Girls are constantly watching TV, flipping through magazines, and browsing the Internet. They are surrounded by the media filling their heads with how they should look, what they should wear and how they should act. More and more young girls feel inferior to other girls or start to act badly because of what they see or hear. They need to be taught that they don’t have to be those people. The media has too much influence on teenage girls’ appearance.

What is beauty?


Girls think that they have to put on tons of make up, inappropriate clothes, and fix their hair for two hours to feel beautiful. But do they even know what beauty is? The dictionary says the definition of beauty is the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses. Notice that it says IN a person, not out. Girls shouldn’t think they have to look attractive to feel beautiful. This is the exact opposite of the message that girls are sent. Girls should feel confident in themselves without the five pounds of make up they have on being half of their body weight. The media also shows boys all of these pictures of women that have been photo-shopped and look perfect, which sends them the message that all girls should look like that, and therefore do not fairly judge them.

Bad Examples (Starting at a Young Age)


Most little girls can tell you who the Disney princesses are or who Barbie is. They think of these characters as hard working, kind, and they reach for their dreams, but every single one of them are skinny, have perfect hair and flawless skin. Sure they have a Disney princess of every race, but what about a fat princess? And how come if these young women are so strong and independent they always end up NEEDING that prince in the end? Young girls look at these movies and dolls and say “I want to be just like her when I grow up.” Thinking about how pretty they are, not their strength and wisdom. Also as they grow older they still see bad influences on their lives. There are all of these celebrities getting into trouble, going to rehab and doing bad things. Even though the media is usually negative about this, girls still see it, the famous people still get the attention they (and teen girls) crave. Of course I have not completely lost hope. There are some stars that make good impacts such ass the singer Adele. She is not the skinniest girl ever, but she has amazing power in her voice and lyrics, and that is what should really matter.

Lack of Self-Confidence

More and more lately girls have been feeling a lack of self confidence for themselves. They start to notice that they do not look like the girls that they see all of the time. This can cause eating disorders and depression. They are putting themselves in severe danger to look like the people in the magazines. This sends the message that they are not good enough for themselves and the rest of the world, which is not true.


Everyday the media sends something new to the public and teen girls see them. That is not going to stop, but what should is these girls negative opinions of themselves because of these. Every girl should be able to feel beautiful and important to today’s society. If they are sent wrong influences on their lives now, they will never stop and change the rest of their lives.