Document Type

Article

Award Date

Fall 2008

Abstract

Today, reality television stars often become heroes to children. One such hero type is young women with ideal but unrealistic thin bodies that the show America’s Next Top Model for instance exalts. But stick-thin women should be one of the last types of heroes our society should encourage our children glorifying. My presentation will demonstrate how this show sends a contradictory message about the female body: it idealizes thin female bodies while ostensibly advocating good health and high self-esteem as well as giving warning about the dangers of eating disorders. I argue that the show’s hypocritical promotion of the internalization of the thin body ideal of women and the careless neglect of untreated eating disorders cause great harm to young teen American girls.

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