“It is not enough to say that women are being sold a lie by advertising, magazines and cinema” (Page 30-31) This is probably the most painfully obvious reason as to why women in today’s society strive themselves on looing like something that horrifically opposite to them. This contributes greatly on their health and lifestyle. Women go through so much effort to change themselves. For example: Botox, facelifts, pretty much anything that to them, they would think ‘enhances’ their appearance. On another note, it is very rarely would you see an Australian woman go to the extreme to idolize a particular celebrity and clone their appearance and lifestyle.
How authentic are these actresses that NOW endorses, Fazzone questions. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar plays the lead role with her take-charge attitude who can dominate both genders, yet her promo photos show off the cleavage of her bra less self! Outside of their “innocent” TV shows, it is clear that these actresses are being marketed for their sex appeal, and not their wholesomeness. These actresses do not meet NOW’s criteria of portraying authentic women,
Men’s magazines write articles on how to seduce a girl into sleeping with them. Haven’t we as a society moved past the sexist ideals of the past? Judging from the way media portrays women, it seems as if things are only getting worse! (Next slide) One of the most common ways television depicts teenage girls as ditzy, body obsessed, ‘pretty’ princesses with a credit card. The girl’s interests are usually limited to make-up, hair, boys and shopping.
With the way Anderson develops her main character Lia, it is clear that Anorexia holds her tight in its deadly grip and controls her mind and life. In Nova's documentary, many anorexics spoke about how their diease controlled them and they could not break free. They also spoke about how recovery is long and hard. Maybe one day society will be able to see that every time an extremely underweight model or actress is on the cover of a magazine, or the main lead in a movie, it reinforces the idea that to be beautiful, you must be very thin. Perhaps in the future we will live in a world where your value is not based on your looks and body, but your character and your personality.
Advertising is one of the most compelling messengers in a culture that can influence an adolescent. In the article by Kilbourne, she starts out by making a great point. She says, “ Adolescents are new and inexperienced customers- and such prime targets.” I agree with her statement because in many movies, magazines, and television shows targeted towards teenaged viewers, the “ideal” body type is constantly portrayed. I’ve noticed that in many cases, it’s the main character whom everyone envies because of her beauty. In magazines, the “ideal” body type is always on the cover so teens wont be able to miss it.
As a teenager there will be a time where breaking the bonds of childhood, entering a world of rebellion, and being obsessed with popularity will be normal. For teenage girls, in order to acquire this popularity they need to be thin, busty, and wear revealing clothing while gossiping about peers and spending time worrying about boys and parties rather than their academics. But, where did this image of how to be a popular teenage girl come from? For decades, teen films have portrayed popular teenage girls this way and the film Mean Girls is no exception. This film not only displays how the world expects teenage girls to act, but also how difficult it is for teenage girls to resist acting this way.
During their teenage years, girls start to question their identity. Modeling teaches young girls to center their identity only on their looks (Machoian). Girls look at magazines and see a beautiful model on the cover wishing that they looked the same. They forget that the model they see on the cover has make-up on, and, most likely the picture was edited using some type of photo shop. Modeling along with social media give girls the impression that they have to fit this idealized image to look thin and be beautiful, dress up nicely, and wear makeup or they will not be happy with themselves.
We also used the medias covers, which speak by themselves. Results, limitations According to some experts, it appears that teenage girls relate to icons such as models to build their style and personal life. The young generation’s obsession of being ultra thin results in the constant exposure to size-zero and the idea that it is the only synonym of beauty. Once this status is put into their mind, these girls have a potentially high risk of eating disorders. Recommendations The situation about eating disorders has become critical and it is primordial that the WHO establishes new rules and laws to the fashion industry.
When comparing Julia Roberts' cover to Blake Shelton's it becomes apparent how there is a double-standard when it comes to how the media portrays men and women. Other ads and magazines, as well as other forms of media, have shown throughout the history to repeat the same unrealistic beauty standard, focusing on perfection rather than realistic women and their true selves. Further, it demonstrates how women are not allowed to be sexy once they reach a certain age, while men become sexier with age and often are praised for signs of aging, such as grey hair. Magazines such as these can lead to self-esteem issues in women, particularly young girls who look at forms of media to get a sense of societal expectations. In order to fix this issue, magazines need to be cognizant of how their images and portrayals of women and men can impact people's images of themselves and others.
Magazines such as Dolly, Cleo, Girlfriend and Cosmo all exhibit impossible ideas of ‘perfect’ in which teenagers perceive as the only acceptable image in this society. Teenage girls in this day and age are all exposed to sexualised concepts of women, and that thin and hot is the only desirable image for teenage girls. Many people don’t realize the impact celebrities and models in the media have on adolescents, they can manipulate the way they display themselves to others. These magazines send a confusing and misleading message to readers. Half the articles in these magazines tell you that you are beautiful no matter what body shape, then they go on to show images of size six super models; portraying them as the idealistic teenage girl.