While women have made historic strides in recent decades, the culture as a whole is tied to narcissistic constraints on women's appearance. These inaccessible beauty standards, widely disseminated in the media, have drastic impacts on women and their body image. Societal standards of female beauty are presented in all forms of popular and alternative media, bombarding women with images that represent the ideal body. Such beauty standards are almost completely far-fetched for most women. The majority of celebrities and models seen on television and in advertisements fall well below what is considered normal for American women. “The average American woman is 5'4" and weighs 140 pounds, while the average American model is 5' 11" and weighs 117 pounds. Most models are thinner than 98% of American women” (Being Truly Beautiful) Research conducted by Westminster College provides factual evidence that three theories are primarily responsible for the average American woman's negative mindset compared to the average model. These theories include: social comparison, culture and. self-schema. These three theories are indicative of images seen in reality television, magazines, and advertisements. Each perspective has helped researchers examine the mechanisms by which media images result in body image disruption. among women. The Swan, a 2004 reality television show broadcast on FOX, in which women deemed visually unattractive underwent extreme makeovers that included several forms of plastic surgery. The title of the show is derived from the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling, in which a domestic bird transforms into a magnificent swan. Images seen on...... middle of paper...... hensive Liberal Arts College in Salt Lake City, UT, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in liberal arts and professional programs, including business, nursing, education and communication. . Np, and Web. November 17, 2013. Thompson, JK & Coovert, MD (1999). Body image, social comparison, and eating disorders: A covariance structure modeling. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 26(1), 43-51. Thompson, J.K. and Heinberg, L.J. (1999). The influence of the media on body image disorders and eating disorders: we have vilified them, can we now re-educate them? Journal of Social Issues, 55(2), 339-353. Tiggemann, M. and Slater, A. (2004). Thin ideals in music television: A source of social comparison and body dissatisfaction. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 35(1), 48-58.