Teenage issues
By; Victoria Szara
How does the media portrayal of women affect the self-esteem of teenage girls?
The media puts a wrong image of women, to show other women that, that is what they need to look like. And this is bringing girls down.
The Media's Impact
Many girls self-esteem gets lower once they see women in being advertised that have “perfect” bodies, and the media is trying to make girls strive for those unhealthy and photoshopped bodies.
The media showing girls that the bodies being advertised are okay.
The bodies that are being advertised are not realistic and not healthy. So girls strive for those bodies, which are really hard to get, and stress out over it. That may cause girls to starve themselves. More younger girls are most likely to suffer from starvation, then older girls. The rate of starvation has gotten higher ever since American Television started using thin girls as their female lead characters.
They don't accept plus size models.
They don’t accept plus size models, only skinny ones. This is a big problem because it makes girls think that they are not good enough to be models or they won't feel good about themselves in general. Fashion models weigh 23% less than average females. Teenage girls who are not thin may view these women and they may think that something is wrong with them.
They only pay attention to what is on the outside.
The fashion industry only pays attention to what is on the outside, and not what is on the inside, which is what is the most important. The outside does not define who you are, and the media makes it seem like what is on the outside is what is the most important. The media shows girls they need to have a certain body type to look "good" which only focuses on their looks, and they completely leave out who they truly are inside.
Conclusions
Therefore, the media makes girls have a lower self-esteem by advertising women that have the bodies they are trying to make other women strive for. A lot of people think that those bodies are "fit" and "good looking" but in reality, they are very unhealthy. Women often stress about getting those bodies, which sometimes makes them starve themselves.
Work Cited
Annals, Pediatric. "Children, Adolescents, and the Media: Seven Key Issues." SIRS. ProQuest, Sept. 2010. Web.
Greenhaven Press. "Corporate Media Sexualizes Young Girls." Opposing Viewpoints. Greenhaven Press, 5 Sept. 2010. Web. 3 Sept. 2014.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Image Distortion." SIRS. Gazette Publishing, 5 July 2011. Web. 3 Sept. 2014.