Susan Massaro McFarland

Advertising, Body Image and Your Daughter’s Self Esteem

As women and role models for our daughters and granddaughters, we need to teach them about the powerful influence of the media. A girl’s body image and how attractive or worthy she feels is often influenced by advertising, television and fashion magazines. The popular culture gives girls contradictory messages about what it means to be a woman in today’s world. Very early, girls feel the pressure of growing up in a looks-obsessed, media-saturated culture. They have been “taught” by the media to equate their worth with “attractiveness”, and/or thinness. The challenges become heightened for minority girls who seldom see strong, positive role models highlighted in the media. This workshop will heighten awareness of the pervasive, cumulative effect of advertising on women and young girls. It may help you to talk with your daughter about these important issues. It may also help you come to terms with how the distorted and often destructive ideal of femininity has influenced you in your lifetime.

”Advertising, television and fashion magazines are not only promoters of the cultural ideals, but often in the absence of other sources of information, the entertainment and advertising media become our teacher of what a normal and healthy woman’s body should look like.”
-Women and Self Esteem