Fashion and trends change and evolve from week to week, even day to day, but one thing that never changes in the fashion industry is the debate over whether or not models in the media are too skinny and if they are negatively effecting our female adolescents and even women. Body image and other health related issues in adolescent girls and women has been a growing concern due to the constant exposure to ultra thin models, the way these women are portrayed in the media, and how the models are being idolized as "perfect." The conversation and debate has gone back and forth for years and most recently has even turned to the idea of excluding models from working all together because of their potential negative impact on young girls health and women's health as well. As a direct result of the attempt to bring awareness to the issue, several events have recently taken place to diminish the number of extremely skinny models in the media. Powerhouse of the fashion industry, Vogue Magazine, recently made moves in efforts to curb eating disorders and the negative portrayal of women. Also in France, a new law has been recently passed by the French Government in hopes of the achieving the same result as Vogue. Aside from the major corporations within the fashion industry, several universities, doctors, and independent researchers have attempted to prove there in fact is a relationship between negative effects on girl's body image, similar weight-related discrepancies and adolescent's high exposure to thin models on the daily; causing people to talk and discuss potential solutions to the problems arising. Exposure to ultra-thin media models, similar to those seen by adolescent girls hundreds of times a day within ads, social networking sites and television, causes harmful effects such as negative self body image/body dissatisfaction, weight-related discrepancies, eating disorders and other health related issues such as depression and anxiety.

The media has a heavy influence and plays a big role in our everyday lives, making itself more prevalent than ever in our culture. Adolescent girls and women interact with a wide variety of media on a day-to-day basis, whether it be TV shows, the latest gossip magazines, the internet or social networking sites, ultimately playing a factor into their health and well being, and not in what research proves to be a positive light. On average "adolescents view 40,000 ads per year on TV alone" (Children, Adolescents and Advertising). Within these media ads there are millions of images of models, portrayed at an unrealistic ultra-thin size, and at a potentially dangerous standard, that have a powerful influence on our female youth, their body image and certainly their level of body dissatisfaction. According to "Female Body Image and Mass Media," images in the media generally project a standard to which women are expected to aspire, yet that standard is almost completely impossible for most women to achieve" (Serdar). Body image, as defined by Serdar, is a "complicated aspect of the self-concept that concerns an individual's perceptions and feelings about their body and physical appearance" (Female Body Image).  In other words, it is the mental picture or image of one's self. Negative self body image directly leads to body dissatisfaction, or the "negative subjective evaluation about the shape, size and weight of one's body" (Serdar). Negative self body image and body dissatisfaction has been a growing concern in female adolescents and recently women's body sizes have grown larger while societal ideas of the "perfect" woman have grown thinner and taller. This ultra-thinness and extreme tallness has its own standards as models in ads today typically measure at a 34-24-34 inches bust/waist/hip measurement and reach the towering heights of 5'9" and sometimes taller. As a direct result of what seems to be an unachievable standard of perfection presented each day in the media, "[t]here is increasingly convincing evidence that media-promoted unrealistic thin ideals are associated with detrimental effects on women and girls' body image" (Tiggemann 127). Women and girls being exposed begin to view themselves differently and compare themselves with one another with what they are seeing in the media, becoming dissatisfied with who they see in the mirror. The high level of exposure today seems to be unavoidable, and "exposure to thin ideal media images produces upward social comparison that then results in body dissatisfaction" (Tiggemann 130). Constantly reading the latest fashion magazine, blogs, or even by simply watching their favorite television shows, women are exposed to the ultra-thin beauty ideals resulting in the theory of social comparison, or determining one's social worth based on how they stack up against others (Tiggemann 131). A large majority of women read magazines, blogs, and watch certain television programs in hopes that if they follow the step-by-step directions given, they will soon become a better version of themselves, and be even closer to achieving the "perfect" look made up by society; playing a role in the dissatisfaction with their own bodies. Studies show that "women who reported greater exposure to television programming during adolescence were more likely to experience high levels of body image disturbance than females that did not report such levels of exposure" (Serdar). Therefore, constant exposure is distorting girls' perceptions of their own bodies causing harmful effects at the cost of strongly disliking their bodies. At a recent plea to try and "strip" away negative body image, Lillian Bustle's "TED Talk" in Jersey City describes the importance of body diversity, not necessarily being ultra-thin, and eliminating negative self body image in women because of what women are being exposed to in the media. She goes on to tell the crowd how comparing themselves to what they see will only do harm to the preference of own bodies (Bustle). With the media growing and technology advancing each day, negative-self images are on the rise and one potential reason is the portrayal of ultra-thin women in the media however, body image seems to be just the tip of the iceberg as the thin beauty ideal has several other harmful effects. 

Mass media's constant use of ultra-thin media models in programs, ads etc. sends an implicit message that in order for girls and women to be "beautiful" or "perfect," they must be unhealthy or underweight. When the media is repeatedly telling and showing girls what the ideal woman is supposed to look like and girls/women believe they are falling short of society's expectations, it leads to effects that could go even further and become more harmful than just being dissatisfied with the image in the mirror. Girls will begin to take drastic measures including starving themselves and developing unhealthy eating behaviors in order to achieve the thin-ideal. As a result, eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa and anorexia have become a major issue in adolescent girls and even grown women. The European Eating Disorders Review conducted a research study to determine if magazines have a stimulus effect on adolescents and the correlation of different eating disorders. In Julie Shaw's study there was a finding that "adolescent females had greater bulimic tendencies and were positively correlated with viewing images of fashion models" (Effect of Fashion Magazines). In this particular case scientific evidence was used to prove the direct relationship between eating disorders, specifically bulimia nervosa, and exposure to ultra-thin fashion models. Although in the investigation Shaw could not directly prove causation, there was a definite correlation present between the two. The subjects a part of the study are just a small representation of an entire population of girls being affected by the models in the media and an entire population of girls who are beginning to develop eating disorders. As an attempt to curb this epidemic, powerhouse of the fashion industry, Vogue Magazine, recently banned "all fashion models who appear to have an eating disorder" from the pages of their prestigious magazine (Radford). Thin models are increasingly being accused of causing and promoting eating disorders and editors welcomed the idea of banning eating disordered models in order to curb and prevent the same problems from occurring in adolescent girls who read their magazine. The change caused controversy about whether or not it is their place to determine if someone is anorexic or not, as several people argued banning models may be a form of discrimination and against the law even though it was for the promotion of healthier standards in young women. On the opposing side, according to British psychologist Deanne Jade, there is a difficulty in separating the influence of media and the development of eating disorders. Although, "studies of prevalence show that bulimia nervosa and anorexia is on the increase it is hard to justify an accusation that exposure to supermodels will cause our teenagers to develop anorexia" (Jade). The controversy goes back and forth as different studies argue whether or not models are the reason girls are developing eating disorders yet, "there is no doubt that the media provides significant [content] on body related issues to young women, over 50% of whom, (between the ages of 11  -- 15 years) read fashion and beauty related magazines" (Jade). New studies and scientific evidence are constantly being released and discovered, making it difficult to say the media is the exact cause of disordered eating in adolescents, however sometimes it is difficult to argue with scientific facts. Negative body image and body dissatisfaction go hand in hand with disordered eating in adolescents and due to the constant exposure of the thin ideal and the contribution of societal standards, females are at a great risk of developing disordered eating or disordered eating behaviors in some form. 

In addition to the negative body image, countless cases of body dissatisfaction and the increased numbers in disordered eating, exposure to ultra-thin media models' negative effects on adolescents does not stop there. The other effects directly coincide with other health related issues such as increased levels of depression, stress, anxiety, shame and insecurity in adolescent females and even women when they believe they do not meet society's beauty standards. In "The Status of Media Effects On Body Image Research," studies "[have] found that women who report frequently comparing themselves to other women, especially women in the media, are more likely to show signs of negative mood and body image disturbance" (Tiggemann 131). Negative moods are not necessarily the exact same as having depression but do coincide with guilt and shame towards one's body. According to the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology ads who promote the thin-ideal "influence psychological functioning" in adolescent females (Dittmar). Meaning, females begin to develop depression and anxiety, both symptoms of low self confidence, following the negative perceptions they have of themselves. Similar to a chain of events, these health related issues come as a direct result of seeing these images in ads and in the media.  According to a recent study done by Brian A. Primack, M.D., Ed.M., M.S., of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues, "[m]edia exposure could influence the development of depression symptoms through many different mechanisms, the authors note" (Teen Media Exposure). In other words, several factors could possibly contribute to the increasing cases of depression yet there is scientific evidence that exposure has an effect and plays a role in the development in females. However, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine are not the first to recognize the direct relationship that links exposure and increasing negative health-effects. French legislators decided to take action because "between 30,000 to 40,000 people in France, 90% of whom are women are affected by excessively thin models" (Samuel). Therefore, recently in France, a major fashion capital of the world, a new law was passed obliging the skinniest models to provide a doctor's certificate confirming they are healthy, based on their weight, height and age, in order to work or simply participate in any fashion/modeling related event. The bill stipulates "models must obtain medical proof that their health, assessed in particular in terms of body mass index, is compatible with the practice of the profession" (Samuel). Failure to comply with this law will result in six months' imprisonment and comes with a hefty fine for violators. Legislators in France drafted this bill in order and attempt to combat the growing health problems in adolescents, depression, anxiety, and guilt included. France is not the first country to legislate on underweight models - Italy, Spain and Israel have made similar attempts also as this has been a topic of discussion for years past. It is no secret that constant awareness is being brought to this issue and the effects of the media are negative in more ways than one. 

The media seems to be starting a domino effect where adolescent girls gain negative ideas of themselves, become dissatisfied with their bodies and then as a result develop other issues such as disordered eating, anorexia and bulimia nervosa, or increased levels of depression, creating a never-ending inescapable cycle. As several large corporations and companies have made small efforts to reduce the problems being caused by the thin beauty standard, there are other alternatives that could be put into action to help prevent these issues. Banning ultra-thin models and requiring doctor's notes in order to allow participation in modeling altogether is a start and if other companies in the industry join in, the impact will be significant. In addition, there have been other discussions about the actual labeling of pictures in the media notifying viewers whether or not the photos have been altered in some form from their original state. Companies would be required to add in a side note if the picture has been photo shopped; making sure society realizes the standards being set are not always achievable by the average human, or maybe any human at all. Known as the #truthinads campaign, it has made somewhat of an impact and encouraged and pressured several companies to stop using altered and deceptive photos in their ads as it will help improve how girls and women feel about themselves. All of these attempts are ideal and would most likely result in decreased statistics of negative body images and other weight-related discrepancies on a large scale except only with greater participation from other businesses and major corporations.  However, a difficult task is at hand because "beauty" is what sells, making marketers promote what society views as "beautiful people" in ads in the media to sell their products. Therefore, why not promote that thinness is a good and desirable way to be and by being shown their product, women too will look and feel this way, ultimately increasing sales for the company.  Changing the way media portrays women is a goal for many advocacy groups and individuals trying to make a change and has been for some time now. Repeatedly portraying an unachievable, unattainable, thin-ideal in the media to adolescents is harmful and causes many detrimental effects, sending a powerful message that is dramatically impacting our culture and society and small changes and efforts will slowly make a difference, reducing the negative effects of the media in the long run. 


