Even after spending close to $10,000, Monica Wright knows firsthand that money doesn't buy happiness.
Psychological and emotional scars still linger for Wright, a graduate student from Chicago, who underwent several surgical procedures to slim down from 385 to 156 lbs.
At 5 feet 8 inches tall, she was considered overweight but healthy. She said that in her early life, she was never teased for it and did not have a low self-esteem. But it wasn't until she turned 18 and went away to college that she started questioning her body image.
"I was cool with being big and never imagined I would go on a diet, let alone surgery to become thin," she said.
Wright said the peers around her frequently compared body sizes and discussed how they would look in certain outfits as well as actresses they wanted to emulate in terms of body size.
The influence of her peers turned her attention to magazines geared toward young women, and she felt the pressure to lose weight even more.
"At that point I began to look at the same magazines and wonder what I would look like thin," Wright said. "After awhile I wanted to be just like the women on the cover of the magazines myself."
Images of tall, thin women on magazine covers and TV perpetuate this narrow definition and can easily trigger self-image insecurities for both males and females, said Jennifer Tuder, a women's studies teaching assistant who has done extensive research on gender issues.
"The thing that's most troubling to me is the fact that the definition of beauty is so narrow. Having a narrow standard of beauty is what drives the industry," Tuder said.
At 19, Wright paid her dentist $1,600 to get her jaws wired to keep her from eating solid foods. In the next couple of years, she had liposuction surgery for $3,000 done on her thighs and lower waist.
Family members and friends complimented Wright about her change, which they attributed to healthy eating and exercise.
Though the comments were not intended to encourage further weight loss, well-meaning gestures can inadvertently carry on the media's standard of beauty, Tuder said.
"I still was not satisfied, so I took one more step to try and get down to a reasonable weight for my height," she said.
At age 22, Wright underwent gastrointestinal surgery - a surgical procedure that shrinks the stomach size, allowing it to take in small food portions - for $5,000.
Terry Lilley, prevention educator at the Women's Center, said the media definitely plays a role in a young girl's insecurities about her body.
"It is to blame to some extent because it is so common, so everyday, that it helps to hide it," he said.
About Face, a nonprofit organization that studies the affects of the media on people, reports that today's youth is exposed to 400 to 600 ads a day.
Lilley also cites statistics from the American Association of Pediatricians that reflect the growing number young girls who are becoming vulnerable to the saturation of the media's images.
In 1999, 80 percent of 10-year-old girls began dieting. In another research poll among 500 10- to 18-year-old girls, 69 percent said magazines had an influence over them, 47 percent of them went on a diet and only 29 percent of the young dieters were considered overweight. Of that same research, the No. 1 wish of 11 to 17 year olds was to be thinner.
Aside from being thin, the media also encourages appearance alterations, Tuder said.
"In an unprecedented way, we can alter our appearance at will, and it's just mind-boggling. What it does is it makes it a choice for us. For those who remain unaltered, it makes you seem like a freak," she said.
Results from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons report breast augmentations, eyelid surgery, facelifts, liposuction and tummy tucks as the most demanded cosmetic procedures in 2001.
Tuder said other factors contribute to an individual's lack of self-esteem, including interpersonal relationships. But in spite of good parenting, the barrage of images that hold one standard of beauty may overshadow the efforts.
"I think that you could do your best to raise a child with high self-esteem and have your efforts battled by the media," Tuder said.
As a way to combat the negative stereotypes, Tuder suggests limiting one's exposure to the media, especially magazines such as Cosmopolitan, and being more mindful of how we look at other people and react to standards.
About Face suggests some other ways to deal with cultural pressure including questioning the motives of the fashion and advertising industries, not talking about weight insecurities in front of young girls, concentrating on qualities and individual strengths and making a list of admirable women.
Even at 156 pounds, Wright still is not happy. She said she is now upset with herself and blames the media and her peers for her feelings of unattractiveness.
"It is easier for me to talk about it now, but only with people who don't really know me," Wright said. "I still cannot tell my friends and family and be able to look them in the face afterward."
As a teaching assistant, Tuder gives lectures about gender issues, including media standards of beauty, but does not believe the message gets across sincerely.
"I can walk into any classroom and talk to people about this. Students will articulate very well about the issue, and yet this remains a problem," Tuder said. "They'll still go home and berate themselves for not being able to lose that extra five pounds."
Jane Huh can be reached at jhuh@dailyegyptian.com
Samantha Robinson can be reached at srobinson@dailyegyptian.com
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Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
