Advertisements and Self-Esteem

Advertisements and Self-Esteem

Mrs Kilbourne argues that advertisers should change their politics of promotion choice, as women’s self-esteem is negatively affected by photoshopped pictures that cause a poor body image and mood deterioration.

In her discussion of the way advertisements affect women, Mrs Kilbourne introduces the issue of the detrimental influence of excessively photoshopped images on women’s self-esteem. Considering mass media to be a credible source of information, women are often led to believe that the models they see in advertisements look the same in real life. This is due to the fact that advertisement images always “dictate what ideal female beauty is” and, being unable to achieve the given standards women feel ashamed and their self-esteem deteriorates (Killing Us Softly 4 5:15-5:25). The problem of poor self-esteem of female due to the photoshopped images is very important because it triggers other psychological issues that might develop into severe diseases.

One of the issues that can stem from being often exposed to highly photoshopped female bodies is about being skeptical about one’s own body image. That is to say that when being often exposed to the images of thin-bodied models, women can criticize themselves for looking differently and come to the point of hating their own bodies. Thin-body images can affect one’s self-esteem, body image, and mood (Joshi et al. 333). In order to reverse the problem, media producers need to regulate advertisement politics in an opposite way, i.e. start advertising and promoting beauty standards that coincide with the reality where women do have wrinkles and some extra weight, skin issues, or hair that is not as healthy as one might want to.

Works Cited

Jhally, Sut, director. Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image Of Women, Cambridge

Documentary Films, Inc., 2010.

Joshi, Ramona, C. Peter Herman, and Janet Polivy. "Self-enhancing effects of exposure to

thin-body images." International Journal of Eating Disorders 35.3 (2014): 333-341.