Tight,Toned, and Tiny= The Perfect Woman

The media presents a message to girls of all ages that a thin body and a beautiful face make up the ideal woman. Magazines for women play a huge role in delivering these messages. With pictures of pencil thin women and regular articles about how to lose weight, the message is clear that being skinny is the best way to be in our society today. This mindset has brainwashed many women. For example, “…thirty three thousand American women told researchers that they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds than achieve any other goal.” These numbers are shocking. Being thin now seems to be the answer to many things such as getting a man and reaching a state of happiness.
On Shape magazine’s website woman are asked to share success stories. 100 percent of the stories there are about women losing weight. Their “success” is that loss. The website also includes a weight loss diary, a page devoted to “getting fit” and many other links that take readers to other websites that are all about losing weight. Other popular magazines such as Women’s Day and Good Housekeeping put article headings on their cover such as “Bye Bye Belly Fat” and “20 Fat Blasting Foods” to get a woman’s attention. These magazines publish articles with quotations saying women should love their bodies then put pictures of skinny women and articles about how to lose weight on the next page. “Girls are encouraged to love their bodies, no matter what they look like, by magazines with fashion spreads featuring only stick thin, flawless faced white models in expensive outfits.” Something is not right here. Redbook magazine asks readers to tell how they are feeling in a section of the magazine. When one woman said that she felt beautiful the magazine replied, “You do look beautiful. Look even more beautiful in five minutes!” This piece of advice was followed by make-up tricks. The media is out of control with the message they portray to woman of all ages. There is more to a woman than toned legs and a flat stomach, but the magazine industry doesn’t seem to agree.

"Teen Mags: How to Get a Guy, Drop 20 Pounds, and Lose your Self Esteem" Anastasia Higgnbothamn
"The Beauty Myth" Naomi Wolf