The Media's
Influence on Female Body Image
Part 1 of 4
Entertainment, Policy and Community Leaders Address Impact of Media Images on Youth
"Many girls struggle throughout their lives with how to reconcile the images of girls and women they see in the media with their own body image, self worth and potential. Earlier this year, the Girl Scout Research Institute released a nationwide survey, Beauty Redefined, which found that the media has significant influence over girls. Nearly 90 percent of those surveyed say the fashion industry and/or the media place a lot of pressure on them to be thin, even as they realized that the fashion industry's models were "too skinny" (65 percent), "unrealistic" (63 percent) and "unhealthy" (46 percent). However, despite the criticism of this industry, 3 out of 4 girls say that fashion is "really important" to them." Girl Scouts: Press Release
Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge (SPARK) is a movement for girls’ rights to healthy sexuality. It began at the SPARK Summit, a day to speak out, push back, plan, and have fun. The SPARK Summit was designed to engage girls as part of the solution rather than to protect them from the problem. Workshops and action spots gave girls the tools they needed to become activists, organizers, researchers, policy influencers, and media makers.
"When
I asked my own fourteen-year-old daughter her thoughts
on the sexualization of “tween” girls,
she laughed and said, “It starts with Barbie
and Disney Princesses, not with Miley Cyrus.” She’s
right. Barbie’s breasts and mini-skirts,
Pocahantus’s deer skin and the Little Mermaid’s
hair, are male fantasies -- not girl playthings. " Read
Entire Article by Lisen Stromberg
By how much and in what ways is sexualized mass media influencing the behavior of our children? News Article: Teen Sex 3.0
Are the girls and women we see in the media as perfect in appearance as we are led to believe? Do these "perfect" females truly exist? Do they set an appropriate and obtainable example for girls and women to follow? If not, what are the consequences of not being able to live up to the ideals they create?
There is a price to be paid for the clarity we now enjoy in computer monitors, high definition TV, print, and photography. Modern high resolution imagery captures greater detail than was possible in the past, allowing the smallest detail to become obvious to the naked eye. In addition, the camera tends to emphasize "imperfections," especially when a flash or bright lights are utilized. As a result, makeup and special camera techniques are frequently required to allow women to appear "natural" on film, or in electronic media. These factors should be taken into consideration when viewing the images on this web page, and in the media in general.
The advertising images in popular magazines are created solely to sell merchandise. They are designed to motivate the viewer to buy the products and brand names presented. Girls, teens, and women want to look like the models they see in these images. They don't want to look like the girl next door, they want to look and be perfect. They are compelled by social pressures to buy the merchandise that will allow them to look like these young, attractive, popular, glamorous, and sexy women. What girls and women aren't told is, the merchandise presented doesn't come with a professional makeup artist and image editor. In reality, no one looks like these women, not even the models themselves.
Here are a few examples of models with and without makeup.
I do not believe the women shown above would be considered unattractive, even without makeup. Makeup merely allows them to conceal blemishes and accentuate their facial features. I also believe these are examples of "the girl next door," rather than supermodels. We are likely to meet women on a daily basis who look similar to them, with and without makeup. As attractive as they are, they still aren't "perfect," at least by today's standards. Lets see what a little photo manipulation can produce after the makeup artist and photographer have done their jobs.
