Another reason why the media has such a profound effect on women is because in today’s society it is viewed all of the time. From schools to restaurants to malls to the streets, it is impossible to completely isolate oneself from all forms that exist. One of the main places for viewing the media is in one’s own home. Most houses now-a-days have at least one television, computer, video game system, and newspaper or magazine subscription. The messages can be found everywhere. I think that we need to find a way to regulate the amount of media that people are exposed to daily. While many may find this impossible, I believe that there are some things that can be done to lead toward this goal. First we should eliminate unnecessary viewing of televisions and computers in schools. They should be used solely for educational purposes and not during recess or just to waste time. I also think we need to encourage parents to regulate how often their child watches TV, is on the computer, and plays video games. If we begin to take these steps, people will no longer be so dependent on using the media so frequently. As a direct result, women will not be bombarded with these negative messages about their bodies so often.
There is definitely a problem evident when the average model in the media today is 5’11” and only 117 pounds versus the average girl of today who comes in at 5’4” and 140 pounds. Even today’s mannequins are below the average size for women. Based on their theoretical body fat percentages, if the mannequins were real women, they would have stopped menstruating (“Beauty”). In the rare cases when models that are not skin and bones are used in the media, digital manipulation is being used to touch them up.
The Digital Revolution has extended the ability for fake bodies to be falsely created on a computer screen. Problems of unreachable standards of beauty are now compounded by women trying to emulate not only the thin ideal but also photo-fakery. Since the mid-1980s, our cultural norms of beauty and glamour are based not on thin models, but more and more on computer confections. The damage is that we soak up the false image of thinness—but not the understanding of the technology that produced the mirage (Hitchon).
The problem with digital photography is that women are not educated enough to realize that what they see is not physically attainable. They choose to compare themselves to these altered images and strive for a perfection that is too dangerous to meet. I think it is important to teach women about the technology that is used today. If they are aware of these methods, it may change their way of thinking from “I wish I looked like that” to “No one looks like that naturally”.
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