Reprinted with permission from School-Age Notes, the most trusted publisher and provider of quality, innovative resources designed to elevate the skills of adults who create learning opportunities for children and youth.

From Barbie to Miss America, the media' s portrayal of the ideal female body image has been shown to be detrimental in influencing a girl' s body perception (Huber, 1995). Everyday girls are exposed through the media to images of beauty and thinness, and the belief that if they don' t fit these images they are inadequate is reinforced. Advertisement strategies take advantage of adolescent insecurity and self-doubt in order to sell products. Young girls are increasingly at-risk for developing low self-esteem because they cannot escape the message that their bodies are imperfect (Kilbourne, 1999).