The "Thin Ideal"

The “thin ideal” being portrayed in the media is a constant reminder of the negative body image being taught to adolescents in our culture and then continuing to be supported by the rest of our population. Media access is at its prime, with a click of a mouse any and all information is accessible. The amount of diet and exercise articles in magazines has been increasing with every new year. The BMI of the cover models has been decreasing every year. If we do not take drastic measures to stop this trend, more and more cases of eating disorders are going to spring up.

Body image and self-esteem are definitely affected by the media especially magazines, in that people compare their actual physical body to those in the media and experience guilt or shame and thus body dissatisfaction. Not only should the health of the viewers be of concern, but the health of the models who are themselves at risk for eating disorders should be taken into consideration.

Perhaps more studies should be done on the effects of the increasing “thin ideal” on the models used to portray it. The long term effects of the media should be researched more thoroughly, and perhaps examine the body image and self-esteem of the generation in which the “thin ideal” began. If we cannot come together as a society and change the way we perceive beauty, there will be serious health consequences, not only in the physical sense but also the mental sense.

The main problem is that a lot of young and vulnerable teenage girls do not understand that these images are not healthy, and are most likely photo shopped. Young girls need to be inspired and be made aware of the dangers behind the types of images, and what they are doing to their physical  and mental health. My magazine will hopefully do this. Through presenting images of models of a healthy size, and giving the impression that they are comfortable with who they are, teenagers will get the message that you don't have to be thin to be beautiful.