Lauren Greenfield's photo essay, "Girl Culture," suggests that images of beauty in the media can be harmful. In her Newsday article,
"Diversity May Be Fashion Week's Latest Victim," Anne Bratskeir looks at how race is represented in modeling. Do models affect how you think about who is beautiful? Do models affect how you think about yourself?
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I personally think that most models set a bad example for young girls. A statement that says being so skinny your ribs show is the most attractive way to look. Or that not eating is the only way to stay thin, and that having an unhealthy lifestyle is ok. Its not just magazines or internet articles that influence it anymore either, even TV shows are portraying this thin scheme. I watched one episode of "make me a supermodel", im pretty sure it was the first episode when they all were being measured and stuff. The one girl who was no where near fat, and to me looked better than all the other girls was told by the hosts that she needed to lose weight or she was never going to be a supermodel. I thought it was rediculous...we have enough problems now with girls and eating disorders and I honestly think magazines and shows like this only make the situation worse. I refuse to watch this show anymore by the way..it just makes me mad. As far as the racial issue goes, some companies feel like thier product only looks good on white or black models..which is down right ridiculous because clothes are clothes no matter what color skin they go on. The main thing is that models do not affect how I feel about myself. Beauty is not what you look like, or what kind of clothes you wear, its how you feel on the inside and inside I feel beautiful so therefore I see nothing else.
It has become a norm in society that models are tall and thin. This creates an illusion that one should resemble these traits. When you compare yourself to a model it is easy to point out your flaws. I think that girls forget that a lot of times models are not naturally that thin, some have eating disorders. When i walk through the mall the majority of people i see do not resemble that of models, which makes them a smaller portion of society. You have to really look around and realize that thin and tall is not always the case and you should not strive for those traits. When it comes to racial issues i feel that minorities don't always have the upper hand in the fashion industry. I commend Janice Dickinson for creating the Latin Division in her agency because it sends a message to other agencies in regards to minorities.
I love my body. I love my hourglass figure. I love myself and I'm confident and I'm not afraid or ashamed to say that. To be honest, I don't really care what other people think of me. However, going through adolescence I was extremely critical of myself - both physically and intellectually.
I think it's undeniable models affect the way we perceive ourselves. As a teenager, you're trying to establish and make your own identity and particularly vulnerable to the influence of the media and peers. I think the lack of non-white women in the media can also be very harmful - to both non-white and white women.
The media - including the modeling/fashion industry - should represent all types of people; white, black, Asian, Latino, thin, heavy, tall, short, and the list goes on.
However, at the same time the criticism very-thin models face also can negatively impact thin women. I have several friends and relatives who are naturally thin and are bombarded with messages of "thin isn't beautiful," "thin women are disgusting," and harassed because they must be anorexic if they're skinny.
The representation of women in the media is a huge problem - from the unrealistic beauty standards women are held to, the lack of women of color, and the "slut shaming" of women who are sexually active and not ashamed of it. However, criticizing and attacking thin women isn't the way to go about this problem and also damaging.
It is horrible to see little girls have pictures all over there rooms of actress's or models, only because they want to be like them! It sucks to grow in a world where the only way that someone may think your pretty is if you weigh 100 pounds, with only skin and bones and long blond hair. Yeah when I was younger I wanted to be super skinny and look like everyone else. Thats all that you see! In every magazine or even on T.V. It's so unfortunate to have to feel the need to compete to be beautiful. Shouldn't it just be for your own health and happiness? I catch myself watching America's Next Top Model sometimes and i remember one episode where one of the agents said that a girls butt and thighs were to big for her garments and that she had to be a size smaller. Even though she was already like a size 0!!! It makes me sick sometimes to think that girls are losing themselves to this beauty image. I used to be vulnerable and thought I was heavy or i needed to lose weight but I'm healthy and I love the skin I'm in!
I think that models definantley affect how girls, and even boys, look and think about beauty. Look at trends, for example. these trends would never really exist at the rate and wide-spread capacity that they do now if it wasn't for models. Currently, many people are looking towards brown hair to be beautiful, models are dying their hair brown while nautural blondes are turning their backs on what 'use' to be beautiful, full blonde hair. This is just one example of these kinds of trends, for there are many and everyone knows them.
Models are uncharacteristically thin, something that can only be obtained thru strict diet, or lack of eating, and an overweleming amont of exericse. This is not the norm. Take a look arond you and you will notice these models are different, so why exactly do we look up to them if everyone is trying to fit into one group? We should all try to fit in the group that most of already fit in, average height, average weight, a normal everyday lifestyle, not what these models are living.
People look up to models, and frankley, that appearance is very hard to achieve resulting in many problems for a lot of young,or old, women and men.
The first thing I would like to focus is that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and secondly the models now days are not setting a good example for the girls. All these models; they seemed to be overwhelmingly exaggerating their body image and clothing such that girls tend to perceive that type of image being an ideal one. But we are forgetting the fact that more than 80 percent of the girls now a day does not look like that. So what that fashion run away is for? Isn’t the fashion supposed to be a contributing factor of bringing new trends to the market and bring new wardrobes to the people? But how is it possible to do so when more than half of the women do not fit the clothing the models wear because they are not as think and skinny as the models; whereas the clothes are made to fit the size of the skinny tall women. Saying that women should not feel down on how they look seeing all the glamorous models would be hypocritical. As a matter of fact women do want to look like them and become engulfed in the popular trends. The models, fashion and media have been bombarding the fragile mind of women so harshly that they are somewhat obligated to follow those characters, or more or less mimic the trends. It is sad to say but true that models and the fashion does change about the concept of how one looks, because I don’t think many girls would like to be called TOMBOYS.
Models show that women are supposed to be bone skinny, blonde, blue eyes, and white. That is the ideal view of a beautiful women. I know I am nothing like that what so ever because I have red hair for one, green eyes, and I have more to love on my body….if you know what I mean. But anyways I hate how the women are being shown because that makes me wonder sometimes am I supposed to work to achieve that.
It is obvious that most young girls are going to be envious of models but I am not jealous of the life they lead. On an episode of Americas Next Top Model there was a model bigger than the rest, and one of the judges said "we're just not ready for a plus sized model to be on the cover of a magazine". That is terrible. I am old enough to understand it doesnt matter, but suppose a younger girl saw that? It's really a bad example. However, as I said before, I may be envious at times...but I'd never want to be them. And they certainly don't stop me from going and getting a big bowl of ice cream at midnight! This show actually shows sometimes that yes they are super thin but they are always crying and fighting.
I think its funny that models are all the same and yet everyone is different and still wants to look like them. Whats even funnier is that we all know models are anorexic, they are too skinny, not really that attractive when next to normal looking people, and yet we all strive to be what they are. I dont know, if i was a girl, the last thing i would want to look like would be a stick. no curves? no way! I dont know, maybe its just me, bu those girls have pretty faces, but they look sick when you see their whole body. I mean its different for a guy, when i see a calvin klein model, i may be like, "it'd be nice" but i def wouldnt let it ruin my day.
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