The document discusses beauty ideals for women promoted by the media that emphasize being thin, young, flawless, and attractive. These unrealistic standards contribute to mental and physical health issues for many women, including eating disorders, depression, and low self-esteem. Billions are also spent each year on products and plastic surgery for women trying to achieve these unattainable ideals, yet most women do not consider themselves beautiful by society's standards.

1. Beauty Ideals of
Women
By: Emily Boccieri

2. The Perfect Woman
 In Shape
 Flawless Skin
 Tall
 Ageless/Young looking
 Perfect Hair
 Perfect Smile
 Object of Desire

3. Why Men want the “Perfect
Woman”
 Media is the biggest influence. Images of women being
“perfect” are what men are used to seeing and
sometimes only go by that, when looking for a woman.
 Also the way our nation is, we are so judgmental now,
men judge women based on looks. If he doesn’t like
what he sees then he will find another woman he likes
beauty wise.

4. Effects of Beauty Ideals
 Eating disorders
 Depression
 Plastic surgery
 Increased spending to make appearance look
better.
 Bad body image/Self-esteem

5. Eating Disorders
 Bulimia is an illness when someone binges on food and
uses methods such as vomiting or laxatives to prevent
weight gain.
 Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that makes
people lose more weight than is consider healthy for
their age or height.
 These eating disorders happen to women who feel they
are not skinny or in shape. Which can effect them in
severe ways.

6. Depression
 When seeing women in the media they are not the
average woman in America.
 Women get depression because they feel they are not
good enough and/or will never look like what the media
is portraying them as.
 Depression often leads to eating disorders and in
return can also cause body image issues, that no one
else can see, but the woman themselves.

7. Plastic Surgery
 Extreme Makeover was a show about people chosen to
actually get multiple cosmetic surgeries and not be able
to look at themselves until they were done healing.
 The show wanted the audience to see that you can
truly look like someone else with a bunch of plastic
surgery.
 This show helped media show people mainly women
that plastic surgery is normal and acceptable if you
want to look better.

8. Plastic Surgery
 The number of cosmetic surgeries has risen over 50%
since the since the start of the century.
 Plastic surgery is a lot of money and a huge industry,
but women see it as a means to pay whatever, as long
as it makes them look perfect.
 With advances in plastic surgery, some can help with
weight loss such as gastric bypass.

9. More money, More problems
 Women can easily be persuaded to buy something if
told that it will help their image in some way.
 Make-up, skin care products, diet supplements, work-
out equipment, and many other things companies feel
women will buy.
 Women do usually make less money then men, but
have to buy all this stuff that men don’t have to, in order
to maintain a “beautiful” image.

10. Body Image and Self-Esteem
 Women themselves view their body differently than
everyone else.
 Some women feel they look/are fat, when in fact
sometimes they aren’t.
 Women have bad self-esteem because beauty ideals
are set and if they don’t meet them then they look down
upon themselves.
 Women don’t feel beautiful anymore, unless someone
tells them, and that someone is mainly men.

11. The Reality
 Women deal with a lot more things, mentally,
emotionally, and physically compared to men.
 The media hires actresses and models to portray a
“perfect woman” that is not realistic to everyday
America.
 The reality is that over 63% of Americans are over
weight or obese.

12. The Reality
 Women go through so many things on a daily basis.
 With the way our media is, having a beauty ideal puts
more stress on a woman because she doesn’t feel
good enough.
 Each woman is different and stereotypes in the media
make certain women (depending on race and age) feel
unwanted.
 These beauty ideals are making women sick.

13. Work Cited
 Engeln-Maddox, Renee. "Buying A Beauty Standard Or Dreaming Of A New Life?
Expectations Associated With Media Ideals." Psychology Of Women Quarterly 30.3
(2006): 258-266. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2011.
 Leslie Wise, et al. "Sexism, Hostility Toward Women, And Endorsement Of Beauty Ideals
And Practices: Are Beauty Ideals Associated With Oppressive Beliefs?." Sex
Roles 56.5/6 (2007): 265-273. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2011.
 "The Effect of Thin Media Images on Body Dissatisfaction - Eating Disorders | Nutrition
Research Newsletter | Find Articles." Find Articles | News Articles, Magazine Back Issues
& Reference Articles on All Topics. Mar. 2002. Web. 01 Dec. 2011.
<http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0887/is_3_21/ai_84209276/>.
 "Bulimia - PubMed Health." PubMed Health. 18 Apr. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001381/>.
 "Anorexia Nervosa - PubMed Health." PubMed Health. 07 Jan. 2011. Web. 01 Dec.
2011. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001401/>.
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