IV

       As soon as I began my research for the troubling question of how advertisements affect the body image of young women, I discovered some very disturbing effects such as eating disorders and self harm. I figured that these would be the most common and serious effects from advertisements, but while researching this week, I discovered I was wrong. Many women are going to the extreme to achieve their desired looks, by undergoing cosmetic surgeries to fit the standards for beauty that media has created. In an article I read this week titled, “Unrealistic Beauty Standards Affect Men and Women,” the author states: “The media constantly enforces the idea that if women lose weight, they will have it all – the perfect career, family and sex life – making the majority of women feel inadequate.” What I want to know is at what point do women decide that plastic surgery is their only resort to feel beautiful?
       As some of you may already know, Heidi Montag, a 23 year old reality TV star, underwent cosmetic surgery for a staggering total of 10 procedures. Heidi stated in an ABC News article, that her motivation was to overcome the taunts brought on by the Hollywood spotlight: “It really got to me what people would say I had a horse face, and a Jay Leno chin. I kind of started believing it." This is an extreme example of how some people do anything to “perfect” their appearance. But in reality, a perfect appearance does not exist. Take for example the classic “model of perfection,” Barbie.

       For over 50 years, Barbie has been a guide to perfection, but it seems as though this goal is completely and utterly unobtainable. In an article entitled, “Craving a Barbie body - All Dolled Up,” the author states that, if Barbie were a human woman, she would stand tall at 5 feet 9 inches, which would make her size three feet unsuitable for balance – especially taking her F-cup breasts into consideration. Human Barbie’s waist would measure around 18 inches and she would lack the requisite 17-22% body fat required to menstruate, which represents the body of 1 in 100,000 real women.

       What I want to know is, if only 1 in 100,000 women are capable of a body such as this, which is such an unhealthy body to obtain in the first place, why is this the model of beauty in our society? I believe each article I read brought up some very interesting facts about low self esteem and poor body image, it seems as though other’s opinions are much to blame for this, but I can't help but believe the main cause is seeing starlets such as Heidi Montag all over the covers of magazines. When young girls see women such as Heidi changing their appearance through surgery, they believe that will finally make them happy. In my opinion, celebrities should do what they can to speak up about the dangers of plastic surgery and promote ways to be comfortable in your own skin instead.

Images by: huffingtonpost.com, emel.com.