Magazines Present an Unrealistic Image of Physical Beauty Have you ever thought about how the media might influence our opinions
about ourselves? Images in magazines and on television create an idealized picture of what a beautiful woman should look like in our society. Young women are bombarded by these images every day. As a result, they grow from adolescence into adulthood with an unrealistic picture of beauty in their minds. This distorted view of reality is extremely dangerous for the female psyche. The average woman in the United States is a size 12–14; however, runway and fashion models are often a size zero. The unrealistically thin portrayal of women is concerning. Some models and actresses are even speaking out about their frustrations with the portrayal of women in magazines. Actress Kate Winslet, famous for her role in the movie Titanic, complained about an image of her published in a magazine in which her body was digitally stretched to look thinner. She stated, "The retouching is excessive. I don't desire to look like that." Winslet went on to express her concerns about the unrealistic and unhealthy message that digital altering of images creates in the female mind. The images in magazines are the result of the effects of special lighting, makeup, and even image editing tools like Photoshop. Even the images of the world's most beautiful supermodels are altered to make the models appear taller, thinner, or otherwise, different from their original pictures. If even the models' images are altered, how is the average woman supposed to feel about her own beauty? 1 Select ALL the correct answers. Which two sentences should be added to the end of paragraph 3 to support the idea that photo editing in magazines can affect readers' self-esteem? More actresses should speak out and let their fans know when pictures of them have been digitally altered by image-conscious magazines. The unrealistic images could lead young, impressionable readers to make unhealthy choices in pursuit of physical beauty that is not even real. Magazine publishers consistently claim they are simply keeping up with the latest advancements in digital photo technology. Knowing that magazines edit photos of models helps magazine readers understand that they could also look that way if their photos are retouched. Constantly seeing these flawless pictures makes normal people feel like they do not measure up to the current standa
