Yes, the media images of “beautiful” definitely favor being thin. But that thinness is not reality.  Almost every photo you see in a magazine today is “photo-shopped” meaning it has been altered from its original form to create an image that may look more appealing but is not actual reality. Therefore the images that young teens are looking to achieve are not real images! Teens are looking to be something that actually doesn’t exist, except that teens think it exists because they see it in a magazine, on a tv screen or on Instagram. However, almost everything you see and watch has been digitally altered or the people in the pictures have been prepped for SEVERAL hours, styled, re-styled and lit to perfection.  

Some people are a waking up to this and realizing that the impact this is having on our youth is demoralizing and wrong. The makers of Dove want every woman to feel confident in her own beauty. That’s why they have started the Dove Real Beauty campaign. The link here was part of that campaign. It shows just what advertisers do to create the images that you see and believe.  Watch it.  We promise it will be two of the most eye opening minutes you will spend.

(Here is the full campaign in case you want to see more https://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/campaigns.html) 

Now watch the two video links below.  They are just as interesting and thought-provoking.