JOURNAL 6 (handout reading) "Fresh Lipstick"...

In looking over the article of Rethinking Images of Women in Advertising, my overall comment on it is, I think that women should do what makes them feel good, beautiful and empowers them. I do feel however that our country has become very homogenized regarding what beauty is. I believe advertising and media has set an unrealistic reality and standard to what it is to be beautiful and sexy. When you see and advertisement on beauty or open up a beauty magazine, the majority of models are tall white, skinny, perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect proportions and curves. Setting a standard for most women that isn't reality.

We are all made up of three different body types: 1). Ectomorph (the long lean limbs), 2). Mesomorph (the muscular shorter limbs) and 3). Endomorph (heavy rounder limbs). We all have a combination of each of these body types in us, some more of a percentage than the other. The tall model you see in the magazine is more predominately a percentage of the ectomorph body type with the long lean limbs. Ectomorph body or the model body type makes up approximately 15% of all women in America. This is the body shape then that everyone aspires to have as it advertised over and over on the cover of every beauty magazine. It is the the look and representation that is taught to so many young women of sexiness and beauty.

This is the image that media sets as a standard to beauty. Most women in America are in the higher percentile range of a combination of the endomorph or mesomorph body type which is the shorter,and round or muscular limbs. This advertising then of the ectomorph body type sets a standard for a false reality for most women who aspire to be like the women in the magazines. Approximately 60% of women in America are size 16 and over making advertising and impossible hope for ever achieving beauty as portrayed on and advertisement or magazine.

This Standard of Beauty is impossible to achieve unless you are the 15 % of women in America with the predominately ectomorph body type. This results in a serious epidemic to be thin with the sickness of bulimia and anorexia that affects a huge population of young women aspiring to look and feel beautiful There seems to be no advertisement out there to support being beautiful for who you are and how to be beautiful by just being YOU! There is only one body shape considered beautiful which is an unreality for most women.

I think it's really important to feel beautiful and to know all that God has created and empowered you to be. Obviously real beauty comes from the inside. If one chooses to do plastic surgery that's great if it makes one feel better. Plastic surgery may not fix the problem, and too many people get addicted to wanting to present a perfect outer image to feel better about themselves and it ends up being only a temporary fix to an inner problem. I do believe that what ever you want to do is okay and that if it makes you feel better, than do it. In the long run however it's how you feel on the inside that will exude your outer spirit and appearance.

With all the media and advertising attention representing beauty it is difficult to not get caught up in million dollar industry of looking good and plastic surgery. How can one be immune and not get caught up in that genre?

Obviously pretty faces and bodies look good and beauty sells but I believe it has really gotten out of hand with all the problems of bulimia and anorexia that women have in the pressure to be beautiful. I think we need to have more advertisements of reality i.e representation of real people and real life. A real look at the real lives and the majority of the population of women roles and role models so we all have something to aspire to and relate to.

Zoning in on 15% of the population as the percentage of women who actually have the predominant ectomorph body type as the beautiful body doesn't help the rest of the population of women who are not of the predominant ectomorph body type and is faced with a real losing battle to be beautiful.