Victoria's Secret Research Paper

Under society’s customs for decades, young women have found themselves immersed in the pressure and anticipation to have exemplary bodies. Nearly every young woman prefers to be slim, have a perfectly shaped body, that is beautified by applying pounds of makeup to their face but does not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these measures imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model on the cover of Vogue being called flawless, naturally it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the that model. These companies produce magazine covers shown with girls’ images daily. As if keeping the perfect body wasn’t hard enough, our culture also forces girls into the forever expanding world of composition, however, body image is a surging subject for young girls. Advertisements and pictures of lean female models are all over. Young women are measured and perplexed by their physical appearances with attire intended to raise their physical structures; social media, magazines, the society, marketing campaigns, advertisements, and the fashion gurus add to a strand of excellence.

It seems like every young girl dreams of becoming a model these days. Every young girl has the desire to get thinner than other girls in order to look like models on T.V, magazines and so on. The New York Times publishes articles for the majority of the audience to read, which is mostly adults. Mim Udovitch’s article, “A Secret Society of the Starving” talks about two major eating disorders that are anorexia and bulimia within many girls. Udovitch reports stories about three girls that are going through these disorders or have gone through them. The three girls Udovitch includes are Claire, Chaos, and Futurebird. Ken Jackson’s interpretation of

Teenage girls are at an impressionable time in their lives. Mass Media is a key idea in one of the factors of socialization that become important to teenagers. Teenagers look to the media for a sense of entertainment. Whether it is movies, magazines, or even some aspects of social media, teenagers get a lot of influence from the media’s message. The problem with this is the media has a specific way of doing things and can be negative to a susceptible teenage girl. Media’s way of portraying a woman can be skewed and unrealistic way from what reality is. Teenage girls then have a desire for this look or way. In this essay the three ways I will describe as to why the media can negatively affect a teenage girls body image is by showing

Under society’s norms for decades, young women have been put under the pressure and anticipation to have perfect bodies. That is, thin and curved, beautified by applying pounds of the makeup to their face but not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these standards imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model along the cover of Vogue being called flawless, it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the photocopy. These companies produce magazine covers shown with girls’ images daily. As if keeping the perfect body wasn’t hard enough our culture also forces girls into the forever expanding world of composition, however, body image is a pressing issue for young women. Advertisements and posters of skinny female models are all over. Young girls not only could be better but need to be more upright and feel driven to throw the perfect figure. Moreover, girls are evaluated and oppressed by their physical appearances. With supplements and apparel designed to enhance a facial expression; social media, magazines, and marketing campaigns and advertisements add to the burden of perfection. The fashion industry is a prime object of body image issues, as they believe clothes look better on tall and svelte women. Established on a survey participated by 13 to 17-year-old in the U.S., 90% “felt pressured by fashion and media industries to be skinny”, with more than 60% routinely compares themselves to models, while 46%

In her article “Never Just Pictures,” author Susan Bordo analyzes how deeply teenage girls of today are effectively told how to look by mass media. Girls of the 21st century are constantly struggling with their own confidence and overall happiness simply due to the celebrities they see on TV and in magazines. Today, women are subconsciously told what the ‘perfect body’ is and anything less than that means that they are unwanted and fat. Bordo specifically described the experience of the 19 year-old Clueless actress, Alicia Silverstone, whom the tabloids consistently referred to as ‘fatgirl’ and ‘buttgirl.’ Bordo described that once a young woman is told that she is not worthy or that she is fat, countless psychological issues arise and begin

Flawless images used throughout the media saturate young girl’s minds, highlighting superlative women. For teenage girls this is hard to ignore with the line between fantasy and reality skewed my mass media and stress placed on obtaining an idealistic body portrait. In modern, Western society children are constantly bombarded with images of a false nature: many of which are photo-shopped to remove ‘imperfections’. But one of the most outraging/staggering facts is that children are not unaware of the demeaning and derogatory methods used by the media with ‘81% of 10 year olds scared of becoming fat’ (World Health Organisation) showing that the prominence of the media is becoming ever more apparent.

(Heubeck 2006) For many young people, especially girls, the ideal continues to chase them as they grow into young women. Young girls begin to internalize the stereotypes and judge themselves by media’s impossible standards. The power that the media holds in impacting the lives of young girls is detrimental and eventually affects their body image, their satisfaction of their own body, and portrayal of their body as an object.

Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women, and their bodies, sell everything from food to cars. Women's magazines are full of articles urging women to fit a certain mold. While standing in a grocery store line you can see all different magazines promoting fashion, weight loss, and the latest diet. Although the magazines differ, they all seemingly convey the same idea: if you have the perfect body image you can have it all…the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career. The media, whether TV, print, or Internet advertising, seems to play a huge role in influencing women of all ages; from adolescence and teens, to women in their twenties and thirties, as well as

Therefore, the commendation of such look and shape commercializes unhealthy body image and procreates eating disorders. Unfortunately, at present the commercialism of a perfect body is encountered by almost everyone on everyday basis. The public is bombarded daily with images of glamorously thin women in commercials, on billboards, in movies in magazines and etc?According to Melanie Katzman, a consultant psychologist from New York, the media has actively defined the thin ideal as success and treats the body as a commodity. (Rhona MacDonald, 2001) It is evident that the persistent advocating of the media and the society produced a constant pursuit of thinness, which became a new religion. A study conducted by Harvard researchers has revealed the effect of media and magazines on adolescent girls in high schools. The children were exposed to fashion magazines and television commercials, and a while after were given self-rating surveys. The study found that sixty-nine percent of the girls said that magazine pictures

The female body image is highly influenced by the mass media and the media’s portrayal of women, ‘70% of college women say they feel worse about their own looks after reading women’s magazines’ (University of Massachusetts & Stanford University, 2006), the portrayal of women in the media has an unrealistic approach and brings out body dissatisfactions and this results in eating problems and disorders.

I remember the first time I ever stepped foot into a Victoria’s Secret, I was fifteen years old. I was mesmerized by the bright pink and white walls. The signature PINK dogs scattered all over the PINK side of the store. The cosmetics section was sparkling in the distance and the signatures fragrance filled the air. I remember the feeling of finally being grown up, here I was shopping for fragrances and bras in the same stores that my mom and aunt bought theirs at. When you are fifteen there is nothing else in the world that matter more than feeling grown up, you are no longer a kid and there is a whole new world for you to explore. Talking to women, most have

“About 11 million people in the United States suffer from an eating disorder” (Wexler 36). Company’s display their models to look like they never eat. These men and women do not look healthy and they make teens and others want to look like them. Whether the public agrees or disagrees, models do infact have a huge impact on girls and boys. They set a certain image that everyone wants to look like and that is not what they should be showing. They should be showing different sizes of different models. Additionally, women and men tend to look at these models and develop problems. They can get eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. These disorders can cause serious effects including death. It can also cause low self-esteem and low confidence. This low thoughts on someone can cause self harm and suicide if taken too far. Even though companies are allowed to advertise in ways that benefit their company, social media and commercial advertising are causing men and women to have a negative body images of themselves and should offer more realistic examples because girls compare themselves to the models and develop self-confidence issues, and the unrealistic body images

An example about this issue that I found very interesting are the models of Victoria’s Secret. They are one of the strongest role models for many women around the world, in an article published by Uloop Inc. it is state how 99% of the population has a negative view of their body image, women being the 56%. This negative view can lead to anxiety, damaged relationships, and depression; these numbers have become alarming in a worldwide level. In the past Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show the numbers of viewers were 9.3 million; imaging this excessive amount of people thinking that those models are what perfection is, and what every women should aspire for. This article also talks about the average weighs (BMI) of a model in the Victoria Secret Show, this weigh being 23% less than the average female.

Under society’s customs for decades, young women have been put under the pressure and anticipation to have perfect bodies. That is, thin and curved, beautified by applying pounds of makeup to their face but not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these standards imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model along the cover of Vogue being called flawless, it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the photocopy. These companies produce magazine covers shown with girls’ images daily. As if keeping the perfect body wasn’t hard enough our culture also forces girls into the forever expanding world of composition, however, body image is a surging subject for young women. Advertisements and pictures of lean female models are all over. Girls are measured and perplexed by their physical appearances with attire intended to enhance a facial expression; social media, magazines, the society, marketing campaigns and advertisements add to a strain of excellence.

The fashion industry causes kids learn that there is only one way to be beautiful, they may feel pressured and become anorexic, or bulimic. Eating disorders are caused by insecurities or fears of being unattractive. According to the article, “The Fashion Industry May be Linked to Poor Body Image and Eating Disorders,”,”Most runway models are 14-19...many are 5-foot-10 or 5-foot-11. They average 120 to 124 pounds.” However, in the article “The Fashion Industry Promotes Eating Disorders,” it says, “The average American woman is 5’4” and weighs 163 pounds.” The difference is shocking, and this is one of the reasons why runway model bodies are so unachievable. Striving for them will cause strenuous exercise and severe diet changes that most teenage bodies will not adapt to easily. The fantasy of looking like these models can tragically lead to eating disorders out of fear of becoming overweight. Fashion industries, spanning all around the world need to look into this heartbreaking epidemic of teens succumbing to their desires to be as “perfect” as the models that are constantly shown despite the extreme, detrimental risks that it can cause. The industry profits on insecure women who doubt their attractiveness, and this needs to change.