The ideal of beauty presented by the media is an ever evolving set of criteria which becomes harder and harder to subscribe to because of the difficulty average Americans have looking like this ideal. In Susan Bordo's essay "Never Just Pictures," she discusses how strongly the media affects our self-image. .
Why are Americans so easily manipulated into changing their outward appearance to conform to our ideal of beauty? The media has a huge influence over the thoughts, ideas, and opinions of American society and this power is ever increasing. The media's focus is on the human body - pushing for the thin "Heroin Chic" look. .
Most Americans are badgered by the media into feeling as though we need to subscribe to a popular culture lifestyle. Susan Bordo writes, "Our Idolatry of the trim, tight body shows now sign of relinquishing its grip on our conceptions of beauty and normality." "Fat is the devil and we are continually beating him- What is the ideal of beauty? It is depicted in popular culture magazines like those seen in supermarket checkout lines.
Susan Bordo writes, "Children in this culture grow up knowing that you can never be thin enough and that being fat is one of the worst things you can be." This belief has had a drastic affect on the health of individuals and in some cases, it leads to dangerous dieting habits, eating disorders and subsequent malnutrition, low self-image problems or clinical depression. We should imagine how obese children are treated at school because of how unhealthy their appearance is. Children will ostracize their peers for not possessing the ideal body type or dressing the appropriate way. .
There is even growing evidence of eating disorders among athletes, especially female athletes who strive to be perfect because they have more to prove to themselves. What most people do not realize is just how unhealthy obtaining the ideal body type is.