Even more shocking are web sites like Pro Ana that have been created in favour of anorexia. These sites are visited by thousands, manly teenage girls who believe they are disgustingly fat, when in fact they are dangerously skinny. On Pro Ana they can keep in touch with other girls with the same outlook and encourage each other to keep going, even share tips on how to make yourself sick. Shocking isn’t it! They even have a gallery of woman who they believe to be beautiful, as you can probably imagine, on all of these models you can clearly see their ribs, their arms look they would snap in a moderate wind. What’s more is that these photos are also tampered with to make models look even skinnier. So these poor girls are aiming for a target that is completely unrealistic and putting themselves in grave danger in the process. Now I know anorexia is a mental disease but surely the media have not done anything to discourage the idea that skinny is beautiful. With people like Victoria Beckham who has the waist size of a 7 year old, FACT, and Nicole Riche who has became so skinny her ribs unnaturally protrude. Additionally Lindsay Lohan, Kiera Knightly, Micha Barton and the Olsen twins are a few of the many who share the same body build as a stick insect.
On the other hand, doctors are becoming increasingly worried about our nation’s size. Following in the footsteps of our close pals America we are also becoming a nation of fatties! This has to be brought to a stop immediately! Do we want to be dying younger? Having children with more and more health problems like asthma and diabetes? No, I thought not, so maybe, just maybe the pressure from the media is doing us all a favour by keeping body image fresh in our mind. If it wasn’t for the media, slim wouldn’t be such a big deal therefore fat wouldn’t be a big deal either. Fatness would be accepted along with all other body shapes. Fatness is a health risk after all and we know it’s not too pleasant on the eyes either. It was probably the media being obsessed with skinny celebrities, and let us not forget the celebrities being obsessed with skinniness, that brought about the healthy eating kick. As a result of which, there is no longer chocolate vending machines in schools or crisps or even fizzy drinks . . . . . . Thanks Jamie! So, in a small way we should be thanking the media, forget about all the propaganda and lies it spins day after day for a moment and thank it for bringing the issue of our clothes size to us with such urgency.
However, let us get back on track; let me remind you that what we look like isn’t the most important thing in the world. I know it is hard to believe but it’s true. There are also things like crime, disease and world hunger that we could be focusing our efforts on instead of dwelling on ourselves all the time. So instead of spending even more money on grooming ourselves we could help others with it. I’m not talking about ending world hunger or anything that drastic as a result of ignoring the media but to just not be so self-absorbed.
In conclusion, any pressure from the media should be regarded as propaganda and not be the cause of any major change in our life style. Young people can rely on their parents and teachers for any sort of pressure they might need, and I’m sure they will be happy to oblige. Between school, and parents always demanding more of us, we have ample pressure without the media’s.