Since childhood, young women have been surrounded by images of beautiful models with flawless faces and slim figures. As young girls, we look up to these beautiful women and someday want to be like them. By being surrounded by these images on a daily basis, girls often feel the need to look like the models they see. These girls have been surrounded by the negative message that you must be beautiful to live a happy life and find love. By setting this ideal standard of beauty, many women are unsatisfied by their appearance and obsess over their looks. Most teenagers feel the need to change what they look like to be accepted by today’s standards of appearance, and the cause of this is the media setting unrealistic standards of beauty.

Body image refers to the perception of a person’s physical appearance, whether it is positive or negative. Many people believe that body image just involves weight, but it actually encompasses makeup, body size, hair and body type. Self-esteem refers to a confidence and satisfaction in oneself as a whole. When girls are about 12 years old, they become more and more aware of media images and models, as stated in an article by Teen Health. From the mixed messages the media is telling teenagers, most girls believe that they are ugly. Exposure to these media images and the idealized body image and thinness in today’s society ultimately lowers women’s satisfaction with themselves and their body.

69 percent of girls said that the models they see influence their idea of the perfect body. In a sample of Stanford graduate and undergraduate students, 68 percent felt unsatisfied with their own appearance after looking through a fashion magazine. Another study shows that exposure to these images lower women’s satisfaction with their own looks. 47 percent of the girls influenced by the fashion magazine want to lose weight, but only 29 percent of the 47 percent are actually over weight. Other research evidence says that portraying very thin models may eventually lead teenage girls to practice unhealthy weight-loss habits. This is because the ideal body they desire is unattainable and unhealthy for most. The number one wish of girls ages 11 to 17 is to be thinner. Furthermore, girls as young as 5 years old have expressed fears of getting fat. Where does this negative mindset come from? Constant exposure to the media and today’s unrealistic standards of beauty.

Girls know that they are affected by what the media tells them about their appearance, but they still obsess over their looks. Large percentages of young girls with an average weight do not demonstrate an eating disorder that can be diagnosed, but an obsession with their body shape and size. 90 percent of all women over-estimate their own body size. One statistic many teenage girls may not know is that models are 20 percent below the average weight for their height. Girls also know that pictures are Photoshopped, airbrushed and excessively edited, but the model is still beautiful and being beautiful is ideal, leading many girls to believe that there is something wrong with them. Young women between the ages of 18 and 24 years old have a seven percent chance of being as slim as a runway model and one percent chance of being as thin as a supermodel. But, these girls still believe that what the media is telling them is what they need to look like.

Confucius once said, “Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see it.” When teenage girls are constantly comparing themselves to the images they see, their positive body image and high self-esteem really does drop and turns negative instead of positive. Everyone and everything does have beauty, but by being surrounded by such high standards, many teenage girls overlook their own beauty and just look at their imperfections.

Exposure to the media really affects teenage girls body image and self-esteem. The media puts out unrealistic standards of beauty that many girls strive for. This leads to poor body image and low self-esteem. When teenage girls compare themselves to what they see, they are ultimately dissatisfied with themselves and their appearance.

Being beautiful does not define you, but most teenage girls overlook that aspect. As women, we must acknowledge our imperfections and realize that they are what make us beautiful. We must not let the images we see dictate our self-esteem. We must also realize that what we see isn’t real; it’s edit photography, visuals in impure forms. We must put all the negative thoughts about our appearance and ourselves out of our mind. We must try and see our own beauty, as difficult as it may be for many. We must stop comparing ourselves to others. We must realize that everyone is beautiful in their own unique way. We are not replicas of what the media is telling us we need to look like. We are unique, beautiful, and most importantly, ourselves.