Current Student
Ninfa Gonzalez
English 1301.213
Ms. Palmer
April 15, 2013
The Troubles Young Girls Encounter
Is this dress sexy enough? Do I look fat? Do you think I need plastic surgery on my body? Unfortunately these are just a few of the questions young girls are asking not only themselves, but each other on a daily bases. Who or what has caused the young girls and women in our society to have these thoughts? I believe that family, friends, media and society have all contributed to the self-doubt that plagues these young girls and women. Young girls see and hear several messages when turning into women. These messages can cause irreparable damage to their young and underdeveloped minds. Messages such as being skinny, dressing provocatively and not aging gracefully are among those who have limited these young girls.
One message young girls see and hear is that they should be skinny. Many of these girls will try to mimic the skinny models that they often see on TV and in magazines. It is unfortunate that these young girls are growing up in a society that puts such an influence on the way we look. Robin Givhan writes, “The Spring 2013 runway shows, which finished in Paris this month, were filled with impossibly skinny, extremely young gazelles. So were the fall glossies. Fashion as usual, perhaps-yet this was supposed to have changed” (Givhan 1). It is no wonder that young girls strive to be as thin as possible when all they see is skinny models around their age plastered all over the TV and magazines. I believe that this is one of the worst messages young girls can receive. Susan Bordo touches on this subject in her essay “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies”, in which she covers how young girls think and feel about their bodies. Bordo writes, “They are aware that virtually every advertisement, every magazine cover, has been digitally modified and that very little of what they see is ‘real’. That doesn’t stop them from hating their own bodies for
English 1301.213
Ms. Palmer
April 15, 2013
The Troubles Young Girls Encounter
Is this dress sexy enough? Do I look fat? Do you think I need plastic surgery on my body? Unfortunately these are just a few of the questions young girls are asking not only themselves, but each other on a daily bases. Who or what has caused the young girls and women in our society to have these thoughts? I believe that family, friends, media and society have all contributed to the self-doubt that plagues these young girls and women. Young girls see and hear several messages when turning into women. These messages can cause irreparable damage to their young and underdeveloped minds. Messages such as being skinny, dressing provocatively and not aging gracefully are among those who have limited these young girls.
One message young girls see and hear is that they should be skinny. Many of these girls will try to mimic the skinny models that they often see on TV and in magazines. It is unfortunate that these young girls are growing up in a society that puts such an influence on the way we look. Robin Givhan writes, “The Spring 2013 runway shows, which finished in Paris this month, were filled with impossibly skinny, extremely young gazelles. So were the fall glossies. Fashion as usual, perhaps-yet this was supposed to have changed” (Givhan 1). It is no wonder that young girls strive to be as thin as possible when all they see is skinny models around their age plastered all over the TV and magazines. I believe that this is one of the worst messages young girls can receive. Susan Bordo touches on this subject in her essay “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies”, in which she covers how young girls think and feel about their bodies. Bordo writes, “They are aware that virtually every advertisement, every magazine cover, has been digitally modified and that very little of what they see is ‘real’. That doesn’t stop them from hating their own bodies for