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Introduction

Body image by HyeYoung Byun Some deny it, some may not show, but we all know that every woman is self-conscious about her body and want to fix it. How often do you look yourself in a mirror and imagine how good you would look if you lost ten pounds? It is either that your butt is too big or too small, or your waist is too thick, your legs look like tree trunks, or your nose is too high or flat, your eyes are too small or your skin is oily and the list seems endless. The heroin chic is on trend, where a person is too skinny she looks to be involved in heroin abuse. Recently, a 22 year old woman Luisa Ramos died of heart failure from Anorexia Nervosa. Actresses and models are becoming younger, thinner and taller. Media knows that we have low self-esteem so they attack us, women of all ages. Many women regardless of nationality or age contain negative body image and if they do not develop healthier body image, they will suffer physically and emotionally. How bad is our negative body image? During childhood, we grow up, looking at Barbie dolls, which is too skinny in size that if she were made into living person, her back would be too weak to support her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain only than half of a liver and only a few centimeters of bowel. ...read more.

Middle

Firstly, it will lead to depression or lower self-esteem. Feeling insecure and less confident, women are more likely to believe or fall in for the exaggerated advertisement shown in media. They will look at air brushed models or celebrities who has gone through several cosmetic surgeries, and feel ashamed of their own body. Women will experience financial damage from spending lots of money into cosmetics, clothes, diet products, and even cosmetic surgeries. The diet industry itself is worth between 40 to 100 billion dollars a year only selling temporary weight loss programs! (People magazine Sept.2000) Secondly, unhealthy body image will lead to Eating disorders or bad habits. One of four women in early 20s in North America uses unhealthy methods of weight control like fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self- induced vomiting.(American research group Anorexia Nervosa& related Eating Disorders Inc.) The pressure to be thin is not only affecting older women but young girls as young down to 5 or 6. Nearly half of all girls wish to be thinner. ("Appearance Culture in Nine-to 12-Year-Old Girls: Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction") Last, but not least, women could develop disorders like Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is a disorder where a person has extreme fear of gaining weight, and women with this disorder believe themselves to be overweight when they are actually visibly underweight to the point where they need hospitalization. ...read more.

Conclusion

While listening to their body women should also ask themselves this question: Would I rather spend my precious time with my family, friends, on school, and on career? Or would I spend it on pursuing the "perfect body image"? I don't think anyone would give up their quality time with family on for accomplishing lower weight goals. All of these things will bring great benefits to your life. Today, in Canada, we have freedom to accomplish whatever we want to. Yet, women are prisoners of beauty myth, and appearance. Negative body image is a serious problem and has damaging effects on women's self-esteem and it can lead to depression, as well as an eating disorder or other disorders like Anorexia Nervosa. It also causes women to waste time on diets, or improving their outer beauty, and also fear gaining weight more than anything. Medias influence us every day, producing air brushed models that are severely underweight. Media causes women to feel angry and anxious about their own body. But we can develop healthier body image if we appreciate ourselves for who we are and listen to our body. We lose lots of women in Canada that starve themselves to death. Women need to learn to self-love and respect their body instead of abusing it. Our bodies are not our enemies, and it is our responsibilities to stay unique and set our own trend. ...read more.

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