,
Who's the Thinnest One of All?
Walking
around this campus, you do not generally see many women taller than 5'
9
and weighing less than 115 pounds. It is almost impossible to find a woman
of this stature unless she is on the runway or by turning pages in a fashion
magazine. Every time we turn around it's
a possibility we'll
see Tyra Banks, Giesele or another supermodel on a billboard, television
commercial, or magazine cover. Many women, teenagers, and young girls are
starving themselves, exercising excessively, or getting plastic surgery to
achieve the look of these undernourished supermodels. In reality, out of
one million women who attempt to be a model, only one will achieve supermodel
status. These beautiful bodies and perfect facial features are relatively
unattainable. By knowing this, why would woman become anorexic, go to the
gym 3 times a day, or get breast enlargements and liposuction for a one in a
million chance?
Beauty is only skin deep? Ask the 56 percent of women and 43 percent of
men that were surveyed by Psychology Today, who were dissatisfied with their
appearance. Nowadays we, as a nation, are obsessed with the way we look.
Fashion models and the media insist that only the slim are beautiful and
thinness is a sign of virtue. By falling into their trap, this becomes the
core part of our identity. In a study of 548 girls, 69 percent of them
said magazine pictures and models influenced their idea of the perfect body, and
47 percent said they wanted to lose weight because of what they saw. The
pictures in magazines or the actresses in movies send out the message that
unrealistic thinness equals sexiness, which in turn equals beauty, success, and
happiness. In a personal interview with Gina Pugliano, a recovering
anorexic, she shared her thoughts on media influence, "I believe that the
media and supermodels have a great influence on how teenagers view their bodies.
They have fabricated ideals that are unattainable and unhealthy, and they lead
us to believe that the only way to succeed is achieve the "perfect
body." The average 5-foot 4-inch, 142 pound American woman's
body is labeled unattractive in today's
standards. This is much different than the average model who is 5-foot
9-inches, and 110 pounds. Society's
standard of beauty is just short of starvation for most women. Susan
Mackey, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in Evanston, Illinois, says it best,
"Maybe only 5 percent of the population is 6 feet tall and weighs 109
pounds, but that is the artificial image girls are trying to live up to."
Media is making the definition of what beauty is or even what an acceptable body
is; seem to become more unreachable each year. Even though there will
always be ways to make oneself look better, society makes it harder by the day
to be recognized as beautiful.
No matter what time period we are in, women feel they need to conform.
They will measure up to what they believe others think is attractive and also
what they perceive is satisfying and appealing. Woman are forced to
believe that there is always room for improvement and their body is not fine the
way it is. This keeps women in a constant state of confusion.
According to the way women compare themselves to models, it is imperative that
women be beautiful to be worthy. Men will love you if you are gorgeous.
If you starve yourself you will be beautiful. By becoming anything other
than yourself you will be well liked. These things are impossible and
unhealthy for anyone to live up to.
Unless a plus size model, maturity, voluptuousness, large size, massiveness,
strength and power are frowned upon. One third of American women wear a
size 16 or larger, but yet a size 13 is the most widely used size, by plus size
requirements. It is now fashionable to be thin, but if it were fashionable
to be fat, women would force feed themselves like geese, just as girls in
primitive societies used to stuff themselves because the fattest girl was the
most beautiful. But no matter what, women will do whatever it takes to fit
in.
Women are under the impression that all models look exactly the way they see
them in magazines. They're
perceived as flawless, extremely thin women who take complete care of their
bodies. Airbrushing is a technique that can make a person look entirely
different than what they originally looked like. Some techniques that are
used today can completely create a fictitious model and make women drool over
the enhanced body and facial features she has. Anything on a model can be
removed when it comes to airbrushing. That includes cellulite, freckles,
or god forbid a supermodel gets a pimple. All of these things are gone with a
click of the mouse. "Real women" aren't
that lucky, and self-esteem is lost in them while trying to achieve this perfect
look.
Fashion magazines, billboards, television commercials, and movies all display
women as being rail thin, undernourished, model-like people. But in
reality, 5 percent of the world looks like this. Women see their bodies as
problems because the fashion industry and supermodels say women must be
beautiful and thin to feel any self worth. This ideal is unachievable for
most women. To be the next Victoria Secret model, you must have the most
toned body, tight abs, flawless facial features, and one really good airbrusher.
Women do not understand that these models have stylists that work on every
imperfection they have for hours at a time. Fashions in magazines or on
the runway are made to look great on the hangers and even better on a woman who
is 5' 10"
and 108 pounds. Perfect body proportions are not achievable. Not one
person on this earth is perfect and women need to realize this. Society
puts too much pressure on women to look perfect all the time. Average
women need to accept the fact that these supermodels are not 100% real.
Everybody has flaws.