The term advertising can conjure up many images: slim women, designer clothes, the latest makeup trends and new diet pills, to name a few. When viewing advertisements, one gender group is constantly targeted by advertisements, billboards, magazine articles, and films through careful indoctrination of societal views of unfavorable body image. These ads can potentially trigger extreme thoughts of depression, persistent anxiety, and low self-esteem that ultimately lead to mental health issues. Because of advertising, women's body image has been negatively affected throughout history. Throughout history, many women have been heavily influenced by fashion trends and societal expectations. From the beginning, magazines defined their readership as women more or less openly took on the difficult task of defining what it meant to be a woman, or at least what society expected of them. As Gunter and Wykes state, “adolescent girls in particular seek out magazines, internalize the messages presented, and use the media as a source of information on how to improve their physical appearance” (para. 6). Women were soon targeted as promotional items for traditional women's products such as fashion, cosmetics and perfumes. Eventually, women were approached as individuals and asked to consume all the products that had previously been elements of masculinity – cars, alcohol and financial services. Women were given an identity and told that they were not good enough as they naturally appeared: women were asked to purchase themselves through various products, and thus to "buy" the image, of “getting” the woman they thought they were born to have. Commercial interests play directly into women's fears, which has resulted in great paper losses and success. Works Cited Ata, Rheanna N, Alison Bryant Ludden, and Megan M. Lally. “The effects of gender and family; Influences of friends and the media on eating behaviors and body image during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 36. 8 (2007): 1-2. Internet. April 11, 2014. Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. New York: Vintage, 2010. Print. Heinburg, Leslie J. and J. Kevin Thompson. “Body image and television images of thinness and attractiveness: a controlled laboratory investigation.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 14.4 (1995): 325. Web. April 11, 2014. Shields, Vickie Rutledge and Dawn Heineken. Measuring Up: How Advertising Affects Self-Image. Philadelphia UP, 2002. Print. Wykes, Maggie and Barrie Gunter. The media and body image: if looks could kill. London: Sage, 2005. Print.