
Imagine that extended hospital visits have become part of your life. Your doctor's worried face is no longer surprised when you arrive. You spend months recuperating in your hospital bed, unable to sit outside beneath the sun or go out with your friends. You fall desperately behind in your classes and graduating becomes more of a far off wish than an attainable goal. With all that you are missing out on, you can't focus on the lost experiences because all of your attention is concentrated on surviving. Kara, a brave anorexia survivor, lived this life throughout her teen years and still struggles in her twenties to battle this disease (Brito).

Eating disorders are the most fatal mental disease which exist because victims take control of their own lives by starving themselves. Today, nearly 25% of all college aged women suffer from clinical to nearly clinical symptoms of an eating disorder (Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders). These disorders are caused by a multitude of factors including family life, predisposition to the disease, personality, and body image. Although outside images alone do not cause one to suffer from an eating disorder, they have a tremendous impact on our ideals and personal body image. The thin definition of beauty that the media portrays harms and heightens the effects of eating disorders while damaging the body images of young women in America.

While some advocates of the current beauty industry may try to argue that the media's presence does not affect self-esteem, it is implausible to believe that the thousands advertisements that we are exposed to daily do not affect our own body image (Walker). The incredibly thin models that we see spread across magazine covers and strutting across TV screens are photo-shopped and unhealthy models, which the beauty industry depicts as beautiful. While many women look up to these models, and aspire to have similar bodies it is important that we understand the unhealthy nature of these models. The average runway model is 5'9" and only 122 pounds which is extremely thin. The Center for Disease Control collected data in 2015 and found that the average American female is only 5'4" and 166 pounds (Austin). Just by looking at these numbers alone it is clear that the women who fill our media do not represent the average woman, and in fact they are unhealthy. In an interview with Vogue, one runway model was quoted saying, "It is my job not to eat", which further proves that the women we see constantly in the media represent an unhealthy and incredibly harmful lifestyle (Wintour).

Companies do not simply produce advertisements in vain, they create images and sayings which are meant to be captured and remembered by their consumers. Advertisers aim to manufacture a connection between their given product and all viewers of their work. Because of this the science behind marketing has become extraordinarily effective and its impact on our lives is undeniable (Walker). When we look at advertisements our minds subconsciously make connections with the given product, but also with the women modeling the products. When we are constantly bombarded by these images of overly thin women, we begin to believe that their thin bodies are the definition of perfection (Haas). We analyze our own bodies and compare them to the unhealthy images and over-time our own self-esteem dramatically decreases. With the unfair comparisons we are silently pressured by the media to hate our own bodies (Balcetis).

The medical definition of body image is stated as, "A subjective picture of one's own physical appearance established both by self-observation and by noting the reactions of others" (Meriam-Webster). This definition demonstrates that body image is heavily influenced by our mental state, and the opinions of those who surround us. Our body image is impacted by the advertisements which we see daily, and as our body image is harmed so is our self-confidence and expected capabilities (Keeton). In one study, data was taken for teachers and they were asked to describe their confidence and feelings about their bodies. In the second part of the study they were asked to comment on their confidence in their ability to teach and excel in their jobs.  Researchers found that the teachers who had the most positive body image, had more confidence in their ability to teach and shine in their daily work (Gorrow).  This one study shows how greatly body-image affects your life especially in professional situations.

It is human nature to want to fit in with your peers and surroundings, so when the media dictates that thin is the new normal, naturally people try to change themselves. Although many factors contribute to developing an eating disorder, this idea of fitting in and controlling your life through your caloric intake is greatly affected by the media and body image (Nordstrom). If you are suffering from a poor body image, you begin to lose confidence in yourself and you seek change. People aim to control their lives in different ways, but for those who suffer from eating disorders they control their lives by finding a sense of pleasure in denying their body of food (Williams). The aches of hunger and controlled urges for food make sufferers of eating disorders feel like they are gaining control and power in their own lives. Eating disorders are incredibly dangerous, but unfortunately they are not rare.  If you notice that any of your friends seem to be drastically losing weight while attempting to hide parts of their diet and exercise routine, don't be afraid to speak up and help them (Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders).  Let them know how many women are struggling with similar obstacles and they are not alone in their battle against the disease.

The connection between the media's portrayal of beauty and the physical and psychological effects that it has on the self-esteem and body image of young women is indisputable (Stice).  Now that we understand the repercussions of these advertisements we cannot silently watch as the media progresses without at least trying to positively affect this situation.  Before we can construct solutions for this multi-dimensional problem, it is vitally important that we understand this issue from the perspective of the fashion industry and the media.

The media's main role is to sell whatever the fashion industry is presenting at that time.  Marketing executives work to maximize the profits of the industry by making customers remember and recognize their advertisements so that they will buy the products.  Advertisers wish to excite their viewers and create a strong sensation that the potential customer will remember (Hilton).  Now the beauty industry typically sells based on the idea that customers will recognize and better remember a thin beautiful model compared to an average looking woman.  For the industry, this issue is simply a business based on advertising campaigns and profit returns (Jansen).

Although it is understandable why the media presents information to us in this way, is their presentation effective or even moral?  Previously it was believed that in the same way that sex and violence "sell", thin models would attract buyers.  A recent study was conducted in May of 2015 which makes this old-school belief no longer accurate.  In this study young women ages 18-25 were asked to describe the effectiveness of different advertisements, while researchers also studied the participants' self-esteem.  The research team presented participants of the same advertisements with different size models (Aquilina).  Size zero models were shown as well as "average" sized models which wore a size six in order to determine which model was a more effective image.

Researchers were surprised to find that in well-known fashion labels, the two models could be switched without having any major effects on the success of the advertisement.  Even more shocking though, the researchers discovered that for companies that did not have a well-known name, the size six models were actually dramatically more successful than the size zero models.  They also found that in women with low self-esteem, who would be more likely to suffer negative effects from their body image, preferred the size six models and would be more willing to buy the product (Aquilina).  The results of this study prove that the fashion industry can actually maximize its own profits in order to be prosperous while also using health model campaigns which inspire better self-esteem and help customers from suffering from the negative effects of body image.

As world citizens we have the responsibility to work to positively influence society.  We should not just standby as the fashion industry uses incredibly unhealthy models in an attempt to sell to us.  Together we can put pressure on the fashion industry to update its techniques to fit our modern ideals and expectations.  In America, we have the right to freedom to speech and we should not let that right go unused (Haas).  After seeing the results from new studies, we can make it clear to the industry that if they make the change over to healthier more realistic models, not only will it help to build the self-esteem of women nationwide, but it will also boost their profits because we are becoming more comfortable with realistic models who do not make us feel ashamed of our own bodies.

Even though the media and fashion industry hold a tremendous amount of power over this issue, we can independently start campaigns of our own to send body-positive messages.  Current studies have been conducted in order to figure out the most effective ways to combat the issue of poor body image which is heavily influenced by the media.  One well-respected study's results show that through awareness teaching, we can diminish the effect that advertising campaigns on us in order to preserve our own body image.  This research study showed that just by teaching young women about the effects of advertising, and about their unhealthy and untrue nature, it helps their minds to separate advertisements from the truth (Williams).  Through outreach programs, and the spreading of positive advertisements of our own we can begin to combat the negative effects of the media by lessening the hold that they have over our own minds.

Some companies have already taken this challenge upon themselves and are already spreading this body-positive message.  Dove is one of the most known organizers of this message, and has created various images and videos showing the truth behind the industry and the happiness someone can have in their own body.  They have created short ground breaking videos which create discussions about body image and our models. In one infamous video they sped through the creation of a "model" where they took an average women and after hours of make-up, lighting, and photo-shop they created her into a magazine-like model (Polina).  While this campaign showed the power of photo-shop, more recent Dove advertisements have simply encouraged their own bodies even when they don't fit the molds that the fashion industry creates for us.

These are just a few ways in which we can make a change in this incredibly powerful industry which so heavily impacts all of our lives.  We know that with the immense number of advertisements that we see on a daily basis do have a major influence on our self-esteem and body image.  When our body image is negatively affected we can begin to perform worse and have more issues in our social and professional lives.  Also poor body image along with other factors can lead us to suffer from eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia nervosa which dramatically change how we interact with others and can lead to very serious health concerns ranging from failing organs to fatality in 15% of cases (Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders).  

Although the media does have a negative effect on our body image, we can make a difference to inspire positive body image and promote self-esteem.  Various companies ranging from Aerie to Dove have started body positive campaigns, so we can all endorse these ventures by choosing to shop where advertisements support a healthy body.  In addition to this colleges can help students by incorporating a section about body positivity in University 101 or health classes in order to spread awareness and positivity.  Finally one of the simplest and most straight forward actions that we can all participate in is to spread positivity.  Being positive can help to counteract the negative effects of the media, and can be as simple as complimenting your friends and strangers and reminding others that the fashion industry's definition of beauty is untrue.

