How does the media effect body image in teen girls - Essay Example

The idea of the ‘Barbie complex’ is not new, but the importance placed on being blonde, slim and young has created a culture that is inordinately focused upon appearance to the great detriment of most of its members. This is largely the result of a concerted effort brought forward by the big cosmetic giants that depend on this flawed perception for their profits. The links between advertising, female perception of themselves and serious physical and mental disorders are abundantly clear.

The media world depends to a large extent upon the money it receives from advertisers to stay alive, but these advertisers depend to a large degree upon selling their products. The best way to sell a product is to ensure that the product is something that will be needed perpetually, that there will always be some kind of demand for the product. A very effective technique in doing this is to set an ideal that is nearly impossible to achieve and then selling products that are geared toward bringing someone closer to this ideal, as has been done in the dieting and cosmetic markets.

“Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight” (Jean Kilbourne, media activist, cited in “Beauty and Body Image”, 2009). This is only started with the portrayal of women in the media as “the images of impossibly thin models overwhelm today’s teenage girls.  Unbelievably, most models are thinner than 98 percent of American girls and women” (Bartell, 2008), which is also the source for everyone else to form their ideas of what the ideal female body should look like.

Thus, friends, boyfriends, parents and others all add to the pressure for girls to attain, regardless of how impossible it might be, the shapes and forms represented in the media. While some may argue that this isn’t really as prevalent as the