Beauty is a cruel mistress. Every day, Americans are bombarded with images of flawless women with perfect hair and smooth skin, tiny waists and generous breasts. They are presented to us wrapped in designer clothes, looking sultry or lively or somewhere in between. And while the image itself is fascinating, the reality behind the face is much more sinister. They are representations of beauty ideals, sirens silently screaming “this is what a woman should look like!” Through the means of media distribution and physical alteration, technology has created unrealistic beauty ideals, resulting in distorted images of the female body. Female beauty ideals are an overwhelming force in teen media. Approximately 37% of articles in major magazines for teenage girls place an emphasis on physical appearance. This is not surprising considering that two of the main contenders in this media genre are Seventeen and Teen Vogue. CosmoGIRL and Elle Girl used to be among the popular teen magazines, but in recent years they have become exclusively online publications. Add a dash of Tiger Beat and Bop releases, and it becomes blatantly obvious that girls are given the prime directive of looking good to get the guy. The story becomes more disturbing when you consider the actual audience, which includes girls as young as eleven. At a time when girls are first trying to establish their identity, best-selling publications tell them that their appearance should be their primary concern. Of course, this trend doesn't stop at magazines. A study conducted in 1996 found a direct correlation between the “amount of time a teenager watches television series, movies, and music videos” and… half of the paper… f Social Workers, November 2001. Web . April 8, 2010. “Body image and nutrition.” Adolescent health and the media. Teen Futures Media Network, College of Education, University of Washington, October 2009. Web. 8 April 2010. view.cgi?section=bodyimage&page=fastfacts>. "Statistics of the national cosmetic surgery database". National Database of Cosmetic Surgery. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, January 1, 2010.Web. April 8, 2010.2009stats.pdf>.Killing Us Softly 3. Dir. Sut Jhally. Media Education Foundation, 1999.Google Video. Network. 8 April 2010. videoplay?docid=-1993368502337678412&ei=dYW6S5bnG4LorgKDo4HJBg&q=killing+us+softl y+3#>.