The media's effect on the body images of children is a substantial one. Both boys and girls, not to mention adults, feel the pressure of attaining the perfect bodies displayed in the media. Television and print media make no attempt to hide their opinion that thin, slight women and large, muscular men are the ideal body types. Self esteem is often shown in relation to a character's body – overweight women are shown to be depressed, anti-social, bitter and mean spirited; large men are shown to be unintelligent, gullible, plain, and unsuccessful in their careers. The media willingly portray how people should look, dress, act, and even speak, according to their gender and body type.
             Children today face stringent expectation as to how they should look and act, according to their gender, to gain social acceptance. Children as young as five know that if they want to be well liked and lead a "normal, happy life," they must conform to our society's standards of beauty. These standards are taught to the members of our society using the media. Family values, friends, religion, and any other social factors that may affect children also teach them. Children see it everywhere, in movies, an television, in magazines, in the newspaper-if one wants to be successful, and one had better look the part. These lessons are reinforced throughout our lives; as we grow older, we learn a new set of expectations for ourselves, always with the media's help. For instance, a child of twelve years might learn from watching television or reading magazines [not to mention the pressures from other members of her society such as friends, family, and peers, who wish for her to conform], that it is getting to be time for her to start wearing makeup and show interest in boys. A boy of seven years might learn from both media and social cues that it is now less appropriate for his best friend to be the girl down the street, and more ...