The Dangers of Perfection

            Imagine I asked you how many Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, and Vogue magazines are stashed around your bedroom. My guess? A countless number. Another guess: You have no idea how severely the images on those shiny pages affect you. Day after day we are bombarded by size double-zero models with tiny waists and large breasts on television screens, billboards, and magazines. Anyone who isn’t this size is the other extreme, and starring in shows like “The Biggest Loser”. What kind of message about appearances does this send to viewers? Whether you realize it or not, the media affects the self-esteem of each and every one of us. Just imagine opening a magazine cover and not being stared down by a gorgeous model. Do you think that you would feel differently about yourself?

            The idealized body image has changed significantly from the past to the present. We did not always idolize the popular body type shown in the media today. In fact, this image shifted many times over the years. In the colonial period, culture emphasized the importance of well-built, tough women (Derenne and Beresin 258). Once the 19^th century rolled around, women began wearing corsets to meet men’s preferences. The troubles of World War 2 once again brought a need for strong working women that could support the household in the absence of their husband. In the 1960’s, the model Twiggy became very popular, and many young girls loved the new extremely thin look. This, in turn, led to many girls obsessing over their weight and beginning to diet at young ages. Since Twiggy, models have only gotten thinner and thinner. Medical doctors state, “Twenty-five years ago, the average fashion model was 8% thinner than the average woman. Today, that number has risen to 23%” (Derenne and Beresin).

Models aren’t the only icons that have gotten thinner and thinner. The ideal image of Miss America contestants has notably shifted over the years. When this famous pageant first began, full-figured, healthy looking women with full hips and ample curves competed for the prize. Today, the contestants are much more slender. This is shown in a survey that Strasburger notes that showed the body weight of Playboy centerfolds and Miss America contestants is now 13 to 19% lower than what is likely for women their ages (Strasburger 78).  The title of “Miss America” is supposed to refer to a woman who is admired for both her brain and brawns, and with the contestants’ slimmer image, what are viewers supposed to think? It seems as if the importance of the title has switched from overall appeal to who has the smallest waistline. As the survey showed, this change has occurred with Playboy models as well! When the first issue came out with Marilyn Monroe on the cover, men lusted after her curves. Over time, casting directors chose increasingly thinner women to pose for the magazine. Today, shows such as “Girls Next Door” show Hugh Hefner’s three girlfriends to be very petite, with blonde hair and large breasts. These representations may cause girls to feel that they need to fit this unrealistic mold in order to be sexy or beautiful, which is the wrong message to be sending to young girls.

The current portrayal of the ideal body image through the media is becoming increasingly troubled. A few years ago, Paris Hilton was paid a large amount of money to endorse Carl’s Jr., a burger joint. In the commercial, Paris is washing a car in a skimpy bathing suit, while eating a burger. This is relaying a hypocritical message. On one hand, a beautiful celebrity is producing sex appeal, while on the other; she is endorsing fast food, which is a huge cause of obesity in the country. Magazines trick people this way as well, by giving recipes for fattening meals and desserts while advertising the “best” diets and workout routines. The mixed messages that the media sends confuse people. Why can’t a person eat burgers like Paris Hilton and look like her too? These complications ultimately lead to self-esteem issues in viewers, and can even cause major eating disorders in people.

           As the media lowers levels of confidence, it’s emphasis on the importance of the ideal body continues to grow. The media portrays this body image to be very important through diet advertisements, airbrushed images of models, and even children’s dolls. Derenne and Beresin state,“Though it is highly unlikely for a rail-thin woman to have natural DD-cup size breasts, toy manufacturers set this expectation by developing and marketing the Barbie doll, whose measurements are physiologically impossible” (Derenne and Beresin 258). The media supports societal norms that suggest that thin is sexy and powerful, and that women are valued for their body and appearance. In one instance, popular clothing company Ralph Lauren produced a distorted image of model Filippa Hamilton in an advertisement that made her look frighteningly thin. The company eventually admitted that they were responsible for the horrifying photoshop job that made the already thin model appear emaciated, but it did not end there- Filippa ended up getting fired for being too heavy for the brand's standards. Apparently she wasn't thin enough to wear Ralph Lauren's clothes, when in reality she is much thinner than the average women buying those clothes.  Botta suggests,

          A culture’s obsession with thin ideals is played out in the media via models and actresses who may have eating disorders themselves, who may have personal trainers to help them maintain a thin body, and whose bodies, as portrayed through modern airbrushing and camera-angle techniques, may not even be their own (Botta 23). 

          Although these standards are completely unrealistic, exposure to them leads to lower self-esteem. Erin Strahan and her colleges observe through studies that the more women are exposed to the ideal (yet unrealistic) body image, the more they will base their own self-worth on appearance, and the more they will be concerned with other’s opinions of them. It makes people believe that you must be thin to be happy, as well as liked by others. The images of the idealized body type are everywhere, and people are becoming more and more obsessed with their looks and weight.

With the increasing obsession comes the urge to alter one’s appearance in hope of liking what they see in the mirror. The country’s fascination with plastic surgery is increasingly growing, and is only enhanced by the unrealistic expectations that the media provides. Women enter their surgeon’s office with a picture of Jennifer Aniston’s nose, Angelina Jolie’s breasts, or Demi Moore’s chin hoping to become more like the celebrities that we view as perfect. In fact, MTV aired a show titled, "I Want a Famous Face", which followed young people's journeys through cosmetic surgery in order to look more like the celebrity of their choice. Contrary to popular belief, there are even similar effects of the media on men. The number of men that get cosmetic surgery has grown drastically, and many men use steroids nowadays because they feel that they pale in comparison to the body builders on the covers of fitness magazines. Sadly, it seems that people are no longer able to be happy in their own skin, focusing on what is on the inside, rather than the features on the surface.

Clearly the media has an enormous role in shaping societal norms. In turn, the current representation of the ideal body provides unrealistic expectations for women today. These idealistic but impractical images can cause more problems than we think. The growing percentage of people with eating disorders, increased amount of plastic surgery, and massive self-esteem issues in people today are all a consequence of the media. Even if we don't purposely pay attention to the media, it affects us nonetheless. Kalodner states a fact from the book Can’t Buy My Love, “the average American is exposed to at least three thousand ads every day and will spend three years of his or her life watching television commercials (Kalodner 141). If all these problems are happening because of the media, why isn’t anyone doing anything about it? In the past, there has been little done to help. Strasburger found that the British Broadcasting Corporation banned televised beauty pageants in 1985 due to an “overvaluation of thinness” in an attempt to lessen the media’s impact on people’s self-esteem and body image (Strasburger 78). Since then, there have been no significant moves made to lower the volume of the media. I believe that in order to save our future generations, something needs to be done. If the media continues to shrink certain parts of the ideal body and enhance others, women crossing streets everywhere will be completed altered by plastic surgery, anorexic, and obsessed with their image. Do you want to live in this futurized materialistic world? Think about it, and you'll realize- there are dangers of perfection.

Paris Hilton Endorses Fast Food

Works Cited
Botta, Renee A. “Television images and Adolescent Girls' Body Image Disturbance.” Journal of Communication 49 (1999): n. pag. Web. 5 April 2011.

Derenne, Jennifer L., MD and Beresin, Eugene V., MD. “Body Image, Media, and Eating Disorders.” Academic Psychiatry 30 (2006): 257-261. Web. 5 April 2011.

Kalodner, Cynthia R. Too Fat or Too Thin? A Reference Guide to Eating Disorders. Greenwood P, 2003. Print.

“The Media.”  Something-fishy.org. Something Fishy Website on Eating Disorders, 1998-2007. Web. 5 April 2011.

“Old Fashioned Ideas.”  Something-fishy.org. Something Fishy Website on Eating Disorders, 1998-2007. Web. 5 April 2011.

Strahan, Erin J. et al. “Victoria’s Dirty Secret: How Sociocultural Norms Influence Adolescent Girls and Women.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin Vol. 34 No 2 (2008): 288-301. Sage Journals Online. Web. 5 April 2011.

Strasburger, Victor C.  Adolescents and the Media: Medical and Psychological Impact. Sage Publications. 1995. Print.