How Thin Is Thin Enough?

Ever see an ad in a magazine and think, "wow there is no way the model can be that skinny?" Chances are she isn't and there may have been a bit of photoshopping done. For decades, magazines and the media have portrayed an unrealistic body standard for women. The damaging stereotype of the “ideal woman,” that women aren’t pretty unless they are ultra-thin and fit into the confining box that defines beauty, is perpetuated by ads on television and models for clothing.  Take the website of a very popular clothing brand for example. Recently, there has been a controversy over the photoshopping of the thigh gap on a model. Clearly unnatural, the image gives a warped (literally!) perspective on how women should look.  Many impressionable teenage girls feel they are not society’s definition of beauty because of this nearly unattainable depiction, thus feeling inadequate in their own skin. Not only does this have a detrimental effect on the girls emotionally, but some girls even develop eating disorders and become physically unhealthy simply because they have a different body type than the tall, thin, models of today. Many feel as though they aren’t going to be considered pretty unless they change the way they look. Even the models themselves feel the pressure to be super skinny and some go on dangerous diets in an attempt to remain "pretty." As if the damage to their health isn't enough, magazines continue to airbrush the already thin, further perpetuating and even deepening this harmful view of women's bodies. Where will it stop?  It's ironic that retailers aim to sell their products to millions of people, yet they often choose models who represent a very small fraction of the female population. If the magazines and online websites for clothing retailers were more honest and stopped airbrushing away every flaw, the image of a “beautiful” woman could change for the better.