Fashion industries are portraying a false image to the public through magazine models. The main source of  beauty and style inspiration for women comes from magazine images from fashion model companies. The model's in magazine media all tend to have the same body image; tall, and extremely thin with heavily done hair and makeup. This typical model image is unrealistic for an average female to look up too for inspiration, and is creating false perceptions of beauty and reality to the general public. Fashion companies are constantly advertising their merchandise on this ideal model image that is unachievable in order to be living a healthy lifestyle, which is why this argument is significant.  Magazine models being the most visible role model for women in beauty and style, where they are heavily edited to look a certain way, are an influencing factor for many women who feel dissatisfied with their own appearance when they can not achieve the same look, which can ultimately lead to eating disorders.

The mindset of the Fashion companies in relation to advertising their clothes is typically that if the model wearing their merchandise looks thin, and idealistically beautiful, people will be more drawn to their brands and sell more, making more money. Fashion designers are so focused on how their clothes look and appeal to others which results in this aspect becoming the most important thing to them. In a news article written by a former Vogue editor, Kristie Clements, she notes that appearance is all the designers put their focus on when looking to advertise their clothing. Talking about fashion designers, Clement notes that "They get so caught up in the hype of how brilliant clothes look  on a size 4, they can not see the inherent danger in the message" (Clements). Designers are too focused on making their clothes look the most appealing to the consumer as possible, that the designers do not think twice about the idea that not all women have this ideal slim body type. Even though the specific clothing that a company designs may typically look better on a slender model, the standard of slender is taken way out of proportion when competing against other designer brands advertising clothing of very similar styles. Designers think that if their model is skinnier and more done up, their company's clothes will look more appealing to the consumer then the company whose model looks less idealistically thin and perfect.

Due to this stereotypical image fashion companies look for in their models being extremely thin, potential models will do anything they can to reach the required look to keep or get jobs, even if it is harmful to their health. The Vogue editor Kristie Clements notes two models she talked to in a photo shoot, how they clearly were starving themselves to keep their jobs, and how the models thought it was normal. One model said, "Because I'm always so hungry, I faint a lot" and the other saying "My flatmate is a fit model, so she's in the hospital on a drip a lot of the time" (Clements). Both of these responses by fashion models prove how models take extremely unhealthy practices to be so thin for their careers. It is frightening to think that the ideal model for certain companies is on the brink of hospitalization for constantly starving herself. These models here are evidence that the heavy standards put on models by companies has lead to majority of models acquiring eating disorders and constantly worrying about being overweight, when in reality, the models are extremely under weight. Models are dramatically altering their bodies in harmful ways by keeping themselves under nourished and exerting themselves physically with not enough healthy energy to do so which is impractical and an unhealthy way for a person to live.

Not only does the problem lie in the models eating habits; this issue with fashion model advertising companies has grown with the rise of technology and social media networks. New technologies like Photoshop have allowed for the opportunity to heavily edit pictures until the fashion companies have reached their desired look. According to a news article written by Morgan Shanahan, a professional blogger and screenwriter, Cosmopolitan magazine uses Photoshop techniques to articulate the exact look they want to portray on their glossy pages, whether it is to enhance their emaciated flesh, or fix sunken eyes: "The Cosmopolitan magazine editor admits to 'using models as sketches upon which they've drawn beauty ideals that simply don't exist, neither for the women in the pictures or the women looking at them"' (Shanahan). The emaciated model is in a sense used as a blank slate where additions can be made as desired; this leads to a thinner model being more ideal because it is easier to enhance body images then to minimize them. The idea that models are no longer good enough on their own influences them even more to become thinner to fit the model image better. Now models are technologically edited to create an ideal standard of beauty because without the advanced enhancers from Photoshop, the image is not up to par. This practice of editing the images is increasing discouragement which also increases eating disorders in the models.

The heavily edited photos are what cover the entirety of the glossy magazine pages that all women flip through day-to-day.  Essentially they are being shoved in the faces of average women, and distorting the image of reality. Some people may not see the harm in this idea  because people nowadays can just assume that models go through extensive makeovers and are very selectively chosen due to their appearance and thinness. However, what these women are missing is that there is much more to these image standards then heavily done makeup and a tall slender body. When insecure females are constantly seeing this ideal image in magazines, they become discouraged and begin to desire to look the same way because that is what is being portrayed as the stereotypical image of beauty: "This continual bombardment inevitably influences susceptible females into becoming self-conscious about their appearance and to obsess over their physiques" (Thornton).  The high frequency of seeing these ads is consequential because many females are beginning to feel discouraged and un-satisfied with their own bodies. Seeing so many ideal images is now not only leading to eating disorders in the model's, but in average females as well. The idea of thin being the new pretty is extremely unhealthy and is becoming dangerous to many people because women are minimizing their diets to try and lose weight to become thin like all the models they see. These practices of disordered eating can ultimately lead to acquiring eating disorders, which is detrimental to women's health.

The exigence of this issue is that people are becoming more used to this false perceived image of beauty. In an article from a student of Brandeis University, a Dove Campaign was examined and the student Hailey Magee presented their claim that "Dove reports that it discovered that most women lack identification with the word 'beautiful' largely due to the limited diversity within media images of women" (Magee). The edited images are seen every day all over magazine media and are becoming a social norm in our society. People are no longer shocked when they see emaciated models and heavily edited images because these looks have essentially become the new perceived reality: the image all people look up to and strive to attain. The constant viewing of these images will eventually lead a majority of women to self dissatisfaction and to practices of disordered eating in attempts to reach the same looks of these unattainable images, ultimately leading to eating disorders.  This can potentially be harmful to the overall well-being of society because these images are un-attainable.

The direction of magazine media is to attract women to read the ads by triggering their emotions in relation to self-satisfaction with appearance. By providing idealistic images, women are more inclined to compare themselves to these images because the models are what is presented as the beauty standard. "Research has found that women who report frequently comparing themselves to other women, especially women in media, are more likely to show signs of negative mood and body image disturbance" (Serdar).  Many women have made it known of their influenced desires to look like fashion model images from magazines because of how the models's are portrayed as the ideal. An article written by Kim Smiley for the Huffington Post, who is an Artist and Entrepreneur, shows how she always aspired to look like the fashion models in magazines. She taped pictures of these ideal model images all around her room, essentially encompassing herself in this idealistic fantasy of beauty. She called it an "addiction" where she claimed to "gape at the models' bodies like a teenage boy as I fell asleep, hoping to wake up with their perfect silhouettes" (Smiley). This statement alone is a clear cue to body dissatisfaction due to magazine images, and she is definitely not alone. It is also mentioned in the previous source by Kasey Serdar of Westminster, that magazines are purposely designed to trigger this emotion in women which is highly unethical and is reasoning for the negative aspects and connotations that many people see in the fashion industry. This is a significant point of irony that many people believe the fashion companies are purposely trying to discourage women's body image of themselves by creating this idealistic image to advertise and represent their company. Although companies may be doing it purposefully, it is still extremely unethical to portray such an unhealthy image as the normal beauty standard.

Allowing these ideal images to dominate magazine media is harmful to the well-being of society for the consumers themselves, and also for the companies. It is unjust for women to be swayed to believe this un-realistic image is the ideal, but also for the companies promoting this look. A specific example of this idea in action is an act committed by Urban Outfitters which was presented in an article by Ellie Krupnick, The Huffington Post's senior editor of  Viral Content and Strategy. Urban Outfitters previously sold a shirt with the words "Eat less" on the front. People have been complaining about the negative connotations on Urban's clothing that can mess with people's mental health. Urban Outfitters did not seem to fully understand the issue they created. Not only was the company advertising this offensive shirt, but they advertised it on an emaciated model as well. This act in itself is doubly enforcing the harmful ideal on women to "eat less" in order to look as beautiful as the model wearing the shirt. The connotation to eat less to be thin is a horribly offensive way to advertise to women where  the majority are already emotionally unstable about their own appearance. This example posed by Urban Outfitters is clear proof that the model and fashion industry is enforcing unnatural eating habits on women to look so skinny, and convincing people to buy and wear the label as well.

There is proven evidence in an article written by Silvia Mondini, an Italian lawyer, that women who constantly see these highly edited and thin model images in magazines are negatively affected by them. A survey study was done by a few authors in the decade of 1985-1995 examining 347 articles on eating disorders that were issued in national newspapers and magazine media, testing the correlations of the increase of female eating disorders. Results showed that the slender idealistic images in magazines were a high causing factor. It was surveyed that 69.2 per-cent of articles referring to eating disorders "consider the fashion model ideal and its constant coverage by the media the main factors responsible for the increased incident of eating disorders" (Mondini). Results were also presented proving how this high percentage of media relating to eating disorders is most notably due to the body ideal and mass media images presented in magazines. It is shown that 74.6 per-cent of the articles reveal that a large amount of idealized magazine images lead to eating disorders due to the body ideal, and 71.4 per-cent relate it to the mass media model images in magazines. When women constantly see these images they are able to see the difference in themselves between the ideal women and the biological reality, "it increases body dissatisfaction in women and pressures them to adopt a series of behaviors and attitudes suggested by the media" (Mondini). Women become so affected by the media because they can clearly see the stark difference between themselves as the reality and the ideal model image all over the magazines they see, influencing them to change their appearance to match the models.

Due to this stereotypical ideal model image dominating the media and influencing many women to feel negatively about themselves, the issue needs to be addressed to stop it. Efforts should be made to portray real and attainable beauty in media to spread awareness of this distorted image people all hold. A possible solution to this problem would be for women to recognize that these images are unrealistic, and to stop comparing themselves to them: "We only need open our eyes to reframe what we have been indoctrinated to believe is beautiful" (Serdar).  However, media influence is so powerful, that many women may not be able to ignore the images so easily. Another solution is to portray models of healthy weight and that have a more reasonable amount of makeup on to promote and represent fashion companies. The idea to stand out and look the best should be transferred to portraying real beauty rather than the fake distorted image that so many companies have embraced.

Some companies do see the value in this issue and have this perspective that images need to be more realistic. The undesirable aspect of fashion models being digitally edited to create a flawless image is harmful to women's health, and some companies are beginning to recognize and take action on this. Many people have been trying to bring the harmful connotations of fashion modeling to a more positive light. Companies like Dove and Aerie for example have been using models of different body types and focusing on natural, realistic looks, which are classified as unedited images and models who have healthy diets.  Aerie has taken a stance against airbrushing models and is portraying natural as beautiful. A columnist writer, and a freshman student of Weinburg, Katy Vines stated, "If these industries focused on campaigns that promoted the beauty of all body types, they would be able to break the unreasonable hopes that women have for their bodies" (Vines).  Presenting the moral side of this issue, Dove and Aerie are trying to steer people away from these negative connotations the model industry presents in magazine media.  To stop the increase of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in women and models, more companies should promote this natural image rather than the highly edited and unrealistic look.

When more companies like Dove and Aerie begin to pick up a realistic campaign trend, women will be able to fully realize that the slender and heavily done up model is not the only acceptable way to look in terms of beauty: "It is important to be aware of unrealistic ideas and be able to reject them" (Wheeler). If women start to see a switch in the appearance of magazine models looking less edited and slender, they will begin to realize which images are real and fake, and which ones to look up too. This would give women a realistic image to base their own appearances on which would result in a happier and healthier lifestyle for these women. Body dissatisfaction will ultimately begin to decrease if women see themselves looking more similar to magazine models, which would also minimize the prevalence of eating disorders in women that are stemmed from fashion media.

It is evident that the fashion model industry needs to alter their way of advertising the ideal standard of beauty in magazines. The current means of portraying emaciated models who suffer from eating disorders and body dissatisfaction, along with extensive care and editing is an unnatural and unnrealistic means of portrayal. Women are being sucked into this ideal standard of beauty because it covers the pages of magazine media,  when in reality it is an unachievable look. Constantly seeing this percieved ideal image is discouraging to women's feelings and ultimately is leading to a rise of eating disorders which is an unhealthy way to live. The harmful effects can be minimized if companies begin to advertise more realistically, therefore women will be able to recognize for themselves the "real" standard of beauty.
