As women began asserting themselves, gaining rights, entering the workforce and are now beginning to achieve higher social positions such as CEOs of companies, powerful positions in politics and key researchers in a variety of fields, issues of female identity remain unresolved for many women. Magazines geared toward business women sold in supermarkets continue to highlight titles that focus on image and appearance rather than accomplishment and achievement. Although the choice to work has largely been taken out of the hands of women in today’s economy, article titles reveal the degree to which women continue to struggle with external appearance. For many women, the feeling is that they must conform to a socialized external ideal image if they are to achieve any degree of success. While many are willing to pin the blame for this attitude on the women themselves, there is plenty of evidence suggesting it is a concept perpetuated and emphasized by the cosmetics industries through the medium of the media.
The media world depends to a large extent upon the money it receives from advertisers to stay alive, but these advertisers depend to a large degree upon selling their products. The best way to sell a product is to ensure that the product is something that will be needed perpetually, that there will always be some kind of demand for the product. A very effective technique in doing this is to set an ideal that is nearly impossible to achieve and then selling products that are geared toward bringing someone closer to this ideal, as has been done in the dieting and cosmetic markets. “Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight” (Jean Kilbourne, media activist, cited in “Beauty and Body Image”, 2009). This is only started with the portrayal of women in the media as “the images of impossibly thin models overwhelm today’s teenage girls. Unbelievably, most models are thinner than 98 percent of American girls and women” (Bartell, 2008), which is also the source for everyone else to form their ideas of what the ideal female body should look like. Thus, friends, boyfriends, parents and others all add to the pressure for girls to attain, regardless of how impossible it might be, the shapes and forms represented in the media. While some may argue that this isn’t really as prevalent as the reports seem to indicate, it has been demonstrated that “women’s magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, and over three-quarters of the covers of women’s magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman’s bodily appearance – by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery” (“Beauty and Body Image”, 2009). These widely apparent examples of how women portrayed in the media represent an impossible ideal to which ‘normal’ girls are constantly compared has also been proven to have the potential for long-term psychological and physical problems.
Girls who are constantly compared to the images they see on TV and in their favourite magazines as well as hear the comments of others around them who also hold these impossible standards are at great risk for serious problems. “Research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked with depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls” (“Beauty and Body Image”, 2009). This problem is made worse by the fact that many mothers contribute to the problem without even realizing they’re doing so. “Many mothers have their own unresolved issues about weight and body image that inadvertently interfere with their ability to help their daughters create a healthy sense of their own bodies” (Bartell, 2008). In fact, the problem has been traced through almost every age group, beginning with very young girls just starting social interaction at kindergarten and extends well into adulthood without help. “One out of every four college-aged woman uses unhealthy methods of weight control – including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting. The pressure to be thin is also affecting young girls: the Canadian Women’s Health Network warns that weight control measures are now being taken by girls as young as 5 and 6” (“Beauty and Body Image”, 2009). That otherwise educated women are seemingly falling into this trap of body image indicates both the depth of the issue as well as the emotional content it involves.
Although women today have achieved a great deal of success in a variety of spheres including the home, the business and in personal fulfilment, they are still largely the victims of a media society intent on cornering them into an impossible ideal. The reason for this emphasis is not necessarily a malignant intent on the part of the media channels themselves, but rather an inherent element of the system in which these media channels depend for their livelihood on the advertisers who pay them to run their ads. The advertisers, some of the most powerful being the cosmetics industries, have a vested interest in perpetuating the idea of youth and a specific definition of beauty. These definitions have been proven to be nearly impossible to attain, yet the pursuit of the ideal perpetuates the industry which, in turn, struggles to perpetuate the impossible ideal.
Works Cited
- Bartell, Dr. Susan S. “Help Your Daughter Create a Healthy Body Image.” Focus Adolescent Services. (2008).
- “Beauty and Body Image in the Media.” Media Awareness Network. (2009).