The increase of messages about thinness, dieting and beauty lends insecurities to "ordinary" women; making them feel that they are always in need of adjustments and that the female body is an object to be perfected. Real women's bodies have been lost in the eyes of the media and replaced by painfully thin advertisements. The problem is that women internalize these stereotypes and judge themselves by these unrealistic standards. We learn to compare ourselves to other women and compete with each other for male attention.Often times preparing ourselves for this level of competition requires strict training. Excessive exercise and eating disorders are not uncommon to find in women. The blows that women take to their self-esteem by constantly being exposed to these images causes a great level of depression. One out of every four college students have some kind of eating disorder. It is said that weight control methods are being used as young as nine years old. 10-25% of the women battling anorexia right now will die as a direct result of this eating disorder, 15 percent will die from indirect causes. I'm sure the Matel never considered the repercussions when they created Barbie. Every man's fantasy woman and every little girl's ideal. In Margaret Atwood's essay she comments " It (Barbie) gives a young girl a false notion of beauty, not to mention anatomy." It's true, speaking from a point of female's point of view, I know when I was young I thought that I was going to grow up to look like Barbie. That's what women are supposed to look like; otherwise there would be chubby Barbie and Barbie with crooked teeth, right? The desire to be thin has become an epidemic that is in much need of containment.Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14. She was considered beautiful and voluptuous. If she were to live in our society 40 years later she would most definitely be considered fat. Twenty years ago magazine models were 8% thinner than the average woman. Today, that modest number has leapt to 23%. (2) Why are these unfair, unrealistic, expectations being imposed on women? Some will argue that the reasons are economic. By presenting women with an unobtainable ideal beauty and diet companies are guaranteed profits. Buy these products and you will have a more exciting marriage, better sex and guaranteed happiness. If you feel that you are the right weight, that's ok because surely you you're aging, or you're hair could be a little softer. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth 100 billion dollars a year. (4) By keeping the general public in a constant state of fear these companies are pocketing millions of dollars and we are not seeing any results.It is not only men that women are trying to impress. Other women are inspiration for poor body images as well. It is hard to walk into a room where there are a hundred beautiful women, each more lovely then the next, and not feel inadequate. She has prettier hair and her thighs aren't as bumpy. Wow, I could never...
