I'm fake... ugly... worthless. I cover my face with layers of makeup hoping that half a bottle of BB cream will be enough to make me look as flawless as Kylie Jenner. on the cover of Seventeen magazine. I use countless acne medications, aspiring to be as flawless as the girls in the Clean and Clear commercials. I reject bags of M&Ms and fudge brownies, thinking that my sacrifices will make me “love my body” as much as the emaciated Victoria Secret models love theirs (see Appendix A). I regularly shave my legs and armpits and pluck my eyebrows for fear of becoming the hairy woman the media deems horrible. I do everything, but I feel like I'm nothing. Nothing compared to the beautiful women depicted on television, in magazines and on billboards. No matter how many beauty products I use, how many chocolate chip cookies I refuse, how much money I waste trying to feel pretty, I will always have flaws. I will never be satisfied with my appearance because I don't "meet up to today's beauty standards", because I am incapable of achieving the body image advertised by the media and, more importantly, by women desire (America the Beautiful). I'm not going through a phase; my distorted body image (thanks Vogue!) cannot be ignored, in the same way that mass media dismisses the guilt of setting unhealthy, let alone unattainable, appearance goals for women and being the a leading cause of the pandemic of eating disorders among adolescents. I represent the 70% of women who, according to America the Beautiful, are ashamed of their bodies after just 3 minutes of browsing the pages of fashion magazines. I represent the average woman who is "bombarded with images of young, thin, beautiful women", photos of celebrities... middle of paper ... top of page Blaming the media for our body image problems. Huffington Post Women January 1, 2014. huffingtonpost.com. Internet. February 22, 2014. Support: Web.Dohnt, Hayley and Tiggermann, Marika. “The contribution of peer and media influences to the development of body satisfaction and self-esteem in young girls: a prospective study.” » March 27, 2006. willettsurvery.org. Internet. February 22, 2014. Support: PDF file. Edut, Ophira. Adiós Barbie: Young women write about body image and identity. Seattle: Seal Press, 1998. Medium: Print. Solomon, Natalie. “Sophia Bush declares war on Urban Outfitters.” MTL Blog September 13, 2013. mtlblog.com. February 22, 2014. Media: Web.Waxler, Barbara. “The Influences of Mental Health and Culture on Weight and Eating Disorders.” Weight in America: Obesity, Eating Disorders, and Other Health Risks 2008ed. Detroit: Gale, 2009. galegroup.com. Internet. February 22, 2014. Support: Web.