Never Just Pictures By Susan Bordo

"Never Just Pictures" by Susan Bordo, is about how today's society looks at different types of media to get an idea of what they should look like. In this essay, the author tries to get the readers to take a closer look at today's

obsession with the physique of the human body. Bordo talks about how things that were once considered normal, no longer are. Literally people are purging and starving their bodies to become nothing more than silhouettes of themselves. Instead of being alive and healthy, they would rather become a stick figure in someones pictures. Bordo opens eyes to the idea that "thin is in", and what causes poeple to think this way, and why this problem (striving to be thin) is continuing to grow. Bordo is basically saying that today's

society looks at magazines, videos, and infomercials to get the idea that this is the way. From one generation to the next being fat has become as awful as committing one of the seven deadly sins. Bordo believes that society and its beliefs have taken their toll on the children of today as well.

In a world where image seems to be everything, it's hard not to pay attention to the way you look. For a long time beauty has been defined as flawless and thin. Media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment, and news industries. Every teenager today wants to look like someone they see on TV, or in magazines, similarly even kids from grade schools have Brittany Spears and Christina Aguilera as role models highlighting the impact of the media on everyone especially youth with their raw impressionable minds. This is the basic argument presented in Susan Bordo's essay. Bordo discusses how strongly the media affects our self-images. The media has a huge influence over the thoughts, ideas, and opinions of today's

society, and this power is ever increasing. The media's focus is on the human body -pushing for the thin, "Heroin Chic" look. Most people are badgered by the media into feeling as though we need to subscribe to a popular culture lifestyle.

It is impossible not to be impacted by the media. The media consumes most of peoples lives, especially teenagers. During the teenage years are when teens are trying to discover themselves, and searching for their own identity. Teens are bombarded with images of models whether it's in a magazine, where the majority of the pages are filled with starving skeletons promoting clothing, watching T.V, where we have shows like "The Swan", and the "Biggest Loser", where they are promoting being skinny and more perfect. It is impossible for a teen to grow up and not be affected by this attack by the media and what they portray as perfection. Another form of media that influences teens is the music industry. It isn't at all about the voice or the music anymore, it's about who is wearing what, and what they look like. The value of music has decreased while the value for looks has shot through the roof. How can young women, and men feel comfortable with themselves when they are surrounded by pictures of fake images of what people think is normal? The fact remains that the media has been the biggest and probably the sole cause of the emerging