• A medium is, by definition, an object of various natures that is placed in the middle between our senses and the external world and functions as a tool or instrument of perception.[1] There are many examples of media as a form of communication such as radio, newspaper, magazines, television and the Internet. A medium can affect the way some or most people in a population view a particular subject by the way in which it is represented through the medium, such as the representation of women. For centuries, ‘Pop Culture,’ has had a major impact on the way women are represented and perceived within society. Popular television shows and women’s magazines have in a way, dictated the way a woman should look and act to meet some prescribed ideal of beauty. Modern day society is a world reflected on esthetics. The Barbie Doll figure has measurements of a 36 bust, 26 waist and 36 hips, keep in mind this being a doll for little girls to play with. For some little girls, Barbie is an idol but when they see this “perfect” body on one of their favorite dolls they will do all they can to aspire to be just like them. These same girls will flip through a magazine, such as, Cosmopolitan and see their favorite celebrities depicted as beautiful – dressed in designer clothes, with flawless skin and skinny bodies. Unrealistic images of beauty have lead to eating disorders. A women’s magazine for example, is place between our senses and focuses on a particular issue according to its targeted audience, and functions as a tool in which the way topics are being represented within the magazine may affect the way certain people or objects are viewed within the limits of our own perception. Body image as represented in magazines, commercials and billboards is an unrealistic ideal created in order to sell a product. Women are merely airbrushed representations of an ‘ideal’ that is truly unrealistic and unattainable. These women are technologically modified and enhanced and other women strive to aspire to this impossible ideal of feminine beauty and perfection.

Next>>