The American women today can never be too thin or too pretty. In most cases thin equates beauty. So the present ideal is thin, fit, radiantly healthy young women. (Ideal Women).
Women are given the message that if they work hard enough at dieting and exercising then too can be thin, beautiful and be successful in both their profession and personal lives. An oversized person is seen as somewhat lazy and greedy or with out self-control. .
A psychological study found that three minutes spent looking at models caused 70% of women to feel depressed, guilty or shameful. Studies have shown that while 25 years ago the average model weighed 8% less than the average American women. Today's models weigh 23% below the national average. Advertisers manipulate women into thinking their value is dependent on their physical appearance, and that in order to be accepted they need to be sexually attractive.
Cindy Issitt, a human resource specialist and marketing coordinator says that everyone focuses on appearances in America and unfortunately that is how it is. She also states that when dealing with her job with the radio that it's the voice that needs to be appealing not just the physical appearance (Issitt interview).
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According to the book When Food's a Foe "female physical perfection is shown as a thin, agile body on which clothes look fashion magazine perfect and the message for women is that the potential for happiness, popularity, or success, relates to how little they weigh" (Kolodny 13). Unfortunately for women today, the standards regarding beauty have become more unrealistic than they have ever been. Women in the media have become thinner and thinner making it harder for the average woman to imitate (Maloney 2). Only eight out three million women actually look like super models, and if shop mannequins were real women they would be too thin to menstruate.
When watching the news rarely is there an unattractive person seen delivering it.
