Barbie, Cosmopolitics, and everything in between that
Self-esteem is how someone feels about themselves and the pride they feel in their own self, you either have it or you don’t. Self-esteem is very important because feeling good about yourself directly affects the way you act. A person with high self-esteem is more in control of his or her actions and will be happier with their life. Body image is how someone feels about his or her own physical appearance and sex appeal. For many, body image and self-esteem are closely related. Whether negative or positive, body image can directly influence a person’s self-esteem. One of the ways a person gets an unhealthy body image is through the media. Television, magazines, and the Internet all have a huge role in what is considered ideal beauty. All these forms of media have a narrow definition of beauty, which is used as a template for million of girls and women across the country to appeal to. Because of the media, women have become comfortable to these extremely rigid and uniform standards of beauty. The media negatively impacts women’s self-esteem and body image because women are exposed to media throughout their entire lives that pushes sex appeal and narrow ideals of beauty that are unrealistic and often times unattainable.
As girls we are taught about the importance of being a unique individual. At the same time we are bombarded with multiple images and messages from the media that encourage the opposite. First influences on girls happen at a very young age. From the start of their childhood toys like Barbie dolls influence young girls. Girls, as young as six, get introduced to this doll. Barbie has the ideal life; she has the perfect physical appearance, Ken, a dream house, and can be anything she wants to be. Because of this most little girls want to be Barbie; she is fun, likeable, confident and beautiful. I was one of the little girls who loved playing with her dolls. For me Barbie...