9781422288467

“There has been this enormous change from girls being principally concerned with good works to now being concerned with good looks as a measure of their self-worth.” —Joan Jacobs Brumberg, author of The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls

and talented; people with little to contribute are overweight, scarred, and inept. Important people are athletic, muscle-toned, tanned, and impeccably dressed; worthless people are klutzy, fat, and lazy. The message is out there, and it’s deliberate. Media (newspapers, magazines, television, movies, advertisements, etc.) exist for three reasons: to inform, to entertain, and to sell. Yes, sell. The driv- ing force behind most media outlets is money. The people running various media outlets know that you and I, the “consumers,” don’t want to be reminded of our weaknesses or ugliness. We want to see beauty, power, wealth, and all the things we hope to be. Media images strive to make us believe that if we look a certain way, dress in certain clothes, become like cer- tain stars, or own certain things we’ll fulfill our dreams (get the girl or guy, find fame, acquire acceptance, prove our critics wrong, or win whatever it is we hope to win). They play to our emotions: our desires to be liked, accepted, loved, approved of, and to find purpose and meaning. If we think their prod- uct can give us these things, we’ll buy it (go to the movie, purchase the CD,

We Each Have Something / 13