The Fight to Be BeautifulGrowing up, we are surrounded by the media, and without recognizing what is happening, we are shaped according to gender roles that dictate our perspective and our place in society. I remember opening my very first Seventeen Magazine. Flipping through the pages, I found images of beautiful girls, expensive clothes, and what would be my very first diet plan. Headlines filled the pages about how to improve your physical appearance, how to make all the boys want you, and what you should buy to achieve it. As a girl, I didn't question the path these popular media sources were leading me on. My friends and I would gather around the television screen to watch depictions of women we envied. Beautiful, rich girls and the perfect romances they attracted. Now that I'm older and more aware, I sometimes wonder who actually lives like this? How can the media set a standard for women that the average girl can never reach? The media sends a negative message to young girls. Instead of trying to expand their knowledge and develop higher self-esteem, they try to fit into a pair of size two jeans. Young girls are drawn into a world of powerful messages telling them how to dress, how to behave, and how to be, what they would consider a woman to be. Media comes in many forms, but the most publicized medium would have to be the vast and growing film industry. These well-constructed films are developed with entertainment and enjoyment in mind. Young viewers watching these feature films not only gain a sense of entertainment, but they are now engrossed in the stereotypical roles of the actresses that fill the big screen. When I think of the beautiful, the shopping cart,...... middle of paper......f humor. We all admit to watching media because that is what our society considers entertainment. Should we base our self-image on what a team of well-paid consultants and a group of marketers consider beautiful? Works CitedAmerica the Beautiful. Real. Darryl Roberts. Perf. Ted Casablanca, Eve Ensler and Paris Hilton. First Independent Pictures, 2007.DVD "Eating Disorder Statistics "National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Related Disorders." National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Related Disorders. Internet. February 23, 2011. Mean Girls. Real. Marc Waters. Perf. Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams and Jonathan Bennett. Paramount Pictures, 2004.DVD “Plastic Surgery Statistics Report 2010”. American Society of Plastic Surgeons: The resource for plastic and reconstructive surgery. Internet. February 23, 2011. January seventeen, 2011: 240+. Web.