I'd like to thank the media...

For how I perceive my body. And not in a good way. Now I know that I shouldn't blame others for my problems and issues, but in this case I most certainly can. You see I was happy with myself once. I accepted the way I looked and even though I knew I wasn't cheerleader material or as pretty as the popular girls, I was still acceptable. I always seemed to have a boyfriend, so I must have had some sort of attraction right?

It wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I really started paying attention to the messages that woman were receiving from the media. I would devour the fashion magazines like any girl, and once I was done reading, without fail I would go on a self improvement spree. Beauty products, clothes, shoes etc. Call me dense but it took me quite a while to figure out the connection. After reading the magazines, I would always feel a sort of self loathing about myself. I wasn't pretty enough, I needed to loose weight, the clothes were ugly and outdated etc. Obviously the magazines intention got across loud and clear, and almost unseen too. Very good marketing and sure to bring in huge sales among the various fashion and beauty industries. Good for them, but not good for the average woman. At what expense are they profiting? By lowering our self esteem? By having pre-pubescent children dieting? Eating disorders? The answer is yes. This is what's happening to our society. It is a very real problem.

I do understand this is a two way street. The diet, beauty and fashion industry need to make money. They have found a way to do so, and it works very well. For them. However, woman are increasingly becoming more and more dissatisfied with themselves and are turning to drastic measures to reach a goal of perfection that is impossible. (Folks, plastic surgery used to be for the people who really needed it, like burn victims). Now it's so common it's advertised in magazines and on television. What kind of message are we sending? Especially to children, who are growing up to think that getting botox or a nose job is just as common as your yearly physical checkup.

That bring me to the low self esteem issue. I'm sure it is affecting women and their current or potential relationships. It doesn't help either that men, or I should say boys, are raised on a certain idealized vision of beauty at a very young age. What with the abundance of porn, magazines, videos, and internet, all easily available, they are getting an eyeful. Let's not forget movies and television, mainstream magazines, commercials, and last but not least video games. These all show women to be very sexy, skinny and beautiful in a way that the average woman does not even closely resemble. Men's perception of beauty is greatly skewed. Especially since these women couldn't attain that beauty themselves without excessive dieting (to a dangerous level in some cases), a crew of beauticians, personal trainers, airbrushing, and many other factors. Men are learning a perception of beauty that regular women can't compete with.

I can hear the roar of protests from men all the way from here. Well so what, it needs to be said, and I for one and gonna spread the word..

If you want to check out a cook link on this topic, click on beauty and body image in the media