media

Growing up in the 20th and now 21st century, teenagers are bombarded with ideals and images to follow. Women in the media have gone through many phases. It started in the late 1980's and early 1990's when Kate Moss started the "waif" look. Just imagine how women viewed themselves when seeing pictures of a 5'10, 105 pound model strutting down a runway in skimpy clothes. It was finally realized that the "famine" look was passé and men desired more curvy women. Models like Cindy Crawford and Tyra Banks became the "new" ideal promoting bodies that were more voluptuous. Around 1996, the Spice Girls introduced the idea of "Girl Power." Women started to feel more empowered and even tried to improve their self-image. But lurking in the shadows are teenagers who lack self-esteem, who harm themselves to feel pretty and who strive to be someone they are not.

It is too often that we read stories of teenage girls suffering of serious diseases such as anorexia or bulimia. Girls read magazines. They watch TV. They are constantly exposed to media

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Female students resort to eating disorders as a form of a coping mechanism. Now that we entered the new millennium, it is our duty to end the battle and free everyone from the "Beauty Myth. "…Powerful industries - the $33-billion-a-year diet industry, the $20-billion cosmetics industry, the $300-million cosmetic surgery industry, and the $7-million pornography industry…" (Bachmann, Barth, Pancer, 63) The strive for perfection is never-ending. Our media today promotes images of thinness, perfection and beauty, most of which are unattainable and unrealistic. Teenage girls will look in the mirror and ask themselves whether they look fat, need to exercise more, have a big nose… The battle is not over and probably will not end. People have to learn to be happy with themselves and accept the fact that the average person is not the runway model or the celebrity seen in magazines.

The images the media creates daily has women trying harder and harder to be someone they are not. Often female college students have problems dealing with college life. What you wear, who you are friends with and what you look like help classify they type of person you are, whether being popular or not. Will this vicious cycle ever end?

In recent studies, evidence of anorexia on college campuses has increased quite considerably. Who wouldn't want to be tall, attractive and thin? The article, "Obsession, for girls…" by Alexa Capeloto found in the Montreal Gazette says, "But girls obsess over everything - whether they are too skinny or too fat, and owning the right name-brand clothes. Daily life stresses affect people in different ways. " (A1) Image is everything for most teenage girls.

Approximate Word count = 725
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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