The image of beauty is projected on women through advertisements on TV, magazines, newspapers, billboards and the internet, and why shouldn't it be? Beauty products produce hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue each year. The diet industry alone yields $33 billion dollars a year. Advertisers emphasize the importance of physical attractiveness in order to sell products ranging from beer to a piece of cloth that picks up dirt like magic. The constant exposure to the perfect women portrayed in ads influences women to be image conscious and obsess over physical appearance.

The average woman sees 400 to 600 advertisements per day and over half of those advertisements use beauty as an appeal to buy. In 1996, international ad agency Saatchi and Saatchi found that ads cause women to fear being unattractive or old. Advertisers operate under the notion that unattainable desire drives product consumption. Today's fashion model weighs 23% less than the average female, yet 69% of girls say that they are influenced by these models. Women of all ages spend money on make-up, hair products, clothing and lingerie with the hope of reaching perfection. Those women that aren't content to use beauty enhancers turn to plastic surgery because surgery makes wrinkle removal, dramatic weight loss and bigger breasts possible, for a price. Certain diet plans have their clients buy expensive packaged foods that must be eaten every day for every meal. Women pay because they want to be as attractive as the women they encounter in advertisements every day.

If the cover of Maxim features a beautiful, scantily clad woman, then why doesn't Cosmopolitan's have a muscular man without his shirt? Women want to look at other women. They want to look at whatever famous actress that's gracing the cover for the month. Women are interested in her make-up brand, hairdresser and where she buys her clothing because they hope that those products will turn them into their favorite celebrity. Advertisers capitalize on this train of thought. In a sample of undergraduate and graduate students from Stanford, 68% of women felt worse about their appearance after looking through a women's magazine. When a woman feels bad about herself she is more likely to go out and spend money on beauty products that she believes will make her feel better. Instead of making a woman feel better about her natural body, the media encourages her to strive towards an unreasonable goal.

The media influences women from an early age. A study of Saturday morning toy commercials found that 50% of commercials aimed at girls spoke

about physical attractiveness, while no commercials for boys did the same. The importance of physical attractiveness is promoted through advertisements aimed at children and teens. Young girls play dress up and put on their mother's make-up as a game, but they're really looking for someone to call them pretty. By the time a girl is 17, she has seen 250,000 ads through the media. The media targets girls just as they are developing and are looking to feel accepted. Half of ads in teen magazines use beauty as a selling point. A study done by Teen People found that 27% of girls feel media pressure to be perfect. It is no wonder that 90% of people suffering from an eating disorder are female.

The pressure created by the media causes women to feel insecure, in turn creating billions in revenue for the beauty market. I am one of those women who add to the money made off of insecurities. I believe that I spend upwards of $1,000 each year on my hair, make-up and clothes. Whenever I leave my house, my make-up and hair have to be done, and I know that I'm not alone. No matter where I go I see women like me. People dress up to go to the supermarket, the gym, or school, places where dressing up is impractical. I find myself asking "Who are they trying to impress?” Some might be quick to answer "men,” but this is the case only some of the time. Women dress up for themselves because they want to feel attractive. When they go out they want to compare themselves to every other woman around them and be able to think "I look better than her.”

While some outfits, particularly revealing ones, will attract men, for the most part every man is looking for something different. Attraction is different for every person, regardless of sex, and includes more than looks. Not every woman has to be a tall blond with breasts like grapefruits, although the media wants women to believe that.

Nothing in the advertisement world encourages self confidence in women. The constant exposures to women with perfect skin and bodies that are featured in ads don't help the average woman. Advertisers depend on women to feel bad about their body image in order to sell beauty products. So don't feel bad when you look in the mirror; that's what they want.

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