Hopkins 1 Shelby Hopkins Professor Meagan Rand English 1102 23 March 2014

Models Appearances and the Effect they make on Female Teenagers

Female teenagers all over the world, specifically throughout the United States, are affected by the appearances of models. This subject is mainly based on how todays society portrays these women in fashion shows, advertisements, and magazines. Younger women, particularly aged between 13 and 18, look at these models as perfect human beings, being flawless in every way possible. Three focal questions relating to this topic are: how do broadcasted models affect female teenagers, to what extent do these teenager girl go to in order look like these models, and how can society contribute to stopping this type of situation from transpiring? Compared to earlier decades, when models body-types were larger, todays models are outrageously thin and tall. Marilyn Monroe is one of the most famous models from the late 1900s. In todays society, her body type would be considered a plus size model, but at the time this body structure was view at as the perfect figure for women; the main idea was for others to see her body and demonstrate how women should accept the way their body looked, no matter how it was shaped. Overtime, the perspective on body types transformed; the perfect body today is not revolved around how a woman feels but how similar she looks compared to a tall and skinny model.

Hopkins 2 One of the first tangible items created that exemplifies how unrealistic model sizes are was the first Barbie doll. The original Barbie, released in 1959, had a 36-inch bust line paired with a minuscule 18-inch waist (Groden). Almost every growing girl in the United States has owned some type of Barbie doll. The first Barbie created, whose career was a fashion model, was looked at as containing the perfect female body by younger girls. In actuality, this doll was so un-proportional that a human being with Barbies body type would not even be able to hold up her own weight (Groden). Her unrealistic body proportions present an unattainable standard of beauty for young girls (Groden). The most nonsensical Barbie was the Slumber Party Barbie released in 1965. Slumber Party Barbie came not with a PAYE slip but with a set of pink bathroom scales, permanently set to a rather scrawny 110lbs (50kg), and a diet book instructing her on how to lose weight, with just on instruction: DONT EAT! (De Lacy). Needless to say, critics and buyers of the Barbie products were not a fan of this edition of Barbie and the product was soon taken off the market. These outrageous standards made a huge impact of how individuals portray a perfect body, even though the Slumber Party Barbie creators took this aspect to an extreme measure. An example of how current models are expected to look is shown through the requirements in order to become a Victoria Secret model. The requisite of a Victoria Secret model is the height of at least 510, barefoot with body measurements of 342434 (Want to be a Victorias Secret Angel?). These runway models are referred to as Victorias Secret Angel, paralleling them to perfect, goddess-like women. This is exactly how an immense amount of female population views these women. A teenage girl expressed her feelings about Victorias Secret models by saying, Nothing can make me feel so inferior as a women than looking at pictures of VS angels (Wilson). These models are represented on television, magazine

Hopkins 3 advertisements, and in Victorias Secret stores around America, where females who only dream of having the perfect body are constantly viewing them. Even though todays society refers to these models as perfect angels, many of them are just as insecure as female teenagers and other individuals who adore them. During a TED video interview, which exposed emotions of Victorias Secret models, Cameron Russel admits that she remains insecure about her body (Russel). Even though she is perceived as a very successful model and, by societys standards, has a picture-perfect body, she is not completely comfortable with it. This is an aspect that a large amount of female teenagers do not realize. Even though many models have the desired body type, this aspect does not simply make everything, including their self-esteem, flawless. Cameron also states that image is not everything and that she is much more than a pretty face (Russel). The only reason she is in the position that she is in is because she simply won a genetic lottery by being a skinny, tall, white female (Russel). These statements prove that the body type of these women is a very rare and compared to a lottery, which one out of thousands of individuals win. One of the main unrecognizable reasons that models are insecure about their bodies is that a great amount of images seen by the public are not how the models actual appear. Compared to runway models during a fashion show, magazines have a different approach on how the models are presented. Since magazines are printed, major editing can be made in order for the models to look flawless and perfect. Subsequently, the effect of this type of media is more influential on the viewer. An anonymous profession photo editor admits, there are just absolutely no images left that feature the real skin, curves, or hair of a women that hasnt been significantly alteredthese perfect actresses and models are far from perfect, but the industry has gone so off course that it doesnt even matter anymore (100 Percent of What You See In

Hopkins 4 Fashion Magazines Is Retouched). It is obvious that creators of the media only strive to create this perfection among individuals that does not exist. Women portrayed in magazines can be compared to computer made individuals who do not actually live is todays society. Researcher from medical institutions in Virginia and Massachusetts claim, girls who frequently read fashion magazines were two to three times more likely to diet than occasional readers (Teen Magazines and Their Effect on Girls). This action of teenagers dieting is an unnecessary approach being taken in order to appear attractive through societys eyes. The male gender also plays a major role in these expectations made by society. Males, especially within the younger generation, view models in magazines and on television and automatically set standard to what an attractive female should looks like. Female teenagers, who are mostly known to be boy-crazy throughout the adolescent years, know that boys their age desire these flawless models. Wanting to be recognized and considered attractive, female teenagers strive to have the appearance of models. Magazines encourage this thought process by labeling articles with titles such as, The Ultimate Get-A-Guy Guide, Get a Bikini-Butt, and Shedding Those X-tra Pounds So Hell Notice You (Teen Magazines and Their Effect on Girls). These titles imply that in order to get attention from guys, a female must follow a guide to lose weight and have a nice body. Little do teenagers realize, these women rarely exist in actuality. Of course it is normal for males to be attracted to these women, but it is important for them to be able to separate reality from fantasy. In 1999, an experiment was performed in order to discover how women felt about their bodies in comparison to models. Three types of body types were studied: thin, fat, and neutral. The findings of the experiment exposed that, 54.1 per cent of all girls wished to have a thinner body shape and 53.8 per cent even wished for a body shape thinner than that which they

Hopkins 5 perceived as normal (Hellmich). This data exemplifies how much women compare themselves to the skinny perfect image that models have created. Stress is placed on women by media and society, pressuring them to obtain this image to become visual acceptable. Remember that this experiment was performed almost 15 years ago; unquestionably, these statistics have increased over the years. One main situation resulting from models slim body types is female teenagers developing eating disorders, primarily bulimia and anorexia. Female teenagers are turning to these desperate measures in order to lose weight and to be viewed as physically acceptable in todays society. These eating disorders are very dangerous to the human body and cause extreme harm to the individual who is involved. Hellmich states, Many theorists have postulated that the media plays a central role in creating and exacerbating the phenomenon of body dissatisfaction and consequently the increase in the prevalence of eating disorders. This shows that studies have been made on this topic and it has been proven true, statistically. USA Today also agrees with Hellmichs statement by saying, Girls today, even very young ones, are being bombarded with the message that they need to be super-skinny to be sexy. Some teenagers even feel distressed emotionally after viewing models; this can results to depression or suicide. A teenager posts on her personal blog, I dont even feel upset that I dont look like a VS model, I feel suicidal (Wilson). Emotional statements like this are pure evidence of how much models affect the younger generation. There are numerous proclamations that portray that society realizes the affects from these models appearances, but why are changes not being made to cease this from transpiring? The answer is there are many unrecognized organizations throughout the United States that continuously attempt to protest and go against these idols being displayed to younger

Hopkins 6 teenagers. A few of these organizations include the Parents Television Council, the National Organization for Women, and the American Decency Associations (Soller). Parents are attempting to take power in this situation involving their teenager daughters by protesting. A nationwide parent organization contributing to these actions of protest goes by the name of The Mommy Lobby; this large group is encouraging its more than 50,000 members to head out to their local Victorias Secret stores and protest on schedule dates (Arnowitz). This action is being lead by the CEO Cindy Chafin; she states to a television reporter, Our daughters are not sex objects. We really want them to be innocent and young as long as possibleI think there comes a point where there are boundaries (Arnowitz). These parents are standing up for their teenage daughters and potentially ceasing the possibility of eating disorders and distress forming, possible results of models appearances. Although it is obvious that an abundance of parents are attempting to control these outrageous standards being set for their daughter to be attractive, attempting is the big word in this statement. Parents are making little, if any, impact on these mass corporations that edit and portray these flawless women. They are not thinking of the effect that they are making on teenagers; they are more focused on the money the models are bringing in and how successfully the business is spreading by the advertisement being viewed my individuals. In reality, the majority of women do not hold the standards that are required to become a current-day model, and there is nothing wrong with that. Women are not supposed to look like these perfectly shaped models that society views throughout advertisements. Female teenagers often do not realize how unrealistic these qualities that models hold are and still strive to look like these women. In worse case scenarios teenagers go to extreme measures, attempting to achieve these body types; this includes eating disorders and emotional distress. All together, the

Hopkins 7 appearance models portray and the way media unrealistically reveals these women has a significantly negative impact on female teenagers in todays society. The viewing of these picture-perfect body types creates false assumptions of how women should look.

Hopkins 8 "100 Percent of What You See In Fashion Magazines Is Retouched." Ideal Bite. Ideal Bite. Web. 31 Mar 2014. <http://idealbite.com/100-percent-of-what-you-see-in-fashion-magazinesis-retouched/>. Arnowitz, Leora. "Victorias Secret Nationwide Protest Planned by Parenting Organization Boasting 50,000 members." Fox 411 29 Mar 2013, n. pag. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/03/29/victorias-secret-bright-youngthings-protest/>. Champion, Helen, and Adrian Furnham. "The Effect of the Media on Body Satisfaction in Adolescent Girls." European Eating Disorders Review 7.3 (1999): 213-228. Name of Database. Web. Date you accessed article. De Lacy, Martha. "'Don't eat!': Controversial 1965 Slumber Party Barbie Came with Scales Permanently Set to Just 110lbs and a Diet Book Telling Her Not to Eat." Mail Online. Associated Newspaper Ltd, 29 Nov 2012. Web. 31 Mar 2014. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2239931/1965-Slumber-Party-Barbie-camescales-set-110lbs-diet-book-telling-eat.html>. Groden, Claire. "Barbie, Meet 'Average Barbie'." Time. Time Inc, 09 Jul 2013. Web. 31 Mar 2014. <http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/07/09/barbie-meet-average-barbie/>. Hellmich, Nanci. "Do Thin Models Warp Girls' Body Images?." USA Today. Gannett Company, 26 Sept 2006. Web. 19 Mar 2014. Russell, Cameron. Looks Aren't Everything. Believe me, I'm a Model.. 2012. Video. TEDWeb. 19 Mar 2014. <http://www.ted.com/talks/cameron_russell_looks_aren_t_everything_believe_me_i_m_ a_model>.

Hopkins 9 Soller, Kurt. "Review: Victoria's Secret Fashion Show." Bloomberg Business Week. Bloomberg, 05 Dec 2013. Web. 31 Mar 2014. <http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-1205/victorias-secret-fashion-show-traffics-in-girl-power>. "Teen Magazines and Their Effect on Girls." Healthy Children. American Academy of Pediatrics, 11 May 2013. Web. 19 Mar 2014. <http://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/pages/Teen-Magazines-andTheir-Effect-on-Girls.asp&xgt;. "Want to be a Victoria's Secret Angel?." Victoria' Secret Angels. Tumblr, n. d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://pinkvsangels.tumblr.com/becomeavsangel>. Wilson, Emily. "R.I.P. Self Esteem: On the Victoria Secret Fashion Show." Life Teen. Life Teen, n. d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. <http://lifeteen.com/self-esteem-victorias-secret-fashionshow/>.

Hopkins 10 1. The most interesting thing I have learned while completing this inquiry process is my actual question that I researched and wrote about. My question How does the appearance of models affect the life of teenage girls? obviously relates to me, since I am a young woman, but this subject never affected me like the teenagers I read about on the Internet. While completing my research, I came across a blog post by a teenager girl where she expressed her feelings about Victorias Secret models. She mentions having eating disorders and becoming depressed all because of the appearance of these perfectmodels. 2. I struggled the most with the length of this paper. I first wrote my paper without worrying about the length, but by the time I was finished I had only four full pages. I had to go back and put in addition information and research a little more about my topic in order to get the required full six pages. 3. My inquiry question did change overtime. Whenever I first came up with my question, I was going to talk about how media affected teenagers. Soon after I began my research, I discovered that this was a very broad topic and I was going to have too much information to slim down for this paper. I then decided to narrow down to a major subtopic that I knew I would be able to find a lot of research on. This was my final question of how models affect female teenagers. 4. It is important to look at a historical view of my topics to see how it has changed overtime, which it has. During early centuries, my question was not a question. Models, such as Marilyn Monroe, expressed their body no matter what it looked like. Compared to todays society models, this is extremely different perspective of how models should be represented.

Hopkins 11 5. I believe my evaluation skills have changed as a result of the inquiry project, in a positive way. I learned how to research for this paper but also include opinions, including ones that I do not hold, within my paper. 6. I am most proud of the proof I gathered to prove the point of my question, that the appearance of current day models has a very negative effect on female teenagers. I have several different perspectives within my paper, including a female teenager, numerous female teenagers parents, a Victorias Secret model, researchers from different universities, and a photo editor for a magazine company. All of these individuals opinions allowed me to have a strong thesis for my paper. 7. I feel like I know everything there is to know about this subject. Learning about this topic expanded my knowledge about people my own age and allowed me to discover this topic through there perspective, not just my own.