From: Kelly R.
This photo is an example of how the media can affect teen girls in a very negative way. The main subject, obviously the girl seems to be stressing about her weight, as she looks in the mirror standing sideways. The angle that it is shot at shows that she is already very thin. On the desk, the fact that there is make up, hair products, and perfume shows that she is very concerned about the way she looks. The cosmopolitan magazine laying around presents the fact the she uses things like this to learn how a girl is "supposed to act". Teens all around the country are reading magazines like this to make them into this ideal image that is presented. The girl on the cover of the magazine is someone that teenagers look up to and want to be like her. They have to be skinny, pretty, and smart to even be noticed. Everything in this picture builds up to how the media has negatively affected girls in today's society.
8 comments:
This picture truly captures the stress put on young girls to “fit in” today. Large amounts of pressure are put on young girls to be beautiful. These standards and stereotypes constructed by the media are damaging physically and mentally to young girls. The main focus of the picture is the girls’ imagine in the mirror. She is staring at her reflection pondering if she is overweight or that she isn’t pretty. Young girls ridicule their looks trying to meet an unrealistic image.
Directly to the left side of the young girl is a Cosmopolitan magazine. Cosmo Magazine teaches girls how to behave like women. According to such magazines; women must be fashionable, delicate, and skinny to be considered beautiful. To be beautiful in American society is almost an impossible standard. According to statistics, the average American woman is five four and one-hundred and forty pounds. Models such as those portrayed in the media and magazines are typically five-eleven and one-hundred and seventeen pounds. These women are skinnier than ninety-eight percent of American women. But those statistics are not represented by the media.
Covering the dresser top are all sorts of make-ups, lotions, perfumes, and hair products. They are all expensive and time consuming objects that this young girl feels necessary to put on before she leaves the house. One can only imagine the time and effort most women put into getting ready in the morning. Young girls compare themselves to the images of women seen in magazines. This is a huge problem because they are trying to meet impossible standards; and on their way there they end up with low self esteem, eating disorders, and psychological issues about how they look. As you can see the majority of the background is the mirror; this stresses how important her looks are to her self esteem. After completing all the strenuous make-up techniques, styling her hair, and painting her nails does she feel beautiful enough to join the rest of the world.
I think that this photo was very good in introducing the fact that many young girls are pressured to be thinner and more beautiful. The media is becoming a nightmare to some of these teens because it shows over and over again the images of supermodels and high fashion woman who are very thin. The fact that Kelly put makeup in the picture shows that the girl in this photo may not consider herself to be beautiful—which probably started at an early age. Another good piece of ingredient that she included in this photo was the Cosmo magazine. That is a very good example of what girls are seeing and where they are getting their information from on how to be thinner or more beautiful. It is easy to tell that the girl in this photo is innocent because of her expression in the mirror and doesn’t seem very happy with herself or even maybe with what she is doing. This image was a good choice and was I’m sure, an eye-opener.
This photo shows how girls have this perfect standard that they feel they need to live up to. This standard to be a beautiful woman is impossible to achieve but because girls see these women on television and in magazines, they feel the need to be that way in order to feel good about themselves. Many girls will do whatever is takes to be desirable. In this photo the girl is obviously not happy with her weight despite the fact that she is extremely thin. Her view of herself is distorted because people put too much pressure on girls to be thin and in shape. She also has a lot of make up, perfume, and hair products in order to make herself beautiful. These are daily supplies for most girls in order to cover their blemishes and look pretty so they will be liked. On her dresser there is also a girl magazine that teaches girls how to look beautiful and sexy and tells them what guys want in a girl. In today’s society women are have so much pressure on them to look a certain way and this can really bring their self esteem down and make them go to great lengths to fit today’s beauty standard.
this picture represents the expectations young girls have placed on them by the media. The camara angle is to the side faceing toward the mirror, to show just really how skinny this gil is and her facel expresstion. she looks almost dissapointed maybe in herself, as if shes not good enough, or didnt live up to the medias expectations. she has makeup products all over the desk in front of her, in the media there is a high demand to look your best and the advertisment take adventage of this, "if you buy there product you will be beautiful"
Everyone only gets one life to live, we are all very different and each unique in our own ways. If you don't support magazines such as cosmopolitan because of the media coverage then don't support them. Theres too much in life to be enjoyed rather than to get caught up in some media stereotypes. Be honest to yourself and enjoy who YOU are and not an image of who YOU should look like according to the media.
The media has shown many girls how they should look. The media has influenced women through make-up, hair product and ever men. On the girls desk is an assortment of product known to make women enhance or just make them beautiful. The magazines are what really help her meet all the beauty tips possible. Another huge influence is the “I love Ryan Sheckler”. Women will do anything to impress a boy, it’s in our blood. Overall the media has a huge influence over our gender socialization. The girl is judging herself if she is skinny enough based on all the influences of this society.
Though girls have many more bad examples to compare themselves to, leading to a much higher rate than in males, males do look at themselves in a very similar manner. Everyone has a strong desire to be what society accepts as beautiful.
Young girls are forced to go to the gym, to look thin, so they could "fit in" in the society. The Cosmo magazine also shows how the media influences and encourages women to change their body to be able to look "beautiful".
Post a Comment