Media Effect

Women and Self-Image

Beauty and self-image is one of the main issues among young women today. When a woman feels positively about her image and self-worth, she will feel comfortable in her body . When negative ideals start to affect a woman's self perception, the results can be dangerous. This is the case of many females across the nation and the world. More and more we hear of emotional problems such as depression, economic problems like debt (from over-spending on clothes, make-up, etc) and disorders like anorexia and bulimia. The root on this problem is found by the way different mediums of communication are portraying what could be considered “the perfect woman”, whose main attribute is her looks. This sends a message to the audience that females are supposed to be overly concerned about the way they look in order to achieve self fulfillment. The media industry has become key and a great part in this effect that has cause damages to self-image problems in women. It is because of their corporate greed that this industry has forced itself to leave integrity behind, by destroying the meaning of natural beauty, they are able to get many to devote their lives to either maintain or obtain good looks, this has to be stopped.

During the Victorian age, women had a different issue concerning the way they were portrayed. Women were in charge of domestic chores, they were day in and day out ironing, cleaning, washing clothes, taking care of the children, etc. This affected the way they saw themselves as far as their significance in contrast to men. Fortunately, this started to change as time went by and women became more active in different fields in our society. However, just like the women from the Victorian era, we have women whose significance is now compared with those of airbrushed photographs on magazine covers and celebrities to mention a few. We have shows like “What Not To Wear” and “Extreme Makeover” which convey an idea of self-fulfillment through...