The Beauty Myth

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Recommended: Media's portrayal of body image

In today’s society it seems as though women are forced into being something that they are not. Women see pictures in magazines and they believe to be accepted by everyone else they need to look like an air-brushed image. I believe that some of the feelings from “The Beauty Myth” are still true in today’s society, but on the other hand I believe that it should not have to be this way. I believe that women’s feeling that they have to look like something they are not are brought on by advertisements like this one and many other things.

Many women go through life trying to make themselves something they are not by means of expensive surgery, expensive clothes and makeup, expensive hairstyles, etc. Certain aspects from this advertisement that I have chosen show exactly why there is a problem with today’s society. This is a picture of a very attractive, thin gorgeous looking girl posing for Tommy Girl perfume. I think there is a problem in the way this company is advertising this product. It is basically implying that if you wear this perfume you will look and feel like this. It also implies that only beautiful women, like the one in the picture, are capable of wearing this perfume. I think it is wrong because it causes innocent beautiful, innocent young and older women to lower their self-esteem. They see a picture like this and wish they looked like the girl in the picture when in all reality they are beautiful themselves.

This advertisement appears in a women’s magazine which also has many other pictures and advertisements which are very similar to this one. I can recall one similar article, which actually had the line “Don’t you wish you looked like her?” I believe it was for a makeup ad and it had a picture of a beautiful woman on it with a huge smile. Honestly I believe that that is taking it a bit too far. It causes girls and women to believe false thoughts about themselves and could easily make them depressed about the way they look. This should not have to be a worry in our society today. I believe that the ad I have chosen stands out a lot because of the beautiful, young woman “selling” the women’s perfume.

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