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My final zine

I was really happy with how the zine came together and what I created. The paper choice and how it was printed worked really well. I really wanted my zine to look simplistic so that people viewing could really process the images that they were seeing. The paper style and font was picked to help create a ‘journal’ look to enhance my idea. I wanted to split the images up with quotes to give people time to process the images that they were seeing and read quotes from people about the issue. 

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Inspiration

https://www.kekemagazine.com/2017/03/14/women-in-media/ 

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Final model images

These are the final model images that I chose for my zine. I think there is a good combination of colours, outfits, poses and unrealisticness which add to the zine very well. These images were all sourced from unsplash and references to the artists have been added at the back of the zine. 

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Final Young Girl Images

I was really happy with these final images and how they turned out. The lighting was good, model was crisp and background was clear. I was also really happy with the poses and facial expressions. These images came out exactly how I had imagined and are a great match with the ‘unrealistic’ model photos that I had picked.

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Model Images

From the start, I knew that I wanted to use unsplash to find all of my images. It is a great website where you can find all sorts of stunning, high quality images that photographers have given permission to.

I originally started off my just finding model shots of woman that looked beautiful. Ones with lots of makeup and shots of woman looking very beautiful and unachievable.

I then decided to progress further and pick images of woman that were even more unrealistic with body shape included. I wanted to find images of models with their whole body shown to communicate the idea that models are unachievably thin. I also wanted to find images of models doing the classic ‘model poses’ so that my young girl model could try to replicate them and progress the idea further. 

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The Effects of the Media on Self-Esteem of Young Girls

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279241420_The_Effects_of_the_Media_on_Self-Esteem_of_Young_Girls

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Updated Images

Updated images with a new and more simpe outfit and better lighting with better backdrop. Still wanted to progress further though with model actually replicating the pose that the model was doing.

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Woman in Media Poem

I love my body! We all know that's a lie, you just googled how many calories are in toothpaste Your head is always buzzing with calorie counts and goal weights, it feels like it will never end.

There are monsters in my head saying "You shouldn't eat that, you'll gain weight" No, my mistake, they are not monsters, they are voices Intelligent voices.

You search for the calorie count before eating anything 100, 200, no more than 300 or your thighs will inflate! "Skinny is pretty" "Pretty is skinny" That's what we tell ourselves A perfect body is all that matters.

Little do people know You wait until everyone is asleep, you shove your fingers down your throat and feel the daises rising from the empty pits of your stomach travelling up and out spills the garden It will force itself out of your mouth but you'll be happy because at least you're not eating!

You learn things over time, like To suck in your stomach until each one of your ribs are on display You learn to make jokes about the apple that's supposed to be your breakfast, lunch and dinner. You spend hours rehearsing lies to tell people when they ask if you're okay because they don't understand why you do this, You don't understand why you do it!

Skinny girls bleed blossoms they're beautiful How could a monster... No How could an intelligent voice make such pretty girls Pretty, skinny, flawless girls.

There are 206 bones in the human body On you, they each stick out like daggers ready to cut anyone who tries to 'help' because God forbid you can't see your hip bone!

Don't you wish you had the control to shrink because you are tired of dividing your meals by two... You learned maths this way! You thought you would be happier like this, but you're not Ever inch of your body aches from hunger.

Why do we obsess over being skinny Having arms and legs that could snap! You're scared to bring lunch to school because you might be tempted to eat? It's okay to eat and not spit it out into the napkin you keep prepared in your bag!

Girls everywhere think it's normal to think these things, to act out on these things, but why? Our world is messed up, corrupt yet we listen to the stupid things society tells us "You must be skinny to be pretty" "You must be pretty to be liked" "If you are bigger, you are ugly" Why do we listen to these things? Think about it, this is the same society that dab every time they achieve something.

You are beautiful and amazing and perfect just the way you are Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise!

Source: https://weheartit.com/articles/294844723-pretty-girl-a-poem-about-how-women-are-portrayed-in-the-media-and-how-it-effects-young-girls

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My Idea Updated

In the end I came to the conclusion that it would be more powerful to get my young girl to see pictures of the model that she had to try and recreate. I feel that this made my images and zine more impactful as the audience can see the girl really struggling to look like the model. This shows how unrealistic it is for girls to look like the models in the media. I wanted to bring to light the problem with woman in the media and how it makes young girls feel and how it gives them an unrealistic idea of ‘perfect’. 

I wanted to split my images up with quotes from influential people that represented how I felt. All of these quotes contribute to the idea I am trying to get across and help the reader to think about it more. 

I wanted the font and paper style to represent the ‘journal’ style. I wanted it to look like it was something that a young girl would be writing in a journal which helps to make my idea more powerful.

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Project Inspiration

We’ve long understood movies, magazines and television damage young girls’ body image by enforcing a “thin ideal.” However, just how much impact they have was not discovered by me until I found a passion for body activism through Ashley Graham.

It was through her talks and further educating myself that one statistic after another kept proving there is clear evidence linking media and social media viewing to body image issues in young women, yet nothing is being done to stop it.

Some of the information I stumbled upon was staggering. A study conducted found 53% of 13-year-old American girls are unhappy with their bodies. That number grew to 78% by the time they reach 17. Another in Australia found seeing thin models in magazines made girls feel they weren’t pretty, or thin enough. Another, over 80% of 10-year-old American girls are afraid they are fat, and another found over 30% of 10 – 14-year-olds are actively dieting.

Dina Borzekowski, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health notes: “Social media has a stronger impact on children’s body image than traditional media. Messages are more targeted and if the message comes from a friend it is perceived as more credible.” She also emphasized children most at risk are those with more exposure to media messages and less exposure to rational, clear messages from supportive adults.

So, how do we, as adults, become that rational, clear voice that overpowers all the other messages young girls are bombarded with? We do it by leading by example.

We stop the shame cycle that comes with not fitting “the perfect body” image the fashion or fitness industry deems worthy.

We tell girls only 5% of the population can obtain the bodies seen in magazines without the help of being photoshopped.

We celebrate our bodies, our imperfections, and cellulite.

We radiate confidence by loving who we are and foster self-love from a young age.

So, ladies, it is time to give the media a new message. That message is, we, as women, love ourselves just as we are.

We love the bodies we stand in!

— Published on December 18, 2017

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/media-impact-on-young-girls-body-image/

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First Shoot

These are some images from my first shoot that I did. It was more a trial of how I wanted the images and the layout to be. I didnt think that the lighting or outfit choice was good enough. I wanted to make the lighting more crisp with just a simple white background so all of the focus was on the model. I also wanted to progress my idea so that the model was trying to replicate the images of woman that she saw. I thought that this would have a much more effective message and would help get my ideas out better. 

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My Idea

My idea is to create a zine that focuses on the theme of woman and the media. In particular, the way that magazines create the idea of a ‘perfect woman’ to young girls. Young girls are consistently being shown skinny, dolled up, ‘perfect’ images of woman setting an unrealistic example to young girls. This is very alarming and causes young girls to feel that they are “not pretty”, “ugly” or “fat”. My idea for my zine is that I want to show images of a young girl who is trying to look pretty. I want this girl to be looking in different directions. When these images are put into my zine, I want the direction of the girls eyes to be directed towards an image of a ‘perfect woman’. I feel as though this will be very effective and engaging for viewers. I took the inspiration from a zine that I read titled ‘casting’. Throughout the zine, I am also wanting to include quotes from woman addressing this social issue

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/wjbbbb/how-feminist-zine-culture-has-evolved

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This is another zine that I took inspiration from. This one focused on Woman in the media and had a more broad approach to feminism and representation in the media. I thought that this zine was very effective as it had a wide variety of content and images. It had things like quotes, songs and images to keep viewers engaged and learning. I think this zine brought the issue to light very well and really got their message across clearly. I really like the personalised touch of the handwritten components and journal styled fonts and backgrounds. 

To view the full online version of this zine click on the link below: https://issuu.com/lucysugar/docs/zine_scan_11a70f2e2631fd

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This was a very interesting Zine and probably my favourite one I have come across so far. I really loved how the magazine cut-outs moved over the images behind to combine the images together. I thought this was really effective and really helped draw you in as a viewer. The ideas/themes behind this zine were clear although I thought that maybe it could have been a bit clearer. Overall I thought it was a really great zine that was well thought out and made really well.