From photoshopped magazine covers to plastic surgery addicts in Hollywood, we are constantly being shown images of beauty that are young, white, and thin.  Few of us can escape the pressure to look perfect, and our culture's obsession with beauty has seemingly no limits. 

• Seven percent of young women suffer from a diagnosed eating disorder
• In a survey of 6-12 year olds over a third had already been on a diet.

A beauty-obsessed media and racial and gender stereotypes in our culture lead to low self-esteem for young women and to a lesser degree, young men. Don’t we deserve better? The world is filled with many different types of people and many types of beauty both insde and out. TV and media should reflect that, and we should value it. We won’t let someone else’s ideals of beauty guide how we feel about ourselves or how we treat others.

Blog it!

What kinds of beauty aren’t represented on TV? Do you feel pressure to be thinner or better looking? Write a blog about body image.


HealthFacts:  Body Image

Learn about developing a healthy body image and finding help for unhealthy body image and eating disorders.


Interested in this issue? Keep reading!

Read about related issues on Amplify

Gender and Stereotypes
Sex and Our Culture

Other Resources

Do you have a question about body image? Ask one of Advocates’ MySistahs or YouthResource Peer Educators!