Conclusion The Concluding Portion Of This Paper Will Draw Together The Works

Conclusion
The concluding portion of this paper will draw together the works of the previous three chapters in order to make a significant comment about what has become, and remains, a crucial issue regarding the health and well-being of women and young girls in our society. Men are not immune to these pressures, and this will be addressed as well.
'In contemporary culture', as Entwistle has suggested 'the body has become the site of identity. We experience our bodies as separate from others and increasingly we identify with our bodies as containers of our identities and places of personal expression' (2000: 138).
An important question here is: just how far will some individuals go in this pursuit for somatic perfection? How much of this will be tacitly sanctioned by society, and for how long? And finally, what are the implications for our future and that of future generations? These are the questions to be explored throughout the course of this research.
Chapter One
A Slimmer World: The Power of the Media

Fast Facts:
"There are 3 billion women who don't look like supermodels and only eight who do.
Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14.
If Barbie was a real woman, she'd have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
The average woman weighs 144 lb. and wears between a 12-14.
One out of every four college aged women has an eating disorder.
The models in the magazines are airbrushednot perfect!
A psychological study in 1995 found that three minutes spent. looking at a fashion magazine caused 70% of women to feel depressed, guilty, and shameful.
Models twenty years ago weighed 8% less than the average woman.
Today they weigh 23% less."
by Rita Singh

There are endless images of extremely thin models that appear in contemporary media. These images are ubiquitous and seemingly non-stop. This includes all types of formats: magazines articles and advertisements, television programs, cinematic productions. In fact, it seems that everywhere we look, we see these images The message that 'thin is in' is repeated visually no matter where we lookand this is not just average weight. The type of thinness that is promoted by the media is closer to gauntness. It has been compared to the thinness of heroin addicts: 'heroin chic'. This ideal body seems to be almost unnaturally thin, with infinitely small hips and unnaturally large breasts. These images set up an unachievable and unrealistic standard for female beauty, one which is nearly impossible to achieve without sacrificing one's health.
Turner has put this quite succinctly: 'There is an obvious and prominent fact about human beings: they have bodies and they are bodies.