|
Everyday I see the media affecting females’ behavior towards themselves and others. I’m tired of the cost for all the beauty products that the media says we “need”. I’m sick of seeing girls I know, to girls on the cover of magazines, developing eating disorders and being frowned upon for doing so. I feel the media’s image of the average women is unrealistic and hurts girls mentally, emotionally and physically. First of all the media often teaches girls to determine their self -esteem by how beautiful they are. On TV and movies it’s almost always the beautiful girl who comes out on top, is the desire of every guy, and finds true love. As a result, beauty and success frequently go hand and hand, and the broad difference between the two is blurred. I’m not saying someone cannot be both beautiful and successful. The media implies they are parallel to each other. Second the image portrayed of women by the media is no where near the “average” girl. Many women go to tremendous lengths to look like the gorgeous people in the media because they think it is how they are supposed to look. The average model is 23% thinner than the everyday woman. How is that anywhere near the typical female? When girls strive for this body type, more often than not they may develop an eating disorder; bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating disorders plague womankind. Worst of all, if girls don’t feel self confident about the way they look it generally affects their relationships and long term decisions. A study from The University of Texas shows obese girls are 50% less likely than non-obese girls to attend college because they feel self-conscious about their body. The study also discovered obese girls were more likely to consider suicide, use alcohol and drugs and have negative self-images. Has the media really |
|
Kelsie Jones |
|
pushed girls to the point of suicide ? Although damaging, the illustration of women in the media is financially beneficial to the economy. The cosmetic and diet industries rake in tens of billions on products a year. Up to 95% of people who use diet products regain the weight afterward. Diet adds make girls feel like it’s essential to loose that “last ten pounds” or unattractive “baggage”. These advertisements often makes healthy women feel repulsive, and when they can’t meet this goal it only makes their self confidence worse. In my opinion the perception of women in the media is ridiculous. Unfortunately it’s so heavily engraved in culture it affects the way people lead their lives. The commercials of gorgeous women don’t show “behind the scenes”. Commercials don’t flaunt the diet pills, fainting from lack of nutrition, or obsessive dieting that so many women suffer from. The media’s deception pressures women to take extreme measures in order to fit a stereotype. |