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Taylor Sharpe
Miss Eaker
ENGL 1102-076
29 March 2014
Whos to Blame?
Low self-esteem in women is influenced by a number of different things. The negative
and sometimes positive effects of the media tend to do more harm than good, but who is really to
blame? The media? Our parents? Our friends? The controversy over the number one influence in
the lives of women that impacts their self-esteem has been growing over the past several years.
With increased technology, photoshopping has become a drug to businesses. Women are
constantly seeing false images of women and being told that they have to look like the ones in
the photographs in order to be considered beautiful or attractive. Strong opinions about the
influences of low self-esteem have become more prevalent in the past decade as the degrading of
women has become more severe. Women, clothing businesses, and psychologists all have strong
opinions, but is anyone right?
Women constantly feel like they arent good enough or pretty enough due to the images
portrayed in the media. Infact, 91% of women are not satisfied with their bodies and have
resulted to some type of dieting in order to achieve a perfect body (Do Something). The false
images portrayed in the media have a negative effect on women and their self-esteem. A recent
photoshop fail by Target on one of their swimsuit models trying to attain the perfect thigh gap
recently went viral. The image of a girl wearing a swimsuit in a recent ad for juniors swimsuits
had part of her crotch missing in the photo. There was a significant portion of her crotch whited
out in order to make her thighs look smaller and her thigh gap look wider, promoting the thigh
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gap ideal. This image, among millions of others, is what women see everyday. False images
photoshopped to perfection are what women feel they have to live up to because women are
constantly comparing themselves to what they see in the media (Dahl). The negative effects
photoshopped images have on the self-esteem of women relates back to the media because they
are the ones who create the fake images, publish them, and promote them.
A recent experiment was done with four women who participated in a real photo-shoot
and then were photoshopped by an expert. The women that participated in the experiment all
wanted to change something about their appearance in order to look like the women they see in
magazines. Once they saw the photoshopped images of themselves, they couldnt believe what
they were seeing. The women didnt even recognize themselves. All their imperfections had
vanished and they werent the same person anymore. Their imperfections made them who they
are and without them they were a completely different person (Buzzfeed). What these women
thought they wanted to look like turned out to be something they didnt want after all. Women
want photoshopping to end so that they can feel beautiful and comfortable in their own skin
(Dahl). The reality of true beauty lies in the beholder, not what the media and advertisers
influence you to look like.
Flawless beauty combined with the perfect body sells and advertisers of clothing
businesses know how to market to consumers in order to make a profit. Steady profits flowing
into businesses from consumer purchases is what keeps businesses running. Without successful
advertising, their clothes wont sell. Photoshop is used in order to obtain the perfect image for
the models that represent a company. If the model looks great in a certain outfit, then consumers
will buy it because they want to look just like the models they see on billboards, in fashion
magazines, or in sales papers. Advertisers play a significant role in influencing the self-esteem of
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women because girls are constantly comparing themselves to the images portrayed in the media
(Dahl). The clothing industry has taken things to new heights, going to whatever lengths
necessary to make a profit.
The CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jefferies, stated in a 2006 interview with Salon,
We go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive All-American kids with a great attitude and
a lot of friends. A lot of people dont belong [in our clothes], and they wont belong.
Advertisers are constantly going after the cool kids who are attractive to promote their
products. They want the best looking people to represent their brand so more people will buy it.
For advertisers and clothing businesses, its all about the money. If they are bringing in a profit
then their method of advertising is working, no matter how negatively it affects the self-esteem
of women. People that are considered fat by the medias and advertisers standards have been
rejected and shamed for such a long time. People like Jefferies that bully consumers to sell their
products is one of the biggest reasons why women feel so badly about their appearance (Valenti).
Advertisers are concerned with two things, selling their clothes and making a profit. Businesses
all around the world are using advertising strategies similar to the one Abercrombie & Fitch uses
to sell their products. As long as their number goal is reached, the affects their advertising has on
women is of very little concern to them.
Trying to attain the ideal body the media pushes on women can be detrimental to their
health and overall well-being. Psychologists have done extensive research trying to figure out the
main influences that lower womens self esteem. Contrary to popular belief, they found
influences other than the media that impact womens self esteem. The media isnt the number
one thing to blame regarding low self-esteem according to psychologists. Three of the biggest
contributors to low self-esteem are family pressure, the media, and peer pressure (KidsHealth).
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Psychologists see the different sides and the different influences that lead to such low self-esteem
in women. They realize that the media isnt the only bad guy in all of this, but that our families
and friends are also to blame. According to a recent study by psychologists at Louisiana State
University, the time women spend reading fashion magazines and watching television doesnt
directly affect their self-esteem. The pressures women receive from friends and family force
them to compare themselves to the images in the media (Sheldon 287-288). Criticism from loved
ones and those that we trust tends to affect us more than the medias definition of beauty. Based
on the studies conducted by psychologists, media is an indirect influence on low self-esteem
while the pressures from friends and family is a direct influence. Psychologists acknowledge the
different influences women face and dont place the blame on just the media. Women however
tend to blame the media for the way they feel about themselves.
The pressures women face to maintain the ideal body image is a driving force in lower
self-esteem levels. The contributing factors to low self-esteem in women can be attributed to
many different things, but who is really to blame? Psychologists, women, and advertisers of
clothing businesses all have different opinions on the issue. The true cause of such low self-
esteem in women related to body image may never be known because of all the underlying
factors that come into play. Beauty isnt defined by a number or a photoshopped picture in a
magazine, it is defined by your happiness. If you are happy, then you are beautiful no matter
what. Who do you blame for low self-esteem in women, the media, your friends, your family,
advertisers, or yourself?



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Works Cited
"11 Facts About Body Image." Do Something. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar.
2014.
"Body Image and Self-Esteem." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited
Site about Children's Health. Ed. Michelle J. New. The Nemours Foundation, 01 Mar.
2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Dahl, Melissa. "TODAY Health." TODAY. N.p., 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 Mar.
2014.
Denizet-Lewis, Benoit. "Salon." Saloncom RSS. N.p., 24 Jan. 2006.
Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Gauthier, Andrew. "Watch Four Women React to Being Photoshopped
Into Cover Models." BuzzFeed. N.p., 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Sheldon, Pavica. "Pressure To Be Perfect: Influences on College Students Body
Esteem. Southern Communication Journal 75.3 (2010): 277-98. Print.
Valenti, Marinda. "Abercrombie and Fitch: Cool Kids and Corporate
Bullies." Ms Magazine Blog. N.p., 3 June 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.



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