Perfectly Flawed Research Paper

Perfectly Flawed
There’s a freshman in one of my classes who always wears thick, dark eyeliner and other excessive makeup. For a couple of days the other week, she stopped. The first time I saw her without makeup, it was weird; I had never seen her without it before. A few days later, she came back with eyeliner and a fresh layer of foundation on her face. I remembered the face I saw just the day before; even though the makeup was pretty, she was pretty without all the extra effects. That same day during class she told me about how there was a guy snapchatting her. They made a bet that she wouldn’t be able to go without makeup for two days. She continued to tell me how that morning, she put on her makeup and sent him a snapchat. He responded
Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how this use of photoshopping is negatively affecting young women. Whereas some are convinced that girls put the pressure on themselves, others maintain that the media is to be held responsible for exerting pressure to have the “perfect body.” It is sometimes said that Kim Kardashian, a well-known celebrity, is a role model for these young women and girls. Recently, Kim Kardashian posted a naked selfie, edited using Instagram, claiming that this act was self-empowering. Kardashian herself writes for her online blog, "I am empowered by my body . . . I hope that through this platform I have been given, I can encourage the same empowerment for girls and women all over the world” (qtd. in Filipovic). Basically, what Kardashian was trying to say here is that girls and women should love their body no matter what they look like. Kardashian and other celebrities like her are speaking out for body image and are trying to help girls realize they don't have to have a flawless body; however, these flawless bodies, like Kardashian’s, are the types of bodies that are seen in advertisements for the fashion