Is anyone else outraged with the messages the media and the fashion industry send to girls?

I just went shopping the other day. I look just like any other normal teen: 5'3, 105 pounds and like nice, comfortable clothes that look good! Every store I went into and every store I passed were filled with shirts made for girls and women who are long and lean like models, and were extremely low cut. Same with the jeans, every fit was made to rise so low that anyone could plainly see what kind of bikini underwear I was wearing! Plus everything has a slim, skin tight cut! Sure, those things look nice on the 3% of girls who are built like super models, but what about the rest of us who are built like actual women, I mean "real women have curves" don't they? I have nothing to be ashamed about my body. I am fit and healthy, I run track and train for classical ballet. I left the mall with extremely low self confidence thinking that everything I tried on looked bad. I caught myself realizing I was falling into the trap that the American media and fashion industry set up.

Is anyone else outraged with the messages the media and the fashion industry send to girls?
The underlying message is that females are only useful as sex objects.


Anyone with a brain should be offended.
Reply:I might agree somewhat, but isn't this a bit of "sour grapes" on your part?
Reply:The media has created an image of women.





Tall, lean, no or barely any curves.





You're right,


most of us aren't like that.


And I personally find that most of us are much prettier than models.





They make it so anorexia/bilemia isn't bad, but healthy.


And that we should all sell our bodies to the highest bidder.





Well, I say nay.


%26gt;=[





Glad you're with me, btw. =]
Reply:I think you've got a point, but what about boys? Since it doesn't take any more effort to worry about the message the media is sending to KIDS than it does to worry about the message it's sending to girls, why don't we protest GI Joe's anatomically impossible frame right alongside Barbie's? Or do you assume that boys don't have the same body-image issues (because, I assure you, they DO)!
Reply:I completely agree with you! I wish every girl thought like you. =]





I don't know why designers do that. I mean they know every girl doesn't look like that. Hmmm, maybe they're guy designers wanting their women to look like that. haha.
Reply:I'm a little more outraged at the American government... however, you do raise an interesting point that says more about you than it does about American fashion. I feel that maybe you have a very strong personality and you are passionate and creative. Design %26amp; make your own clothes - problem solved.
Reply:NO......................I am upset at the irresponsible parents for allowing their children to be brainwashed by it
Reply:i wish people wouldn't put such an emphasis on what were are suppose to look like. but unfortunately that's how our culture is. woman are constantly devalued and don't even realize it. i think that more children should be taught that you dont need a skin tight mini-skirt to feel good about yourself.
Reply:Yes, the media %26amp; fashion industry send the message that females have to be thin in order to be attractive.And that it's okay to dress like a prostitute.Also female celiberities like Paris Hilton, lindsay Lohan, %26amp; Britney Spears set very bad examples for young girls.But in the end it's the parents job to raise their daughters %26amp; to teach them to respect their bodies, %26amp; to dress appropriately.
Reply:yeah it makes us feel like complete **** infront of all those models ...i mean...every girlin the world (erxcept those "lucky"3%) has to try really hard,, give upon eating n exercise herself to death to look like a model...a price too high for something like thaT.... i mean if we were meant tolook like that we would be like that naturally....if we eat normal n still look fat its not our fault..i dun get to eat much junkfood......cant afford it..i eat a light or no breakfast and a healthy vegetarian based meal once a day..n the quantity is always controlled.... i get moderate exerciuseand im still fat..i dun havbe enough time (with studies n everything) to exercise more n dun have the stamina tyo go long hours starving..i eat onlky when my stomach's grumbling ...no mindless eating at all...n im still fat..not just chubby....actually fat..i cant lose weigtht unless n until i stop eating anything and survive on water for days.......and no normal person can do that............eating anything "fattening"is like a luxury which i cant indulge in........and it really hurts me n gives me a reallylow self esteem when ppl make comments on my weight or put mer down becuase of it..anything i wear doesnt look good n slim girls look great wearing anything.....and the majority of guirls who actually are slim are only becuase they put a lot of effort into it and starve themselves....and this is all becuase of our fashoin industry defining "slim" as "beautiful".... if it werent like that all girls would be eating normal and be curvy which should be the normal heal;thy state for the average woman..only real women hav curves..being curvy is natural ...being thin is not..
Reply:I completely agree with you.


But my problem is trying to find some stylish clothes for the big woman, or should I say "well endowed"?


I really am disgusted with the parents who push their little girls into modeling.


Just let kids be kids.


By your weight and height, it sounds like you shouldn't have a problem getting clothes.


But everyones shape is different as is their likes and dislikes about what style they like.


Maybe you need to go to a different store or mall.


The fashion industry wants to make everyone look like a fashion model and if you don't fit their clothing then you are not good enough. It doesn't matter if we fit it or not, we are all wonderful people and it is the ones that do fit into them clothes and like the low cut styles that I worry about. They are buying those clothes and feeding the corporations that are causeing all the problems.
Reply:You have no idea how good this makes me feel. To hear a teen talk about the fashions in an accurate way. It's no wonder we have a distorted image of ourselves. According to the media, we should all be 5'9" and over. We should also weigh no more than 110-max. There no doubt are girls/women out there, but I dont know very many of them. We have to start writing, not only to the media, but to the stores that sell the ridiculous fashions. If the media starts to show more normal women and the stores lose money, things will change.


Money does talk and retailers will listen. It's got to change, and the people that wear the clothes can make that change. Go for it.
Reply:You've absolutely nailed it.





It's definitely getting younger. When I was a kid, it was all about Barbie. Not the best role model, but at least she was an adult and that hypersexualization was in our futures, not our daily lives a la the Bratz dolls.





Industry and media want us as unhappy with ourselves as they can get us. It's a trick to get us to buy more things that we don't need. Good on you for realizing this so young, it's difficult, I know, but you have a chance of escaping with your self-esteem intact.





Read Betty Freidan's -The Feminine Mystique- and Naomi Wolfe's update -The Beauty Myth-. These books will help you understand the hows and whys of this phenomena.
Reply:You, my dear, are lucky, indeed. You are keeping yourself from becoming victimized!!! You are going to have to look for clothing at other stores. Not all stores are alike. Also try Thrift shops. You can save a bundle of money. Look through some magazines and find some styles you like, and then find items that are similar. You will look up-to-date!!!


I am disgusted with TV and other media trying to tell me that I should be thin, and then they advertize fattening foods!!! As I have a wheelchair, cane and shower seat, the excercise infomercials are a total waste of my time!!! I am very limited as to what I can do--my spine is inoperable, and if I move the wrong way, I get terrible pains!!! I am a 58 years-old Grandmother with a limited (very limited) income, so I can't go out and shop for latest trends. But I have some things I look nice in. If I am going somewhere special, I make sure that my make-up is on, my manicure and pedicure are in tact, and that my hair looks nice and that I look presentable!!! I wear Georgio Red Perfume.


Good luck and may God bless you.
Reply:I agree. I'm 5' 3" and 120 lbs. I have a traditional hourglass figure (37-25-38) and I love my body. Except when I go shopping. It seems that we are just bombarded by mixed messages. On the one hand there are men, who say that they love curvy, fit, healthy bodies and they don't want stick figure women. On the other hand there are fashion designers who don't make clothing for women who have any shape at all. Then, there are other women who try to compete with each other in some sort of "cult of thinness" war. "How much do you weigh?" "Oh, I can't have any of that, I'm not eating any fat, carbs, protein, or fruit this week. Just a pack of Sweet n' Low, thanks." And, of course, you have magazines that are skinny obsessed.





The solution? Well, I've found a few stores and brands that I'm fiercely loyal to because I love their cuts (like Forever 21). I eat healthy, I exercise, (according to all charts I'm well within my healthy weight range) and I ignore everyone and everything else. It took me years to get there. Just remember when you're ready to tear your hair out as you realize that a size 5 jean is now equivalent to the old size 0, that you're not alone. 97% of us feel just like you do.