Response to Iron Maiden

Michael Jacobson and Laurie Anne Mazur are right on target when they discuss women and the pressure from society for them to be thin in their article The Iron Maiden: how advertising portrays women. Whether it be in magazine articles, internet ads, or on billboards—everywhere we look there are pictures of skinny, beautiful, seductive models showing women just how bad their imperfections really are. In this article, they compare the idealistic body of a female to that of a torture device called “The Iron Maiden” used in medieval times. The device has a woman painted on the outside and the inside is lined with spikes on the inside. The victims eventually die trapped inside the torture device. What a great analogy this is! It is almost to say as if some women are trapped inside their own bodies constantly consumed and obsessed with their imperfections. Some women even strive so hard to maintain this perfect body that they eventually die. Eating disorders are a huge problem in America and—they are often deadly. It is so important for young girls to read articles such as this one to open their eyes to how fake these women that they see on these magazine covers really are. Most pictures in magazines are airbrushed to extreme amounts—to the point that if we were to ever see some of these woman walking down the streets we probably would not be able to identify them. If these women do not even look like they do on the magazine covers than how is it possible for other women to obtain this look? Men are also facing issues with their bodies in the media as well. They have a lot of pressure to be “buff” and muscled up. Some men even resort to steroids which can often be lethal just as an eating disorder can be to women. Though men have pressure too, there is still no comparison to the pressure that women face from society to look a certain way. As women, we have this idea that men will not want us if we are not a certain weight or look a particular way. It is sad to see society so consumed with looks and not what is on the inside. Can we ever be happy with ourselves? It is important to stay true to ourselves and not get caught up in the pressures to be “perfect.”