The Media's Effect on Self-Esteem

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Everyone wants to look good; that is a given. What steps must people take in order to look their best? Does it only take a little bit of make up or maybe a nicer dress shirt? Or does it require missing a few meals a day or purging what had been eaten previously? Society is growing fonder of the idea that a perfect woman or man is skinny, most of the time skinnier than what is considered healthy. For example, when choosing between a skinny and a larger woman for an ad about “the perfect body”, people watching the commercial could not accept the larger woman as a suitable candidate. That is just how society is currently. The stronger question, however, is whether pictures of skinny models in the media affects someone’s self-esteem, or is the problem pre-existing self-esteem issues built up from childhood? In fact, models’ altered photographs in the media can tear apart the human psyche, starting with what people see which then changes how they feel about themselves that then could lead them to a life under the control of an eating disorder. Modeling is a career known for its glitz, glam, and especially those stick-skinny models that show it all off. Frederique van der Wal, a previous Victoria’s Secret model, is fighting back against the tiny models. “This unnatural thinness is a terrible message to send out. The people watching the fashion shows are young, impressionable women” (Hellmich, 26 Sept. 2006). Most people do not understand how hard it is to look the way models do; it is almost unattainable. “Only about 2 percent of women are as thin as most models”, states the National Eating Disorder Association (Kowalski, 1 Mar. 2003). A lot of people do not realize how models retain their physique. Models must work with exercise trai... ... middle of paper ... ... and Consumer Sciences 2(2009): 28. eLibrary. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. Kowalski, Kathiann M.. “Body Image: How Do You See Yourself?”. Current Health 2. 1 Mar. 2003: 6. eLibrary. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. Kuther, Tara L; McDonald, Erin. “Early Adolescents’ Experiences With, and Views of, Barbie”. Adolescence 153(2004): 39. eLibrary. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. Pope Jr., Harrison G.; Phillips, Katherine A.; and Olivardia, Roberto. The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession. New York, NY: The Free Press, 2000. “Sales and Related Occupations”. Occupational Outlook Handbook 2010-2011. 1 Jan. 2010. eLibrary. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. Wigington, Patti. “Teenage Wasteland: Why Are Our Girls Starving?”. Pediatrics for Parents. 1 Jan. 2004:4. eLibrary. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. Zoolander. Dir. Ben Stiller. Per. Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Christine Taylor. Paramount Pictures, 2001.

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