With actresses, actors, and models getting thinner by the moment, it is no wonder that many young adults and teenagers today have some type of image problem. Many advertisements in magazines depict women who have bone thin, girlish body builds, indicating that that’s what it truly means to be beautiful. However, the following ad conveys a different, and frankly healthy, message for young women.
The advertisement above deals with a major problem in society today: anorexia. The ad itself appears to be directed towards female teenagers and young adults due to the age of the girl looking at herself in the mirror. The advertisement plays off of the pathos of the viewing audience. The young girl depicted in the mirror appears to be pretty, skinny, and attractive, but very unsure of herself. When the viewer then looks at the back of the girl who is looking in the mirror, they are plagued by the visual of a girl with her spine showing through her skin and legs that appear to be miles apart. There seems to be no fat on her body at all. By depicting this disturbing image, the ad evokes sadness and concern from the viewer for the young girls. Not only is the image uncomfortable to look at, but it is also sad that a girl who is that thin sees herself as much heavier than she is. This feeling of sadness and worry due to the extreme misconceptions that this young girl has of her body urges young girls, as well as anyone else looking at the ad, to help individuals who have anorexia and other eating problems.
Pathos is also employed in another way in this advertisement. Many young girls today, including me, tend to focus on what they see as imperfections in themselves. Weight is one of the main areas focused on. Any young girl who is looking at this image may think, “Sometimes I feel that I’m not skinny enough either, but I would never go to that extreme.” The girl in the ad, however, doesn’t see herself as thin either. The ad itself plays into the negative feelings many girls have about their weight and body image and indicates that you may not feel thin and beautiful, but in reality, you are. This anorexia ad really reaches out to girls with self-image issues and shows that not seeing yourself as beautiful can really turn into a serious health problem.
This picture is really disturbing but so true. I know plenty of friends from high school and college who have struggled with eating disorders. Sad to think people look at themselves like this.
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