Public Perception and the Influential Mind

Essay by jman196High School, 11th gradeB+, March 2007

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In today's society ones outward appearance is held at a higher importance than ones character. Individuals feel as if they must live up to certain standards that are conveyed by various sources such as the media and those around them. A strong emphasis is placed on how one should look and people are lead to believe that if they are somehow able to attain this physical appearance they will be not only accepted but respected by others and will therefore live a more satisfying life. This causes a vicious cycle because the goal that is trying to be met is one that is so unrealistic that the intention to self-improve inevitably leads to self-destruction.

The "perfect" body image that is portrayed by the media is not only unattainable but it is unhealthy. Superficiality is very evident in our society, people being judged and criticized based sheerly on something that is out of our control.

Media's representations of the ideal looking woman is an unattainable look for the majority of women. Researchers have generated a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain all proportionate vital organs. One of the reasons the media portrays women and body images in such a way is for promotion, if they can make you feel insecure about yourself then they believe it will lead to sales of their products and it does. Women who feel insecure about their bodies will be more susceptible to buying beauty products, and new clothes and diet supplements. The diet industry is a 100 billion industry. These companies succeed at making people feel inferior and less as people. It is proven that constant exposure in...