The Media's Effect on Teenage Bodies Barbie dolls' strict standard body image proportions and what is considered beautiful in today's media have had devastating effects on adolescent women. The images displayed of women who have long, beautiful legs, slim waists, and smooth, flawless skin are very difficult to ignore. Throughout history the female body has been exposed as a sales tool to force people to buy that new luxury car or the latest new appliance that can make their daily lives easier. Skinny Kelly Ripa's commercials can serve as a mantra of what a perfect modern housewife should look like standing next to her magical ovens and washing machines. There are also constant ads on billboards, TV, magazines and in malls for size zero girls wearing the latest fashion designs. The media can be applauded for their successful campaigns that have trained girls to strive to live up to narrow, often uniform, standards of what a beautiful girl should look like. Television shows like “Gossip Girl,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” and movies like “Mean Girls” bombard young girls with the current media trend of what is considered beautiful. Even at the tender ages between 3 and 10, girls are tormented by images in the media. These girls see fairy tale princesses such as Disney's Little Mermaid (Ariel), (Belle) from Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Princess (Jasmine) Aladdin. They are all characterized by a very narrow waist and ideal symmetrical facial features with very well-proportioned curves that are sure to attract the attention of any prince. These types of images are imprinted in girls' minds when they are at a young age, which leads them to approach the media as a boy... middle of paper... educated and equipped to handle the media. propaganda. Once they have been informed about how to critically view some of the negative images that exploit young women, they may then associate these unrealistic body images as unhealthy and immoral. Until then the unrealistic standard of the female body proposed by the media will continue to be exploited exclusively for profit. Works Cited Gapinski, Katherine D, Kelly D Brownell and M LaFrance. “Objectification of the Body and “Fat Talk”.” Effects on Emotion, Motivation, and Cognitive Performance, Sex Roles May 1, 2003: 377-78.Orbach, Susie. Bodies. New York: Picador, 2009. Our Bodies, Ourselves, Health Resource Center. 2005. April 4, 2011. Willis, Laurie. The Culture of Beauty. Detroit: Christine Nasso, 2010.Wolf, Naomi. The myth of beauty. New York: Bantham Doubleday, 1991.