Social Change Project- Argument of Proposal

     A significant number of people, predominantly female adolescents and young adults, are becoming intimidated by skinny, anorexic, and unnaturally fit models featured in magazines and advertisement. Because it is causing underlying mental and physical harm to young women, and because it is encouraging models to become "skinny enough" to fit into modeling agencies’ standards, to the point where it is extremely harmful, magazines, advertisement companies, and modeling agencies, should being using "normal sized” models, to promote a healthy body, healthy lifestyle, and a healthy mentality towards your appearance.
     Most young women see these extremely skinny, fit models and they (the young women), are naturally intimidated and their self-esteem usually drops down. Who doesn't want to fit in with these body type standards? It is human to feel the need to be better than your present self, to want to look like what people are saying is “beautiful” and “healthy”. As stated on "Eating Disorders and the Role of the Media," a survey was conducted with 11-17 year old girls who were given three magic wishes, and it concluded that their number one wish was to “lose weight and keep it off.” In another survey, most women said that what they most wanted to change about themselves was their weight. “This pervasive body dissatisfaction and preoccupation with weight has become part of the female experience in North America” (Eating Disorders”, Spettigue). 

     Although it is underlying, and no one may notice it, this is causing harm to young women. The media plays a major role in developing some of the most well-known eating disorders, which are the predominant effect of these anorexic models being all over the media. Studies looking at the role of media in eating disorders revealed that over the time, the average weight is decreasing among models, actresses, and beauty pageant contestants who are “held up as ideals of beauty”( “Eating Disorders”, Spettigue ). What is ironic, that appears in the same study, is that over the same period, the weight of American women is increasing. This increases the discrepancy of the actual body size, and the ideal body size in America. Because young women are trying so hard to come into this “ideal,” most of the time, they begin developing eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia.
     Not only is this anorexic-like “ideal” body type doing damage to young women, it is also affecting models. As time passes, according to "Eating Disorders and the Role of the Media," the weight is constantly decreasing among these models and etc. that are considered “ideals” of beauty. This is another important issue to look at, because these models are competing to be the skinniest, to have the extreme ideal skinny body. Models are obsessing more and more about their bodies, trying everything and anything to become the skinniest. Not only does this add to the plenitude of eating disorder cases, it also becomes a bad example for young women. Models are displayed on social media, in America’s Top Model, in example, as always obsessing over their weight. And the media does not censor out when these models show evidence of eating disorders. Obvious or not, it does encourage young women to do the same so that they become just like these models. In an article on Medical News Today, a study on increasing cases of eating disorders among models estimated that about 20% to 40% of fashion models are currently experiencing an eating disorder. 

     For the sake of the young women of America, magazines and media should begin using normal sized models, who promote healthy body types instead of the present “too skinny” ideal promoted by most models. This problem is causing underlying mental and physical harm to young women. it is also encouraging models to become "skinny enough" to fit into modeling agencies’ standards, to the point where it is extremely harmful.

Works Cited:


Spettigue, Wendy, and Kathrine A. Henderson. "Eating Disorders and the Role of the Media."NCBI. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.Nordqvist, Christian. "Eating Disorders Among Fashion Models Rising." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 8 July 2007. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.