Women Are Not Just the Victims
If one were to take a stroll through any given supermarket aisle in America, I can guarantee he or she will be bombarded with dozens of tabloids featuring either a celebrity in an impeccable, almost unattainable shape, or one whose most minute flaw has been exaggerated and brought to the general public’s attention. It does not take much intelligence to realize tabloid magazines are trash, and contribute nothing of value to society. Yet, some of these gossip-filled pathetic publications sell better than trustworthy news journals.
The obvious question here is “why?” Why are educated Americans wasting money on articles that do nothing but degrade celebrities and set an unrealistic standard of beauty for commoners. Another interesting observation to point out is that nearly all consumers of such magazines are women. Women are paying and in turn fueling an industry that solely seeks to scrutinize other women as well as engender self-hatred. Despite their claim to loathe it when they themselves are being victimized, women are actually active perpetrators of this same sexual objectification to their peers and future generations.

As mentioned earlier, the female population is the largest consumer of degrading products like tabloids, but they are also the ones creating them in the first place. It is highly uncommon for a man to write articles about Kim Kardashian’s butt being “out of control” or that Miranda Lambert’s weight loss was the result of Gastric Bypass, not plastic surgery. These ridiculous spreads penned by women- who likely carry quite a few flaws themselves- paired with unrealistic, hypersexualized images instigate readers of this garbage to become consumed by every last aspect of their physique. A vicious and ceaseless cycle is set in motion, as women both belittle and get belittled by others.
Consider Tyra Banks, for example. She is a critically acclaimed African American supermodel who now is the head of her own empire, at the top of which sits her popular reality show “America’s Next Top Model.” The premise of the program is Tyra, alongside other noted fashion icons, search for hidden modeling talent in the 18-34 female demographic. Ms. Banks has made very clear to her fans via her talk show and numerous interviews that a positive body image is imperative for confidence and contentment, and she encourages women to embrace themselves entirely. It is refreshing to see such a powerful, established woman in Hollywood relate to and express opinions shared by so many women, who are essentially voiceless.
However, Tyra does not practice what she preaches on her biggest platform- Top Model. From a total of nineteen seasons, sixteen of Tyra’s winners were of the extremely narrow, and not the most healthy body type: tall at over 5’9”” and skeletal at not more than 135 pounds, not unusual from fashion norms, but a stark contrast to Tyra’s perceived and verbally expressed notion of beauty. Ms. Banks has left me, an admirer of hers, questioning whether or not her passionate empowerment are valid. She has not seized the opportunity to interpolate a greater diversity of body types into the world of fashion, instead she has set up girls’ self-confidence to plummet even more.
I am well aware that men are deemed to be the usual culprits when it comes to objectifying women, but the extent to which they take it is nowhere near as severe as when women do it. If anything, the “ideal” body in the eyes of most males is quite healthy, a woman with enough meat on her bones to sustain herself as opposed to the almost emaciated look women are glorifying and so desperately striving for. Men do not find a woman unattractive or subpar on the sole conditions of lacking a thigh gap or protruding collar bones and ribs. They are far less concerned about the minutia that other women will obsess and tear each other down over.
As a young woman myself, I have just recently come to the realization that this issue possesses a great deal of urgency. My peers and I, as adolescents, have some of most impressionable minds; we are like sponges, absorbing everything and then categorizing it into what we believe to be right and wrong. The fact of the matter is, the more we encounter such harsh objectification of women through the media, the more desensitized to it we become, eventually convincing ourselves that it is an acceptable thing to do. We will assume the position as the new perpetrators just in time for the next generation of vulnerable, insecure girls.
It truly is a vicious cycle, one that has the potential to spawn more pressing issues like eating disorders, demolished self-esteems, and even suicides. We, as women, are faced with enough adversity as it is, we cannot afford to judge each other so harshly. We, as women, are the sole cause of the intense self-loathing of our successors, therefore we, as women, are the only viable solution to this dispute. The problem begins and ends with us, but we must act quickly. I yearn to see the day in which grocery store aisles are no longer awash in trash tabloids, but instead magazine covers that showcase beauty in women of all shapes and sizes and recognize women on a basis of their value, not appearance.