Media's Effect on Women's Self Image

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Walking around this campus, you do not see many women taller than 5' 9 and weighing less than 115 pounds. It is almost impossible to see a woman of this stature unless you are turning the pages of a fashion magazine. Every time we turn around it's a possibility we'll see Tyra Banks, Giesele or another supermodel on a billboard, television commercial, or magazine cover. Many women, teenagers, and young girls are starving themselves, exercising excessively, or getting plastic surgery to achieve the look of these undernourished supermodels. In reality, out of one million women who attempt to be a model, only one will achieve supermodel status. These beautiful bodies and perfect facial features are relatively unattainable. By knowing this, why would woman become anorexic, go to the gym 3 times a day, or get breast enlargements and liposuction for a one in a million chance?

Beauty is only skin deep? Ask the 56 percent of women and 43 percent of men that were surveyed by Psychology Today, who were dissatisfied with their appearance. Nowadays we, as a nation, are obsessed with the way we look. Fashion models and the media insist that only the slim are beautiful and thinness is a sign of virtue. By falling into their trap, this becomes the core part of our identity. In a study of 548 girls, 69 percent of them said magazine pictures and models influenced their idea of the perfect body, and 47 percent said they wanted to lose weight because of what they saw. The pictures in magazines or the actresses in movies send out the message that unrealistic thinness equals sexiness, which in turn equals beauty, success, and happiness. In a personal interview with Gina Pugliano, a recovering anorexic, she shared her thoughts on media i...

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.... Women see their bodies as problems because the fashion industry and supermodels say women must be beautiful and thin to feel any self worth. This ideal is unachievable for most women. To be the next Victoria Secret model, you must have the most toned body, tight abs, flawless facial features, and one really good airbrusher. Women do not understand that these models have stylists that work on every imperfection they have for hours at a time. Fashions in magazines or on the runway are made to look great on the hangers and even better on a woman who is 5' 10" and 108 pounds. Perfect body proportions are not achievable. Not one person on this earth is perfect and women need to realize this. Society puts too much pressure on women to look perfect all the time. Average women need to accept the fact that these supermodels are not 100% real. Everybody has flaws.

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