The Beauty Myth

             Our society is full of tremendous diversity: we are tall, short, fat, and thin. Our colors
             range from blue-black, copper, olive, and pink. Yet we are all measured against the same
             unrealistic standards promoted my the advertising industries (Boston Women's Health Collective
             33-34). "Images of beauty vary across ethnic groups, demonstrating how racism and sexism
             interact to shape expectations of women" (Kessleman et. al 111). Advertising agencies generally
             use young, white, skinny, and attractive girls to promote a product. What is worse is the media
             generally promotes the product using the girls's sexuality. Adolescent girls are particularly
             affected by this type of propaganda technique. The mind of an adolescent is just begging to form
             abstract ideas and develop morals. During this period of growth an adolescent begins to form a
             complete self-identity. This means that anything in the adolescents life that affects her daily is
             going to have an impact on who she thinks she is. This includes family, peers, and the media. All
             of which should have a potentially positive affect on the child. But given the junk values of
             today's media a young girl may define herself as a woman based on the fantasies media has on the
             way a woman should look and behave. The sexualization of the female body in mass media may
             be affecting adolescents girls's emotional, mental, and physical well-being.
             Media images depict females as sexy and thin. Theses images are used to represent what
             society deems as attractive. Models end up becoming sexual icons because their beauty is valued
             so much in our culture. Girls tend to compare themselves to these icons and end up losing their
             self-identity, self-esteem, and their self-worth. All that is valuable is being beautiful and ugliness
             is next to nothing ness (Higginbotham 87) . Girls may start to feel worthless if they are not the
             ideal Vogu...

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