After being assigned to read this essay by Susan Bordo, I find it that she and I have similar disputes on our media and society. Day to day, our media finds ways to make us look better or have the perfect hair like the stars, when in reality, we know that will never happen.

When I was younger, I was one of those “I want to be like Hilary Duff” kind of girl. I wanted to be blonde, flawless, talented, on television, and just perfect. I would try to dye my hair but somehow my Mom always caught me when I was about to do it. Mind you, I was about eleven or so at this point. I would tell everyone that I was going to change my name and such because I really wanted to be just like her.      

Now that I read this article, I can actually say, I am a victim of it, but then again who isn’t? Through my teenage years, I would buy every Teen People, Vogue, Cosmo, People, etc. and I would try to put my hair like the famous girls or try to find the same shirt. That is pretty pathetic right? I mean I was not acting differently, as in snobbish, but I was not dressing like myself. My Mom caught on pretty quickly as to what I was trying to do, and then we had “the talk”. You know the mother daughter talk of, “you’re perfect just the way you are”. Yeah, that conversation went through one ear and out the other.

In my freshman year of high school, everything changed. Going from a coed public elementary school to an all girl Catholic high school, things changed pretty quickly. I wore less make up to school, did not care about how my hair looked, and I concentrated so much more. I still read the magazines, but laughed about the articles that would try to sway young teenagers to believing something that should not be believed. Our teachers would press on us that we are women who are going to make a difference and hold important job positions. They pretty much told us not to believe the garbage coming from the television, movies, magazines, etc. that would change our perceptive on life. After my freshman year of high school, I was not a victim anymore.

Do not get me wrong, I love clothes and the styles coming out, but I do not try to look like a famous star or do the things they do. I do not run out and go get the same dress Hilary Duff was wearing because she wore it. It is not like that anymore but it is sad that the younger generation is going through it, just as I did.

I definitely agree with what Susan is trying to say and she is right as to how our media affects younger teens. Many go through physical and emotional problems, such as bulimia or anorexia, and that is something that will affect them for the rest of their life. And what makes them “think” they have to look like this? The answer to that is media.