Close your eyes and imagine that you joined the army. Wearing your uniform, you stand in line and feel proud and confident. All of a sudden, your drill sergeant comes up behind you and begins breathing down your neck. You become tense because you know that you did something wrong. He begins to scream at you about the way you have put on your uniform and the way that you walked and talked when he addressed you. You now lose all of your self-confidence and begin to wonder if you should even be standing there at all. The drill sergeant has scolded you for not conforming with your comrades and now you are going to be punished for the rest of the day. Although this may be hard to relate to for some, many women face these types of pressures on a daily basis. However, instead of a drill sergeant forcing them to conform, the media takes over this role. It is present in many forms in today’s society and it is almost impossible to escape for even one day. Women are being sent the message that they must look like all of the actresses and models that are present in the media in order to be happy. Unfortunately, because women are under the impression that happiness comes along with obtaining the media’s standards of beauty, there is an increase in eating disorders in today’s world.

http://a820.g.akamai.net/f/820/822/1d/i.ivillage.com/17/mediakit/advertise/images/inbook.gif∞

IslandGirlMediaAndItsEffectsOnBodyImage

IslandGirlFinalProject