One statistic in Missrepresentation that really affected me is that 58% of girls who are 13 years old and 78% of girls who are 17 years old dislike their bodies. A main reason for this is the media's portrayal of women. Advertisers photoshop images of models to show an unachievable level of perfection (perfect complexion, big eyes, big lips, big butts, small waists, skinny legs, big boobs, etc.). Every little girl looks up to these media images for inspiration and guidance. If they are even just a little chubby, they feel that they do not measure up and think they have no value.
Probably the most frustrating thing to me as a child was the fact that even though I ate healthy and was on a year-round swim team which practiced six days a week, I was never as skinny as my friends. Even as I get older and thin out, I don't see images of women like me in the media. Most models are around my height but are about 40-50 pounds lighter. I wish that when I was younger, strong, athletic women were more well represented in the media. While I understand that there are some people who weigh 110 pounds and are six feet tall, there aren't many and those women are unlikely to be either strong or healthy. I think young girls should see women in the media who are strong; women who can back squat 200 pounds, compete with the fastest runners or swimmers in the world; high jump, run hurdles, or pole vault as role models for success. Women would be healthier and happier if we could see more images of these strong bodies in the media use those images as role models instead of frail and skinny models.
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