As I flip through a fashion magazine, I am bombarded with images of ultra thin women that look as though they never eat. These images are on virtually every page. Women that are stick thin with no hips and lots of make-up stare at me from advertisements and magazine articles. Each picture tells me that this is the way that I should try look. I know in my head that these images have been altered, the body shape on these women seems as though they are the norm. I also know that it is not possible for me to achieve the stick thin look even if I had my heart set on it, but still these nagging images force me to think on the way I do look. But I am a healthy person, and healthy is a beautiful thing. Women that are in shape, who eat well and care for their bodies have a much better out look on their bodies in the long run than a figure that does not take an interest in their bodies. Fashion Magazines should have articles that focus on healthy dieting and exercise because they should counteract the unhealthy images of women.
The models that pose in the fashion magazines have a body proportion that most women can not achieve. The measurements for a "fashion model are generally 5'9" to 6' tall and [the] very thin size [of] 4-6. They have 32-35" busts, 22-25" waists and 33-36" hips. "(janeenlee). This is extremely small in comparison to "the average woman (who) is 5'4", a size 12. She has a 37" bust, a 29" waist and 40" hips" (geocities). When an average women views an image of the fashion model she sees "long, slim legs, a flat stomach, and a firm rear end [the] essentials of female beauty" (Bordo 142). These qualities are hard to attain and it does not matter how the model is able to retain this body image, although it is usually her genetics or family body shape history that allows her to be so thin. What really matters is that when the average women sees that body shape she could feel pressured to do what ever is necessary to mirror that image.