The "Perfect Body"

In Susan Bordo's essay, "Never Just Pictures", Bordo explains how the media affects today's society. The media is throwing out images that skinny girls are beautiful and fat people are ugly. This issue affects many people with their weight and the way that they feel. The media is influencing many people and are causing some to become sick and even some deaths. But if people were able to accept and love their bodies, then I believe that the "perfect body" image would not exist anymore.

This issue of image perfection is important to me because I believe that the "perfect body" image starts at a young age. The media is affecting innocent children, who are the easiest to manipulate. A lot of younger children are affected by Barbies and GI Joe dolls that make them think that those dolls are what they're supposed to look like. Some kids are even affected by their favorite actors and actresses, for example, Mary-Kate Olsen who was diagnosed as anorexic. Children are also easliy lured in by fast food. A lot of fast food places, like McDonalds, are blamed for the obesity of children. Since the media affects people at such a young age, it has become a huge issue that is important to discuss.

What made me realize that the "perfect body" image is important to me most is when I was a little girl. Ever since I was young, I have been skinny. The main reasons why I stay so thin are because I have a high metabolism and because I took ballet for nin years. My mother was always concerned and would take me to the doctor thinking that I had an eating disorder. The doctor always told my mother, although I am skinny and a little underweight, I am healthy and that is all that matters.

Through this experience, I learned that no matter how big or how skinny you are, it should not matter as long as you are healthy. When heath becomes a problem in someone's life, that is the only time I believe that gaining or losing weight should be taken into consideration.