Baby, that mirror won't lie for you
The media's effect on adolescent girls
Adolescence can be a confusing and frustrating time for young adults. It is during this time that gender identities, self values, and sexual personality become topics of serious contemplation. Adolescents are moving from childhood into adulthood. They want to understand their new roles and their new feelings and this exploration brings much anxiety and uncertainty with them. But it seems that girls experience a more difficult time with this than boys. Adolescent girls are more likely to experience decreased feelings of attractiveness and self-esteem. Girls are more likely to feel ashamed by the changes in their body and appearance and thus become more insecure. Boys find adolescence to be a more positive and reassuring time. They tend to experience improved feelings of body satisfaction and self-assurance. While both are increasing in size and changing in shape, boys welcome this change and girls dread it. ....
Adolescence is also a time of self evaluation. And more than their male counterparts, girls look to media to help them define and explain the world around them. Girls seeking information about their current development tasks will take that information from any available source and the media is one of the main resources that's available to them.....
The average North American girl will watch 5,000 hours of television, including 80,000 ads, before she starts kindergarten. Saturday morning cartoons alone come with 33 commercials per hour. Commercials aimed at kids spend 55% of their time showing boys building, fixing toys or fighting, but they show girls spending 77% of their time laughing, talking, or observing others. And while boys in commercials are shown out of the house 85% of the time, more than half of the commercials featuring girls place them in their home.....
But the media, especially kid's television, also provides more positive role models for girls than...