by Chelsea Evans

Created on: June 25, 2009

The average person sees up to eight thousand advertisements each and everyday. From television ads to city billboards, media all around us changes our individual perceptions of beauty. From the way we dress to the weight that we must be in order to feel pretty, we are told everything that we must do in order to be beautiful in the eyes of our peers. We are shaped from the time we are really young until the time we are on our deathbed, we are given make-up and beauty products that are meant to make us feel pretty.

Disney Movies

When we are children, one of the first series of movies that we are Disney Movies. For almost all little girls, the Disney movies that we first see are stories of princess's in far away kingdoms. But what do these princesses actually portray to us? Think for just a second what these princesses look like. From their tiny waists to their flawless skin and large busts, these princesses seem to be the ideal women in every way, even though their body types are entirely unrealistic.

Barbie Dolls

The next major thing that we as girls are introduced to are Barbie dolls. Again, as you look at the Barbie, supposedly one of the most beautiful dolls on the market, you once again find the media once again trying to portray to us as women the perfect, unattainable body type. With the incredibly tiny waists, and the feet built for high heels, we learn at this age that heels are what beautiful and that the powder blue eyeshadow that Barbie wears looks surprisingly good on us to. Interestingly enough, this is also when we decide to start dwelling in our mothers make-up and shoe collections.

Television

As we begin to get a bit older and start watching more adult movies and shows, we begin to realize that there is more to being beautiful then just the make-up, weight, and shoes. We are now learning that the less cloths the better, the blonder our hair the prettier, and the darker our lipstick, the more sexy we seem as we talk to men. Thus we begin becoming a bit looser about our speech, and this newfound beauty that the media has bestowed upon us engulfs us.

Magazines and Billboards

The last big way that the media seems to change our perceptions about beauty, is that they are constantly trying to sell us the products that they swear will make us more beautiful in every way. Thus the media convinces us that all of these products will make us more beautiful even through our death.

With all of these ways that the media seeps into our lives and influences us, there are all sorts of ways that they help to change our perceptions of beauty. With all of this evidence in favor of the media's influence, I honestly believe that there is no doubt that the media changes our perceptions of beauty.

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