Women’s and teen magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Seventeen, Health and Fitness, and the tabloid People Magazine, constantly advertise images and products that promote thinness through dieting and exercise. The front covers of these magazines usually have photos of actresses or athletes with perfect body images. Most people understand, and accept, that in many of the photos airbrushing has been done to make the persons look enhanced. Airbrushing can make their teeth whiter, their waist’s slimmer, thighs skinnier, and abs tighter. Along with airbrushing of their photos, most Hollywood stars have personal trainers, chefs, fashion consultants, and the money to buy the body the public sees on the movie screen, television and in magazines. For most people, it does not affect their self-image, but for someone, especially a young girl who does not understand this, the fake images can lead to trouble.
Media targeting teenage girls are emphasizing the ideal of thinness as beauty. The average height and weight for a model is 5'10" and 110 lbs, and the height and weight for the average woman is 5'4" and 145 lbs. (Media). It is easy to see why this can create a huge health risk for young girls. According to an article in the National Institute on Media and the Family, and as reported in USA Today, “ In a survey of girls 9 and 10 years old, 40% have tried to lose weight, according to an ongoing study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute” (USA Today). “Anorexia is most common in adolescent girls and young women, with a typical age of onset between the ages of 13 and 20” (helpguide).
What starts out as wanting to lose a few pounds to look like the stars, turns into an obsession with thinness, and it doesn’t matter to the young girls how they reach that objective. They do not want to accept the fact that most stars are not naturally so fit or gorgeous. They do not understand the consequences of dieting too much, what it does to their bodies, and the effects on their vital organs. There have been many public figures that have confessed to being anorexic, and some have succumbed to the damage caused by this disorder. Pop singer Karen Carpenter from the 1970’s, died from a heart attack after she had been on the road to recovery from anorexia. Actress Tracy Gould suffered from anorexia and to this day struggles with her self-image. Mary-Kate Olson of the famous Olson twins has not come out and admitted to being anorexic, but the photos and images portrayed in the media painted the true representation. Even the late Princess Diana confessed to having an eating disorder.
The dieting industry makes billions of dollars each year by consumers continually buying products in an effort to be the ideal weight. Hollywood displays an unrealistic and unattainable standard of beauty. With the images of the “perfect body” being seen by millions of people each day, it is not unreasonable to expect many to have a feeling of inadequacy and a sense of not being good enough, of not being thin enough. This takes an enormous toll on one's self-esteem and ultimately can lead to an eating disorder.
Some advertisers are starting to realize the impact they have on young people, especially women. Dove launched a campaign in response to what the media portrays as an “ideal” woman: "Campaign for Real Beauty." This campaign features women in their plain white underwear, proudly showing their not so perfect bodies, whose bodies are curvy and have realistic proportions like most women. Dove has also produced commercials that criticize the industry for distorting the perception of beauty. They are showing that it is ok to have a body that is not stick thin and that won’t fit into a size “0” jean. Some critics say that Dove has doomed itself to becoming the spokesperson and brand for “fat” women.
One of the biggest breakthroughs to come through was in 2006 when the Madrid Fashion show, Pasarela Cibeles, chose to ban models with a dangerously low Body Mass index (BMI). Photos that appeared in the media showing models whose ribs could be seen and counted, with sunken cheeks, and collarbones that stood out sharply, brought this on. When they did this, only 68 out of a typical 300 models applied. It was a brave and broad move, one that was not met with enthusiasm by the fashion industry. It will take years to convince the fashion industry that natural curves should be the norm.
While the media cannot be blamed totally for the increase in anorexia, it is perpetuating the problem by portraying unrealistic models, causing a negative effect on women and girls, which can lead to self-esteem problems and eating disorders. Society needs to speak out against this false picture of health. Advertisers such as Dove need to continue to speak out. Society needs to ask why does the media continually portray these super-thin, gorgeous models in magazines ads and covers? Why do the film industry and the arts communities continually push size “0” actresses? Can’t society stand up and say that the media should show real people as they truly are? Society and the media need to say it’s ok to be a size 14; it’s ok if your ribs can’t be counted, and it’s ok if your body has curves. Maybe this would help get rid of the negative feelings that so many impressionable young people have about their bodies. If magazines and the television showed models that were of a variety of weights and sizes, people might not have that insecurity and feel they need to be super thin and a size “0” to fit in. The media is a powerful tool in today’s society, and it should act responsibly.
Works Cited
www.helpguide.org/mental/anorexia_signs_symptoms_causes_treatment.htm
Updated 27 February 2008, 29 Nov 08
“Media and Eating Disorders.” Rader Programs, 08 Dec 2008,
National Institute on Media and the Family. 08 Dec 2008
USA Today, 1996: P 01D http://www.usatoday.org/
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