Gender roles and body image

after looking at some of the articles at Rookie, I noticed this article called "The Year of My Eating Disorder". The article talks about how this girl, who was a sixth grader at the time, was anorexic and how she overcame it. My initial reaction was that no sixth grader should ever be that self-conscious of their weight or how they look. However, this got me thinking about the discussion that we had about body image in class the other day. I never realized that the media was starting to affect kids at such a young age. I mean I've seen the Tyra episodes and the Dove commercials that talk about how little girls get depressed about how they look, but I never really believed them. Looking at the article made me think about how much this particular stereotype has shaped the way women think. There are so many advertisement that show women with thin bodies and sex appeal and other images where they are well toned and have defined muscles. I realized that there are so many of these ads that feature women, who are models, that fit that description. It's strange to think that a picture or a video can make someone think that you aren't pretty or that you aren't unique in your own way. i think that this article really opens your eyes as to how thinking about women as sex objects and pressuring body images can change the female psyche.