It's almost everywhere you look. Pictures of emaciated young women are rampant on magazine covers, advertisements, billboards: everywhere.

It is quite evident by flipping through a magazine, or just glancing at the advertisements on television, what the media considers as the "ideal" figure. This perception has been created, in a large part, by images put forth by movie stars and models. The fact that the media is so influential in our society, and we idealize the lives of people in the limelight plays a major part in our country's obsession with thinness and extreme dieting. North America's obsession with health, diets, the fashion industry, and television exhibiting waif thin models and actresses as "sexy and voluptuous", gives a distorted notion, sending many young women the wrong idea about body image.

In today's society eating problems, such as anorexia and bulimia, are becoming all too common. Yet, the question still remains, what are the causes and factors contributing to this destructive behaviour, and how is the media contributing to these problems? The fashion industry, television, movies, and society's norms have all promoted not only a distorted perspective

During the 40's, 50's and 60's curviness was considered desirable. The norms set during that those time periods were in fact very different then those today. Marilyn Monroe, for example, is probably considered one of the most prominent sex symbols in North American history, even though she wore a size 12 at one time in her career (Dixon & Kray) . Models and actresses today at most wear half that size.

and souls to fit what our culture has considered to be "ideal." It is scary when children as young as the age of ten are becoming obsessed with dieting and their bodies. (Cabellero & William ) They are becoming afraid of what society/media says is unacceptable and is looked down upon: being fat.

grocery store. Without a doubt, dieting has become an insane obsession in North America. Billions of dollars are spent trying to look the way society tells us we need to look. People go to extremes from starving themselves to paying for various cosmetic surgeries. It is very unusual to find actresses in Hollywood overweight-because that is not accepted in today's society. Many actresses seen on television have endured countless hours of strenuous exercise and have deprived themselves of nutrition i

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Approximate Word count = 811
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)