This Is My Article And I’m Sticking To Tt

( Sex/Media/Society/Self-esteem )

by Guilbert M. (G2K)

SEX! SEX! SEX!......... In the cruel world of advertisements, sex sells. What are these ads telling young girls? Well lets just say in these ads girls are being portrayed as helpless, pale individuals. These ads target young girls who are at the prime of their youth. They read a lot of those magazines which promote that girl should be that skinny and girls should look like that. As a teenager, they should stop worrying about external looks and they should really focus on discovering who they are as a person.

These advertisements are sending wrong messages. These wrong messages can lead to low self-esteem and that can lead to suicide.

Sex, seduction, and slim clothing are often in these ads. They are meant to sell products mostly for women, but men also like to look at and drool over them. (I will sadly admit that I am one of those men, but so are half of the men in the world.) It seems like these days girls are being forced by society to look like the cover girl of a magazine. The media has characterized the cover girls of magazines as wealthy, sex goddesses, and the object of every man’s desire. Teenagers always have a way of seeing everything that is wrong about their body. Why? I don’t know.

Harassment can also lead to low self-esteem. Such as constant teasing, of how fat or ugly they look. People always have a way of being critics.

In this part of the article I will interview a young woman. Who has low a self-esteem. Why? Well that’s why I’m here interviewing her. And this is a way for me to support my theory about how the media affects young adults’ mind. I will be interviewing Renee. She is seventeen years old. She is a friend of a friend

First Question Renee (Q)- What do you think is the cause of your low self-esteem?

Renee- "I think my low self-esteem is the result of not being accepted by others for a long time."

Q- How do u deal with having such a low self-esteem?

Renee- "By trying to forget about it."

Q- What do you think of advertisements that are selling sex?

Renee- "I think that they are garbage. I believe that a lot of kids who grow up seeing all that end up believing that, that is the perfect world: skinny blondes and dudes with big biceps. Then they end up believing that they should look like that. And if they don't, then it leads to suicide, anorexia, etc. All because they don't believe that they are "perfect"."

Q- Have you ever try to do any of those things: suicide, or starving yourself?

Renee- "No, because I’m not that stupid! I've thought about suicide, but not because of my low self-esteem but because I was bored with life and I couldn't find a reason to live because my life feels so messed up. But I've never thought about starving myself and killing myself because of my low self-esteem, because that's just surrendering to all that stupid "perfect world" stuff, and saying it's right."

Q- Why do you think you’re ugly?

Renee- "A lot of people have told me that, and I know I should ignore them, because in a way that is surrendering to that "perfect world" image. But even if they didn't say that, I would still think I was. Simply because...I am."

Q- Why do you think teenagers today have low self-esteem?

Renee- "Because of all that stupid trash in the media. Too much attention is paid to looks. Haven't you noticed how all the teenagers in Hollywood are skinny with big boobs? Well a lot of girls think that they have too look like that to be accepted, and "cool." I think it's mostly girls with low self-esteem, because in Hollywood, guys are not expected to have washboard abs and huge biceps. Look at Nick Carter; he's not exactly, and yet he's accepted in Hollywood. But then look at that girl from Thrid Rock From The Sun; just because she’s pretty tall, they call her fat."

Q- Where do you think the media got the expression that skinny is beautiful and fat is ugly?

Renee- "I think it's just a cliché that has been around since the dawn of time. In the early 1900's women wore corsets to get a thinner, therefore "sexier," waistline."

Q- Do you think having a low self-esteem, is a big issue in today’s life? how so?

Renee- "Yes, because often it prevents people from doing things that they like. For example, maybe a person thinks that they are so ugly that no one would want to dance with them at a dance, so even no matter how badly they want to go, they don't because they feel embarrassed."

Q- Is it a big issue for you?

Renee- "No, because like I said I ignore it."

Q- Do you think society and the media is somewhat to blame for this?

Renee- "Yeah I do. Because we are exposed to so much of it, which doesn't have to be a bad thing. Except it is because they keep defining what beautiful is, which I think is something that shouldn't be defined. Isn't beauty in the eyes of the beholder?"