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How Effective Is the Media in Creating Dissatisfaction in the Body Image of Teenage Girls? Essay Example

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How Effective Is the Media in Creating Dissatisfaction in the Body Image of Teenage Girls? Essay Example
How effective is the media in creating dissatisfaction in the body image of teenage girls?

1. Introductory Paragraph
- Attention Grabber: 75% of teenage girls have a celebrity they look up to for a body image they would like to have according to the National Institute on Media and the Family.
- Definition of Body Image: Body image refers to one’s sense of his or her own physical appearance influenced by his/her personal experiences, personality and various social and cultural forces.
- Thesis Statement: The trouble these days is that the media is constantly and greatly impacting the teenage girls of today’s generation who are aged 13 to 19 years of age to having a negative and distorted body image which leads to psycho-physical problems which cause teenagers to go to extremes in order to achieve what they perceive as the ‘perfect’ body.
- Question: Do you feel ashamed, self-conscious and anxious about your body? If you do not, you have a negative body image and this essay is meant for you.

2. Supporting Paragraph 1
- Topic Sentence: Teenage girls have an increasing desire to be either ultra-thin or to have more sex appeal under the influence of the media which cause a negative body image.
- In the magazine, you can see what is considered as the ‘perfect’ woman and what is not the most ‘in’ thing. Teenagers shape how they see themselves based on what they see on television, magazines, newspapers and websites.
- Media images depicting ultra-thin and digitally altered women models are the reason for body dissatisfaction in girls. What they see mostly in these advertisements are tall, skinny, flawless, and beautiful women selling fashionable products.
- Fashion marketers use provocative marketing campaigns featuring young teenage models such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Guess. These ads are selling more than just clothing to teens. They are also selling adult sexuality. Moreover, the media’s trending definition of beauty as portrayed in celebrities and

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