Everyday girls are exposed to advertisements showing a photo of a woman, usually in some kind of sexual way. These women are labeled as “the epitome of beauty,” and girls all over America as well as the rest of the world, young and old alike, strive to look like the girl in the magazines, when in reality no one can look like that girl and be healthy, not even the girl in the magazine. Magazine companies should take the pledge to not use photoshopped or digitally alter images of women to help decrease negative body image. Magazines, as well as many other forms of advertisements, display women in such a way that could be damaging to girls everywhere. There is no way to escape advertisements with altered images of women.

THE SHIFT OF BEAUTY STANDARDS
As the standards of beauty evolve over the years, the way women are portrayed in magazines and advertisements have changed drastically. In contrast to the decades before and during the 50’s, women were shown in a more natural form, rather than unrealistically skinny. Not only are companies digitally altering these photos, but some runway models are also dangerously thin. These models have become more twiglike through the years and past models have acknowledged this: "When Frederique van der Wal, a former Victoria's Secret model, attended designers' shows during New York's Fashion Week this month [September 2006], she was ‘shocked’ by the waiflike models who paraded down the catwalk”(Bennett). This goes to show how models have changed in as short as a few years. Beauty has constantly been associated with wealth for example; throughout ancient times until as late as the Renaissance being overweight was seen as a symbol of wealth and, at the time, was seen as beautiful. This was because food was scarce and the common folk did not have as much time or money to indulge in food. In today's society “fattening food is cheap and plentiful,” as shown by the fast food restaurants on every street corner, serving one dollar meals. This makes being thin was a sign that one had time and money to eat right as well as exercise (Wolf). The obsession with appearance is also a relatively new concept. Mass media has grown exponentially during the 20th and and 21st centuries, and people everywhere are constantly exposed to advertisements in television, on the internet, in magazines, and even on billboards.

EFFECT ON TEENAGE GIRLS
Teenage girls see these altered images and believe that these fake women are what people think is beautiful. This can be dangerous because people can not actually look like that, so when teens “ see these ultra-thin models, the discrepancy between how they see themselves in the mirror and how they feel they have to look is bigger. And that can prompt more extreme behaviors”(Bennett).This is apparent in the jump in reported eating disorders throughout the years,(hospitalizations for eating disorders jumped by 119 percent between 1999 and 2006) , and this may very well be due to the distorted beauty standards (Godwin). In this day and age, advertisements showing “fake” women are unavoidable and constantly portraying an unattainable body image for the average teenaged girl, giving them a negative perception about their body image. Not only have models have become thinner, but the average American woman have become heavier. On average, models weigh 23 percent less than the average American woman (Cruz).

Eating disorders are not the only issue being faced, but low confidence and self esteem as well. When constantly being exposed to these images of a single body type, and this single body the being the pinnacle of beauty, it can be hard for girls to see themselves as beautiful. This puts a damper on most girls’ confidence, making them believe they are “ugly” because they do not look like the magazine pictures.

DANGERS OF MODELING
Due to the standards set by most industries, models develop methods to keep their figures that can be potentially harmful. It has been reported that some models will dip cotton balls in orange juice and eat them to make themselves feel full without consuming any calories. This is one of many methods used to keep down weight. One model says, “I lived on Diet Coke and apples for two years,” but said it was worth it because of her high salary (Hilton).

Not only are the models’ dieting methods incredibly unhealthy, but there is also issues in terms of how they are portrayed. In many advertisements women are portrayed as sexy and only that. This gives many women the impression that women’s only use is sex objects. With models getting younger and younger, this could be damaging by allowing others to objectify them. The documentary Girl Model follows a young girl and her experiences within the modeling industry. This documentary shines a light on the excessive use of sex appeal. By doing this it shows these young girls that their only purpose is to be sex objects.

ALTERED IMAGES MAY NOT BE THE ISSUE
Though it is argued that models have become too skinny, in this particular industry thin is professionally necessary. In the fashion industry the models need to show off the clothes rather than the clothes showing off the body of the wearer, thus making it needed for models to be thin. “The fashion industry is ultimately unconcerned with beauty; its objective is selling clothes, and the consensus remains that in order to achieve this, models need to be thin”(Hilton). Arguments can even be made for the weight qualifications set more male athletes and sportsmen. They use many of the same methods of weight loss as the women models, yet no one raises arguments for them. “A survey published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine lists a range of weight-loss methods for jockeys that would make any model agency proud—69 percent skip meals, 34 percent use diuretics, 67 percent sweat off the pounds in the sauna, 30 percent regularly vomit and 40 percent use laxatives” (Hilton) This goes to show that girls are not the only victims of the impossible standards set by media.
Women do ridiculous things for the current fashion trend, be it the mercury-eaten complexions for the Elizabethans (of, relating to, or characteristic of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I) , or the desire for having the appearance of an adolescent boy. Eating disorders are this era’s fashion trend. According to the South Carolina Department of Mental Health “one in 200 American women suffer from anorexia, as opposed to the American Heart Association's statistic of 39.4 million women suffering from obesity” (Hilton). The fact that women are digitally altered in magazines may not have anything to do with this fad. It may be the fad that has an effect on the magazines. This is apparent in the early fashion trends, magazines and advertisements did not exist during the time of the Elizabethans, yet they still desired the 14-inch hips. However participating in these fashion fads is not healthy.

Though many may not suffer from an eating disorder does not mean it hasn’t become an issue. Eating disorders are not the only issue altered images create, many see themselves in a negative light because they cannot have the impossible body type shown in magazines and advertisements.

THE NEED FOR CHANGE
No one should have negative body image. Magazine companies should take the pledge to not use photoshopped or digitally altered images of women to help decrease negative body image. Should companies decide to do this everyone could benefit. Magazines could showcase images of real women that more people could relate to, thus gaining more profit. Not only would the magazine companies benefit, but the models as well, they would not longer have to adopt unhealthy habits to maintain their ultra-thin figures to keep their jobs, as well as damaging themselves. Most importantly this would benefit the girls who see these images. They may see a model with their same body type being portrayed as beautiful, which gives them a confidence boost and allows them to see themselves beautiful. To feel beautiful is best feeling for a young girl to have.


Works Cited
"Academy for Eating Disorders Calls for Ban on Underweight Models." N.p.: n.p., 2007. N. pag. Rpt. in The Fashion Industry. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
Bennett, Jessica. "Why Skinny Models Are Making Us Fat." Newsweek 8 Feb. 2007: n. pag. Rpt. in Eating Disorders. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
Cruz, Carnina. "Teen Vogue: Give Us Images of Real Girls!" Change.org. Vouge, 9 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
Hilton, Lisa. "What's Wrong with Skinny?" Thedailybeast.com. N.p.: n.p., 2010. N. pag. Rpt. in Eating Disorders. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
Wolf, Mr. "How Standards of Beauty Change with Time and Culture."Internet Web Portal. Internet Web Portal, 03 Dec. 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.
Girl Model. Dir. David Redmon and Ashley Sabin. Perf. Ashley Arbaugh and Rachel Blais. Girl Model. PBS, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
Godwin, Jenifer. "Rate of Eating Disorders in Kids Keeps Rising." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 29 Nov. 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.