Girls.

For my final blog post, I want to go full circle back to the first topic we were asked to write about: business ethics. This time, I want to touch on something that many women and girls around the world have strong opinions on, which is how advertisements and media wrongly influence how we see ourselves.

Cherrie’s blog summarized nicely how advertisements on TV and in magazines can effect girls’ confidence and body image. These ads are impossible to avoid, and we are exposed to many of them each and every day.

I feel that this was a much bigger problem only a few years ago, but today we are slowly tackling the problem. I can remember flipping through a magazine when I was much younger, and wondering how the girls had such a nice tan, perfect skin, and long hair. Today I realize all those girls had was a fake-tan, a face caked with makeup, and a head full of hair extensions.

There are so many movements happening today that expose what goes into each photo you see that now when anyone sees a spread in a magazine, their first thought is, “Oh, that’s just edited.” Instead of “thinspo” sites popping up all over the web, it is now “fitspo”, which inspires girls to get in the best healthy shape that they can.

The topic of body image has become an advertising platform for many companies. Dove has led several campaigns to improve how we view ourselves. Demi Lovato is open with the world about her struggles, and has written a book. Nike advertised their Women’s Half-Marathon Shay Mitchell compete in the run, while promoting a healthy lifestyle.

The examples are endless, and although there is still a lot that must be changed with regards to this topic, I think women as a group are doing an amazing job at getting the point across that everyone should be happy with who they are, people should aim for fit not skinny, and the images you see in magazines are never fully real. Us females are the target of so many ads today that we have the power to say what we want and change how businesses advertise to the world.