Many people in modern culture have developed what has been called normative discontent with their bodies. Women are particularly vulnerable to this development of body dissatisfaction, which has been shown to create numerous negative health problems. These health problems are a direct result of trying to achieve the unrealistic ideal image created by the media. This idea of ​​what the body should look like floods modern media, and women are discriminated against if they are unable to meet these strict physical requirements. However, unbeknownst to the masses, most of the physical characteristics depicted are achieved by digital enhancement and not just the product of weight loss. My goal in this article is to discuss the populations affected by negative media images, discuss why its effects are so great, and explore how to reduce the growing trend of body dissatisfaction. Historically, the ideal female body was a strong and full-figured woman who had full curves like movie icon, Marilyn Monroe. However, around 1900, our society's view of beauty rapidly changed as we are now obsessed with the skinny physiques we see today. As time went on, the models went from thin to emaciated, which increased the development of problems such as eating disorders. At the same time, we've also started to view full-figured women as unhealthy and lacking the self-control needed to maintain a slim physique. This subtle-at-all-costs movement now defines Western culture and tells girls how to look. In 1975, most models weighed 8 percent less than the average woman; today they weigh 23% less (quotes why women hate their bodies). While models in popular media shed extreme levels of body… middle of paper… earth. Young girls soon wanted to look like the svelte stars of popular reality television shows like Beverly Hills 90210 rather than care for their healthy, thoughtful mothers. In a landmark study of Fijian girls, Harvard researchers concluded that the introduction of television contributed significantly to the dramatic increase in eating disorders observed over three years. After three years of this exposure, 74% of adolescent girls in Fiji described themselves as fat. Another significant finding from this study is that the percentage of girls who develop body image issues is directly related to the amount of exposure to Western media. Girls who watched television three or more nights a week were 30 percent more likely to diet and 50 percent more likely to describe themselves as "too big or fat" than their peers who watched less television. western..