Celebrity Stereotype Influence on Young Women Today

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Young women of today are absorbing knowledge of an unrealistic “ideal,” that they feel they must achieve to gain popularity or success. “What’s in our DNA as a social animal is the interest in looking for alpha males and females, the ones who are important in the pack.” (Fischoff, 7.) This quote fits this topic well because it states that as a whole, young women will look to celebrities for influence. Based on the observations that they would see, young, impressionable women would see a stereotypical woman, and the only way that they would be able to achieve certain things in life, would be to press to become that stereotype themselves. Whether one is searching the internet, picking up the latest issue of a magazine, or even watching the nightly news, media is becoming saturated with mindless gossip of celebrity’s appearance and their lifestyles. With all of this exposure of the newest “it” person, the fight for digitalized “perfection” takes a toll on some women. Surely, there must be negative repercussions from all of this pressure, and there is. There were ‘3,200 women in ten countries polled by Harvard University and researchers.’ The study found, “a measly 2 percent of women considered themselves beautiful.” (Redbook, P. 89.) That mindset is caused from the expectation that to be “beautiful” you must have millions, wear only the most designer clothes, and constantly look like you were just photographed for a magazine. If one is unsatisfied with her appearance, one could just get plastic surgery and choose the way that you feel you were supposed to look. Obviously, from the poll mentioned above, this is what young women of Generation Y are learning from today’s elite. Not to be happy with the way you are, but rather just “fix” whatever the problem may be. Every magazine opened, gives tips, directions, standards, and the product you need to look like your favorite celebrity or television personality. What one watches on television, movies, or award shows, the topic is not the actual show, but what they people that are present look like. “The average woman weighs 23 pounds more than the average fashion model.” (WebMD.) With this being known, many women are taking on more pressure than ever to be thin. There is a new celebrity every time you turn around who has some type of eating disorder. The celebrity goes public and discusses it, and if a young woman idolizes that person, it reinforces the woman’s opinion that it’s okay to be sick. Everyone does it. The thin stigma gives you a new pride that one must achieve. Younger and younger woman are jumping on the bandwagon to be as slender as the role model they emulate. Not only does this create health problems, but it enables poor self-esteem and an ongoing mental disorder, which younger women should not even be thinking about. It makes an average woman feel obese, and an obese woman feels unworthy for society’s stereotypical standards, which is not the way that it should be. Looking on the other side, some do not feel celebrity obsession is a problem, let alone that it needs to be addressed. “In a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 92 percent of pre-teens named their parents as the strongest role model in their lives.” (Moninger, 5.) However, there was a study conducted by Susan Boon, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Calgary, which she performed on more than 200 undergraduates. The study found that, “A whopping 60 percent admitted that an idol had influenced their attitudes and values, including their work ethic and views on morality.” (Booth, 2.) So, kids are still twelve to thirteen when they idolize their parents, but what happens when they start to rebel? The second quote takes effect. Aside from a few, it is safe to assume that one is not going to emulate their parent’s style, style, and behavior, at least not forever. One might look to friends, but who are the friends looking towards? “… A celebrity can act almost like a support group- helping see that life is OK, that I can do this- you can do this.” (Hollander, 21.) This comment is a fine concept in theory, and while it displays the opposing viewpoint, it also validates my own. The woman saying celebrities are a “support group” is the same as saying young women follow celebrities, it is just written in a different fashion. As far as “if the celebrity can do it- so can you,” exactly. Young women of today can strive for unattainable perfection in appearance, and it also condones developing poor self-image and eating disorders, because the celebrities are your support. This embodies everything that is wrong with society in one sentence. All in all, the struggle for individual thinking, and personally identified ideals will never take place. Young women need to realize the importance of self-respect and adoration. Young women also need to see that what could be a woman’s “ideal” figure or size, may be disaster for the next to try to achieve. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if the beholder chooses not to see, than the beauty of oneself can never surface.