Media has always been something that influences; the public eye views on certain ideas portrayed through means of communication are especially influential. Whether it be a trashy magazine cover or a beautifully photoshopped masterpiece, there seems to be an inherent desire in women to want to replicate themselves into what they see on the cover.
Magazines are an item of popular culture in public news that allow someone to get away for a short amount of time while reading them. They come in all shapes and sizes, as well as themes. From Men's Health to US, there are plenty of well written articles and entertaining facts about popular culture and what's “in." On Cosmopolitan’s beautifully crafted and aesthetically pleasing homepage, one can pick from any category online to browse. Cosmo has broadened their expansive media influence over many forms of public usage, from sites to magazines to actual chapter books sold in book stores. Magazines are issues...literally. They have the view of the “Cosmo Girl”, who ideally has the traits of some hot bombshell sex icon. Long voluminous waves, curvaceous but slim bod, big beautiful sparkling eyes and pink luscious lips, and of course flawless skin that’s softer than a baby’s ass. Almost every outlet of media has tried to portray aspects such as this, trying every possible move to capture the eye of their next magazine and gossip addict.
Media has become so far advanced that we can access almost anything at the tips of our fingers, including the latest celebrity trash story or viral photo. People just love to dive into a trashy magazine to hear the latest gossip about what celebrity had a boob job, or what famous dude was spotted on the beach with a flabby stomach. Magazines uphold a false superficial identity to the icons on the cover, hence creating the younger generation of girls to want to become them. Not only do they imitate the looks, but they also learn from the inappropriate content and moral ideals incorporated into the articles. Are younger girls growing up faster by idolizing the sex icons/older women’s beauty on the covers of magazines? What are the views of individuals on how much pressure they have over themselves to want to look like the photoshopped woman on the cover?
In my current opinion, it’s a societal issue in the sense that the projection of what's "hot" on younger girls makes them want to act like those older than them. Gone are the days of childhood innocence; welcome to the new society where young girls want to look hot like the sexual icon on the cover of the magazine. The innocence of young girls is fast disappearing as sexual oriented magazines are continued to be put on the shelf. Younger girls spot these magazines and think that is what they should be, right at that instant. The exposure to young expressed sexuality makes a girl want to grow up way too fast. When I was 7 or 8, I was into American Girl magazines and dolls. The types of magazines my friends and I read at that age included cute posters, an embarrassing moment confessions corner, and quizzes. Nowadays, girls are into buying crop tops, booty shorts, makeup and possibly US, People, and if slightly older, Cosmopolitan. Is there a deeper reality to the thinking of young girls and what they really feel like when being influenced if at all by these means of media?
With progressing technology and new social apps and programs coming out left and right, more and more women have access to viewing the unrealistic photos of models or celebrities. More and more apps are also available for download at the tap of a screen, and many of these apps include retouching and slimming qualities. Celebrities have been called out on their photoshop at times, especially with the slimming apps. The backgrounds of celebrities' photos are curved as they tried to curve their waistline and didn't pay attention to what it did to the rest of the photo. Do photos like this really inspire women, or do they make women want to compare themselves to a photoshopped image? The media focuses on the wrong types of "beauty". Beauty is not a "one size" definition. Society shapes the definition of beauty.
The photoshop and the unrealistic images that are thrown out to the public are not real and are not images that we as women should compare ourselves to. I hope that over time, society will begin to transform more and more to a new definition of beauty that is not as harsh and specific as the "ideal cosmo girl" I had described at the beginning of my article. Through finding a more accepting way of viewing women, we are also changing the younger generation of women who are growing up and realizing that they don't need to change themselves drastically to be able to find themselves beautiful.
Beauty comes in all sizes, shapes, and forms and it is not right for the standards of beauty to be so harsh and influential on women.
