive as a 10/10 male.
    >Inb4 gay.
    Nope, just a male narcissist who can't stand the idea of a woman somehow being hotter than me or my kind, when they're not.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >Male beauty is superior to female beauty.
      Based

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      https://i.imgur.com/cdeD1nI.jpg

      >Male beauty is superior to female beauty.
      Based

      >talks about male beauty being superior to female beauty
      >posts feminine twinks

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Well no shit that chad beats stacy

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >Women can't even be 10/10s, as they max out at 8/10s,
      > Also, a women would have to be a theoretical 15/10 just to be as attractive as a 10/10 male.
      That's because you're a homo. I can tell by you using beautiful for a man instead of handsome or good looking.

  36. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    There's a lot of fat b***hes that should have less confidence in their bodies.
    >t. American

  37. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    You should get off tiktok and instagram, put down the porn, and go outside more to look at your surroundings. Then really consider asking this question again

  38. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Due to what's in her abdomen and how this grants her as much attention a week as you get in 5 years, and still almost any girl they're as insecure as most people on this board.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      and more sex in a week than I get in 5 years

  39. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    it's the opposite in reality. in real life women are way more selfconscious while fat fricks have no issues parading around shirtless.

    online is an entirely different world. guys dont get attention from having shirtless photos unless they are literal top .1% or weird freaks like the Liver King. and a large amount of that attention will be hate. meanwhile all a girl has to do is be somewhat young and not obese to get thousands of exclusively positive attention. also the girl doesn't have to worry about getting raped.

  40. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    They flaunt their bodies because they want to bag a husband and men IQ drops to single digits when they see boobs, ass and sexy chick belly. Simple as.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >they want to bag a husband
      Why are most women nowadays then only interested in casual sex as opposed to a long-term relationship? Ever been to college? Girls only hook-up and have FWBs but never commit to any guy.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        That's cause you hang out with trashy people.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          so, zoomers

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Ever been to college? Guys only hook-up and have FWBs but never commit to any girl.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          The majority of college guys don’t have sex at all, anon. Also college aged girls are seeking fun, not companionship. The companionship is merely accidental.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          I'm tired of you fricking moronic roasties infesting this board. Frick off and get raped prostitute

  41. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >How are girls so confident in their bodies?
    They aren't. Have you seen how much make-up and photo filters they have to use?

  42. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    They're not, they're actually so insecure that they need constant validation and know that the men who like them will say so and the ones who don't won't say anything because it's no longer acceptable to body shame women. They're just prostitutes thirsting for attention from all the males who are slaves to their wieners.

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *