Ganishka Bakshi (Chibber)
Perhaps the early 2000’s most iconic toy of all, the Barbie doll’s body is only half of that of the average American female (Golgowski). Many young girls play with these dolls and begin to visualize the ideal body as one that is thin with blonde hair and accentuated breasts. However, what the media fails to realize is each woman is beautiful regardless of her appearance. The ideal body image portrayed by the media is extremely negative and hinders the healthy development of young females; this is evident as magazines white wash women and encourages unhealthy dieting along with eating disorders which results in depression and lowered self-esteem.
All woman are beautiful individuals with unique skin tones however, many companies feel the need to use photo retouching software to alter the color of their skin. Celebrities such as Gabourey Sidibe and Beyonce have had their skin lightened by magazines for which they have modelled (Owens). Instead of magazines taking advantage of these women’s beautiful deep complexions, the media felt as though it was necessary to change them to meet an unsaid beauty standard. This tells young darker skinned girls who read these magazines that they must change. Many girls look to celebrities to guide them to what is right. These girls learn that their favourite singers or actresses believe that it is acceptable to lighten their skin tone; this is an extremely dangerous and damaging idea since they may also begin to do so. Girls that begin to believe that they must change simply because society tells them do so, will lose their sense of self. If girls are taught from a young age that the natural colour of their skin is not beautiful they will have lower self-confidence as they mature into adult-hood and this can grow into depression as well as other mental illnesses (Boyles).
Many magazines believe it is acceptable to slim down the size of a model’s body. From their nose, to their chest, to their stomach they leave no imperfection untouched. Many images in media are photo-shopped to the point where the individual is unrecognizable (Wilson). By changing the natural appearance of women, an unattainable standard of beauty is conceived making it so that any individual looking at these photographs will believe that this is the norm. When a young girl compares a perfected body to her own natural one she may feel insecure and attempt to change herself.
Although the weight of the average woman has increased in the last 20 years the weight of models has decreased. Recently eating disorders are becoming more common amongst young females as they attempt to achieve the ideal body weight which is portrayed by photo-shopped models in magazines (Wilson). Many models in the fashion industry are battling illnesses such as Anorexia and Bulimia which affect them both physically and mentally and young girls striving to reach this ideal body weight are not aware of this fact (Carroll). Although the majority of models are well below a healthy body mass index, young females still desire their bodies, thinking that if they achieve this body people will like them more and they will be happier. This is far from the truth. Eating disorders can cause depression and severe anxiety and sometimes even death. More and more girls are being brainwashed by these images of skinny girls who are supposedly happy and content. Models are encouraged to eat as little as possible in order to achieve a smaller frame and are repeatedly told that they are not enough. As young girl are told that they must be smaller and thinner their self-confidence decreases (Grohol). From a young age children are encouraged to eat healthy foods whenever possible. They are taught to check nutrition labels and to ensure that they are getting enough exercise. However, as they mature they may begin to become obsessed with this idea of healthy nutrition. Many young girls see digitally altered images of women all around them and begin to think that they must lose body weight in order to be as beautiful and as happy as them. Many young girls begin to diet or to restrict their food intake in order to achieve this ideal body and this can lead to them being malnourished. Additionally they become obsessed with dieting. Many fad diets offer temporary results which are temporarily satisfying but the dieter will eventually gain the weight back and will experience great dissatisfaction often leading to depression (Glynn).
Throughout their lives young girls see perfected images of women all around them, none of which are natural and real. Once girls begin comparing themselves to these women they begin to see things such as body fat and freckles as something to hide and be ashamed of. This can lead to lowered self-esteem (Lachmann). If one’s self-esteem continues to be lowered they may begin to have very negative thoughts often leading to depression. Battling depression is one of the hardest things a young girl can do and if she is hounded by images from the media showing her what should could look like she will become very unhealthy. Which is why it is important for young girls to not be exposed to photo shopped images and models with unhealthy diets.
In conclusion, by allowing magazines to advertise females that have been white washed, have eating disorders and have an unrealistic weight the media encourages today’s youth to embrace an unhealthy lifestyle often leading to physical and mental illnesses. If the media were to project a healthier, more realistic image of the ideal female body many young girls would feel more comfortable with the way they look and would go on to lead a happier, healthier lifestyle.
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