This video effectively the describes the feelings that many women have regarding their body images; as women, we are constantly bombarded by images of perfect women with perfect figures, skin, and hair. As the video points out, the kinds of looks we are faced with today are impossible to attain without cosmetic surgery or extensive photo shopping.

Women are, in effect, comparing themselves to images of other women who don’t even exist. It’s like watching Laura Croft and then complaining that your breasts are too small; the images in the magazines are manipulated. One of my favorite lines in this video was a quote from Cindy Crawford who said that she wished that she looked like Cindy Crawford. Even the top Supermodels don’t look as good as the images in magazines and plastered on posters everywhere, so how can the average girl compete?

Concepts of ideal beauty have evolved throughout time and now the media is in control of who is considered beautiful. While there are some positive changes in the idea of beauty—more women and men of different races are considered beautiful than just a few decades ago—most of the ideas of ideal beauty seem to come from photo shopping geniuses than anywhere else.

There are websites devoted to photo shopping mistakes and it’s not uncommon to find women in magazines who have waists the size of an actual Barbie doll and arms the size of a stick. Everyone’s face becomes much more symmetrical after a quick photo shopping. Blemishes (and pores) disappear with the sweep of the magic wand.

Meanwhile, real women and girls are forced to look at their own faces and bodies in the mirror each day. The average American woman is 5' 3.7 (162 centimeters) tall and weighs 152 pounds.   The minimum height is usually about 5'8", and average weight for a model is 108-125 lbs.  All of the exercising and dieting in the world won’t get most women to be the size of their favorite supermodel (not that that it would be healthy to do so in the first place.)

So, not only are most women featured in magazines and media not the same size as most women, most of them have had extensive plastic surgery, and most have had the benefit of talented make up artists, hair stylists, and photo shop artists as well. It’s easy to tell a woman not to compare herself to women in the media, but it’s much harder to do.

Some famous women, including Britney Spears, have actually allowed their photographs to be published without photo shopping. While I can admire their courage in doing so, it’s still important to recognize that Britney Spears has probably had some plastic surgery as well.