Growing up in the 20th and now 21st century, teenagers are bombarded with ideals and images to follow. Women in the media have gone through many phases. It started in the late 1980's and early 1990's when Kate Moss started the "waif" look. Just imagine how women viewed themselves when seeing pictures of a 5'10, 105 pound model strutting down a runway in skimpy clothes. It was finally realized that the "famine" look was passe and men desired more curvy women. Models like Cindy Crawford and Tyra Banks became the "new" ideal promoting bodies that were more voluptuous. Around 1996, the Spice Girls introduced the idea of "Girl Power." Women started to feel more empowered and even tried to improve their self-image. But lurking in the shadows are teenagers who lack self-esteem, who harm themselves to feel pretty and who strive to be someone they are not.
It is too often that we read stories of teenage girls suffering of serious diseases such as anorexia or bulimia. Girls read magazines. They watch TV. They are constantly exposed to media
In recent studies, evidence of anorexia on college campuses has increased quite considerably. The problem not only starts from the media but also from friends and school. "Recent media attention to the binge-purge and self starvation disorders known as bulimia and anorexia - often detailing gruesome particulars of woman's eating behavior - may have exacerbated this serious problem on college campuses" (Bachmann, Barth, Pancer, 155). Often female college students have problems dealing with college life. Female students resort to eating disorders as a form of a coping mechanism. This allows them to have some control in their life when they feel rotten inside. Media is not the only cause of eating disorders. Daily life stresses affect people in different ways. Those who are weak often cope with their stresses by depriving themselves of food, over exercising or the desire to binge.
. This is where the problem starts. Our media today promotes images of thinness, perfection and beauty, most of which are unattainable and unrealistic. I'm not saying that when I look
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