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The average women sees four hundred to six hundred advertisements per day, and by the time she is over seventeen years old, she has received over 250, 000 commercial messages through the media (Dittrich). Advertisers often emphasize the importance of physical attractiveness in an attempt to sell the products. Researchers are concerned that this places unneeded pressure on women to focus on their appearance. Also, researchers suggest advertising may directly impact womens body image, which can lead to unhealthy behaviors as women and girls strive for the ultra-thin body idealized by the media. This essay will attempt to prove that the media has a brutal effect on a womens confidence.
First, the media portrays that beauty is a necessity for all women. Unfortunately, the media pushes an unnatural body type, making natural beauty impossible to accept. The average American woman is 5 ' 4 " tall and weighs 140 pounds. Where as, the average American model is 5 ' 11 " tall and weighs 117 pounds (Nikki Katz). Society is being brainwashed by the media. In fact, studies show that more than sixty percent of women do not like what they see in the mirror (Rutherford).
Also, at young ages girls are impacted by the physical appearance of Barbie. Many people do not understand that looking like Barbie is physically impossible. Moreover, the models women see in magazines are completely flawless, and have incredible bodies. The majority of society could never look as good as the models they see. To summarize, women are discouraged with their bodies because the media only show beautiful women. Next, the media portrays an image that women must be skinny to be accepted.
At early ages girls are being bombarded constantly, with images of skinny models. Everyday girls have an ongoing battle with their bodies because the media sets unachievable standards. Also, the number one wish for girls ages eleven to seventeen is to be thinner. Girls as young as five have expressed fears of becoming fat (Maynard). Women are never satisfied with their figure and are always indulging themselves in the latest diets. Eighty percent of ten year old girls have dieted, and at any one time, fifty percent of American women are on a diet (Kilbourne).
Researchers suggest that because the majority of women seek to imitate super models. However, this is a goal that is unattainable for many and unhealthy for most. Teenagers try their best to go through high school without being different. Another, study found that forty-seven percent of girls are influenced by magazine pictures to lose weight, but only twenty-nine were actually over weight (Jean Holzgang).
Thus, women are never satisfied with their appearance due to the impossible, unattainable body images shown regularly in the media. Finally, women feel worthless about themselves because of the media. Women frequently compare their bodies to those they see around them. Researchers have found that exposure to idealized body images lower womens satisfaction with their own attractiveness (Dittrich).
Women and young girls begin to hurt themselves in order to reach an unrealistic goal that the media show as normal. Five out of one hundred girls has an eating disorder, because they hate their bodies. Why? Because the media increased societies standards on what is normal. Also, girls who are already dissatisfied with their bodies show more dieting and eating disorder symptoms, after prolonged exposure to fashion and advertising images in teen magazines (Hamburg).
Smoking stops hungary related cravings and helps speed up the metabolism. Therefore, one third of teenagers and twenty year olds begin smoking in order to control their appetites (J. Schneider). Thus, media has a great effect on how women perceives themselves. To conclude, media has a devastating effect on womens self esteem. Women believe that they will never be beautiful enough, thin enough and as a result will slowly kill themselves because of their physical appearance.
This constant exposure to female-oriented advertisements may influence girls to become less self-confident about their bodies and to obsess over their bodies. Many children watch between two to four hours of television a day. Half of the commercials being shown aimed at girls spoke about physical attractiveness, while none of the commercials aimed at boys referred to appearance. Women already have a hard enough time convincing themselves their beautiful.
After reading this essay please do not become a victim of the media!
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