Self-Improvement or Self-Destruction?

Are the advertisements nowadays helping women to improve? Or actual hurting us?

Women have been influenced by the way the media has portrayed them as. Advertisements have been telling women for decades that there is room for improvement in her appearance. Women learned to compare, especially compare themselves to the “ideal” woman in the advertisers. Women are not happy with themselves, and started to believe those advertisements which tell them that they need to improve themselves to become an “ideal” woman. But wait a minute, what is an “ideal” woman?

Women’s magazines are full of the “ideal” women; they are sexy, skinny, and beautiful. The “ideal” woman was created and portrayed in the media, “Women’s magazines for over a century have been one of the most powerful agents for changing women’s roles, and the throughout that time – today more than ever – they have consistently glamorized whatever the economy, their advertisers, and druing wartime, the government, needed at that moment from women.” (Wolf, 64) Televisions and movies reinforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of a woman’s worth. The companies are using marketing strategy of targeting women to sell their brands and products. They are not selling what a woman actual needs, but instead, they are selling a product that a woman wants to become with after consume. That was because they know the fact of woman is the “insecure consumer”. “Somehow, somewhere, someone must have figured out that they will buy more things if they are kept in the self-hating, ever-failing, hungry and sexually insecure state of being aspiring “beauties”. (Wolf, 66)

The advertisers nowadays contain strong messages that revolved sexism and racism. Images of female bodies are everywhere on the street. Women, and their body parts sell everything from basic life needs to luxury. The advertisers sell one’s brand and product by using sexy and thin female model. The advertising rules the marketplace and in advertising thin is “in”. Advertisers believe that thin models sell products. According to Wolf, behind the scene, these “idea” women were basically created by computer technology, such as trim off one’s belly by using Adobe Photoshop, “Photographs of the bodies of models are often trimmed with scissors. “Computer Imaging” – the controversial new technology that tampers with photographic reality – has been used for years in women’s magazines’ beauty advertising.” (Wolf, 82) Jean Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming presence of media images of “ideal” women means that real women’s bodies have become invisible in the mass media. The real tragedy, Kilbourne concludes, is that many women internalize these stereotypes, and judge themselves by the beauty industry's standards. Women learn to compare themselves to the “ideal” women on the advertisement, and to compete with other women for male attention. This focus on beauty and desirability "effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate”.

Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if they can just lose those last twenty pounds, they will have it all – the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career. The food advertisements even use the body parts of women to sale their food with big and bold letters – ZERO CALORIES. Media activist Jean Kilbourne concludes that, “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.” Women learn to compare, and learn to accept the fact that media has create the standard of the beauty. Therefore, “Women are permitted such gratification from food only in measured does.” (112, Bordo) Click here to see more information.

In the result of these advertisings, the problem of eating disorders has become more and more serious in America. Women wanted to become “ideal” women, they believe in the way that media has portrayed. In “Hunger as Ideology”, the author argues that women want to be skinny and thin to earn others glorification such as “you are cool”, “But what she looks like is not important, in any case; what is important is the fact that she has achieved what we might call a “cool” (that is, casual) relation to food” (100, Bordo) Women started to over-exercise and skip meals, not realizing that they are already developing eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia. One of my girl friends, 23 years old, told me that she is fat while she is six inch two feet and 90 pounds. She does not eat much, and she refuses to eat more even she is hungry. That is sick. I have been talking to her and let her know that the seriousness of her problem. She is well on the way of eating disorders. I really hope that she can face the truth and help herself get out of the sickness.

It is impossible for women to escape the message of the “ideal” woman that sends by the media. Women’s portrayal by the media will always be a part of our society. The best way to solve is woman at any ages ignore what they see, and seek celebrate what makes them unique.