The Affect of Media Beauty Standards on Womens Self...

The Affect of Media Beauty Standards on Womens Self Esteem In the daily fight for the emancipation of women and the pressures and influence of advertising, women of all ages are coerced into physical and psychological self-torment trying to achieve an optimum look or image. This is something not limited to a few. One can see the work of television advertisers in high schools everyday as girls wear the same clothing, makeup and accessories as their favorite stars. They may also try to imitate models they see in teen magazines. While it is fairly obvious that such a phenomenon exists, what is not so obvious are the detrimental effects. One question looms large. Is self-esteem affected by media? Many think it is. Morant (2000) reports†¦show more content†¦Some magazine editors are not happy with the initiative and a doctor who is also an eating disorders specialist suggests that the roots of the problem go deeper than anything the media might have created (Morant, 2000). It is true that while film and television and advertising influence society, they are also a reflection of it. While that is the case, it also seems as if people, particularly young women have attached themselves to the idea that the superstars as shown on television are near perfect. And while the problem with eating disorders, and Twiggy and Calista Flockhart, is a large part of the self-esteem puzzle, other problems emerge. In many ways, women are portrayed not only as sex objects, but as less than competent. Are there misogynist messages in media and how does that affect self-esteem? By and large, from television shows to film to commercials, women are portrayed in subservient roles. In the ten-year period from 1950 to 1960, mothers had been told, first, that they shouldn’t work outside the home, especially once they were married, then that there was no job they couldn’t do and that it was exciting and patriotic to work outside the home, and, finally, that their real job was to wash diapers, make meat loaf, and obey their husbands non matter how brutish, dumb or unreasonable they were (Douglas 1994). In the 1950s, the womenShow MoreRelatedMedia And Its Impact On Society1696 Words   |  7 Pages Media has an impact on many of the population’s everyday life. It comes to no surprise that the media is closely related with body imaging. There are thousands of advertisements out in the media that depict images of beauty and physical attractiveness which are unrealistic. The masses see these images and think that they are achievable thus lowering the self-esteem of many. 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