When I saw this Ecard I found it appropriate. On the topic of body image I know for a fact there are millions of women out there including myself who flip through magazines and feel so inferior compared to the women displayed in our favorite glossy. " Media images are oppressive and commercially exploitative." (Wkykes page 219) I never see girls that really look normal although they are supposed representations of the average women but are more of a fantasy.
Living in today's world as a women I myself have felt the pressure to be thinner, more beautiful and more whiter. Our bodies are constantly being picked apart piece by piece. Advertisements selling us, suggesting and promising us that we would be happier with bigger boobs and a thinner waistline. The images we see are skinny models with T&A ,how can one be so thin and still have prefect boobs and behind? "The perfect provocateur is not human; rather, she is a form or hollow shell representing a female figure" (page 54 in Constructed Bodies Deconstructing Ads)
Measuring up to this expectation is discouraging because unless you have the money to alter your body there is really nothing you can do except spend money that you don't really have on the minimal stuff such as makeup, skin care, and gym memberships. The pressure to obtain an ideal look is more on a women in the 21st century then compared to a man. The amount of money encouraging women to alter themselves is disgusting Cosmetic surgery is a $300 billion industry (Twitchell 1996). The diet industry rakes in $33 million per year along with cosmetics which bring in $20 million. (Pg 56 Cortese)
The Wkykes reading shines light on how unfair it is that if a women doesn't come close to the "ideal" that other aspects of her life such as status, job, and who she is is as a person is affected. "A women's success is measured by the man they catch and the man they catch depends on how they look"(Wkykes Gunther page 209). So in other words if you don't look like a Victoria secret model you will be jobless, loveless, and invisible to society which is ridiculous."She is made to feel dissatisfied with and ashamed of herself,whether she tries to achieve "the look" or not" (pg 122 Kilbourne). Back in the 1940's - 50's many female models were more full figured and at healthy weights of course throughout history that has changed the then "ideal" size 14 is now considered plus size today. Yet when it comes to how a man looks not until recently most men never thought about body image and it never affected their social status, jobs, and identity. 
"Women are encouraged to remain little girls, to be passive and dependent, never to mature." (page 124 Killbourne). Nothing more cliche than a double edged sword. In the Kilbornes piece she emphasizes how contradictory this idea is. Women are to be sexual objects of perfection but still should be innocent at the same time. Which is very confusing but this is what the media gives women to follow. Kilborne also points how today we have the "new women" and how it the idea is just and illusion of progress giving the "image" of the independent women. She also points out how we as women tend to internalize the stereotypes shown to us. We limit ourselves buy being un aware to what is happening around us (Kilborne page 125). As women when are we going to stop being passive to these unrealistic representations of us?
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