The quote says it all. Only 5% of the population look like the girls who saturate our media outlets. To say these images are unrealistic is a wild understatement. The images of women and girl's bodies that are plastered throughout media represent an ideal that is physically unreachable for 95% of the population. It is no wonder, then, that girls grow up believing they are fat for not looking like the girl on the magazine. It is no wonder, then, that girls are forced to resort to unhealthy habits to try and reach that ideal body. It is no wonder, then, that such a large portion of our country's adolescent girls suffer from disordered eating habits. They are socialized to believe these images are the definition of "perfect" and will sacrifice their health to attain that "perfection" that surrounds them.
Even worse is the lengths that media producers will go to create an unrealistic-looking girl to present to the world. This advertisement released by Dove shows the power of photoshop in the production of media. If these women aren't even real outside of the work of a computer, then how are girls expected to achieve the beauty they see as the standard for women and girls? It is just asking for young girls to find unhealthy outlets to try and obtain this unattainable ideal.
For more on misrepresentation in the media, check out Mariam's site at http://genderinmedia363.weebly.com |
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(Sources: http://www.anad.org/get-information/)