There is so much pressure on girls today to look a certain way more than ever before. If you ask a girl between the ages of 11 and 17 if she could have one wish, what would it be, her most likely response would be to be thinner (Body Image and Advertising). I remember when I was eleven, and I wished for things like a pony, a million dollars, a pet monkey, or to be a rockstar even though I couldn't sing. Never did I wish to be thinner or prettier at those ages. Being thin should not be a girl's number one wish, it should not be a wish at all. At those ages, girls should wish for things like getting a car, their license, getting into a good college, and things that would help them personally, not what they physically look like. Girls should not wish to be beautiful because they already are. Every girl is beautiful. In a Dove study, 76% of women wish the beauty the media uses to describe women was made up of more than just physical attractiveness (Media Awareness Network).The media wants girls to believe that beautiful has one definition which focuses just on physical features, but that is not true. Beautiful is your personality, who you are on the inside, NOT on the outside.
The fear of getting fat has been instilled in girls as young as five years old (Body Image and Advertising). That is ridiculous to be worrying about weight at that age! This is what the media has done to girls, make them worry about things that should not be a concern at all. Five year olds should be playing with friends, and not worrying about their weight.
Parents need to start talking to young girls about the body image the media portrays. They should make sure that the girls understand what they see in magazines is fake. Girls need some way to understand that things like airbrushing exist, and that it is unhealthy to try to be as thin as the models. Dove has created self-esteem workshops, which helped two million girls to see themselves as beautiful so far. The workshops make the girls promise to see themselves as beautiful. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHX6frPHpQo&feature=related). Dove is helping girls understand, and parents should help as well. By making girls aware of this, hopefully their number one wish will change to focus on their future, achievements, and things that are important in life. That is my number one wish, what is yours?
As much of an effect media has on young women these days, I think it effects boys just as much. The media tells boys that the skinniest and prettiest girls are the ones they should be after. I feel like girls sometimes worry about their weight and appearance to just to impress that special someone.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Omar. More often then not we see slender sensual bodies with perfect curves and excellent physiques representing everyday people. T.V should serve as entertainment not as a mirror of our society. It is good to see that an organization has recognized the issue and put together an effort to see that the public, especially the young girls, are aware of this.
ReplyDelete