As a girl who has traveled through the harrowed halls of high school, I know from personal experience that our society is too focused on physical appearance. Walking through the halls, I would constantly hear girls discussing their looks. Most girls believe that there is something wrong with their bodies. The unfortunate thing is that most of these girls are a healthy size for their height and age. However, due to the message that thin is in by the media, most girls relate themselves to the unattainable images that they see and it results in a distorted self-image. I feel that there are several steps to be taken to help ensure that this problem with the thinning media will stop. By using things other than women’s bodies to sell products, regulating the amount of media we view daily, and teaching women about digital manipulation, I believe that women will no longer develop negative self-images as a result of the media.
When flipping through magazines or watching the television, one is bombarded with numerous advertisements trying to sell one thing to the next. However, many of these advertisements all share a common thread: they usually include the image of a thin, beautiful woman pictured either with or without the product. An example of this can be viewed on an advertisement for a Phillips Television. The ad shows a picture of a slender television from the side view surrounded by three tall and thin women who are wearing high heels and revealing clothing. As if this image was not degrading enough, the slogan of the advertisement reads “Introducing a television so thin it will give regular TVs a complex”. This phrase indirectly sends the message that one must be thin to be popular. The worst part is that it is not even necessary to present these women in the ad because they are not related in any way to the product. Other ads that use this technique of presenting women to sell products include those involving alcohol and makeup. Many times the product is absent from the advertisement, meaning that the company is relying solely on the woman’s body and looks to sell.

http://www.about-face.org/images/embedded/goo/newten/5/skyyvodka.jpg∞

http://home.pb.net/~karyn1/philips.jpg∞

Presently, it appears that many companies realize the effects that their advertisements have on women. As a result, there are many commercials and ads that bring out the inner beauty of women and use everyday girls instead of fake models in the ads. Recently, Dove released a new campaign for their new Dove Firming product. They asked six women, none of whom are professional models, to appear in the new ad. The women encompass females as a whole, with different skin colors, heights, weights, and body types. In the picture, the six women are dressed in white bras and underwear showing off their natural curves. The slogan for this campaign is “Real women have real curves” (“Real Beauty”). Other companies have also turned away from using models to sell their products. Ban body deodorant for women recently put out a new advertisement. It has a picture of their product with squares around the page. Each square encourages women to stand up for themselves. The text within the squares reads “Ban Self Doubt, Ban Excuses, Ban Peer Pressure, Ban Fear, Ban Stereotypes, Ban Inhibition, Ban Broken Hearts, Ban Conformity, Ban Ignorance, Ban Hate, We take care of sweat and odor, the rest is up to you”. Within this single advertisement, a product is being presented and sold and instead of depicting a thin model, women are being told to avoid conformity and strive to be unique. I believe that if more companies begin to show off their product in ways such as these, we may help to decrease the effects that the media is having on women and their self-image.

http://www.dove.com/images/real_beauty/c4rb_06.jpg∞

http://www.about-face.org/images/embedded/gow/newten/4/7Ban.jpg∞

IslandGirlProblemsOfTheMedia

IslandGirlFinalProject