Every woman struggles with her body image, whether she is constantly in the media or not.
The question is: how do media outlets affect how women think they should look? The answer is: A LOT.
A real example of this is actress Hayden Panettiere.
The "Heroes" star recently did an interview with Woman's Health magazine.
She revealed that when she was just 16-years-old, a tabloid magazine published a photo of her backside with the word "cellulite" plastered across the image.
"I was mortified," the "Nashville" actress, now 23, told the October issue of Women's Health. "It gave me such body dysmorphia for so long. But I remember reminding myself that beauty is an opinion, not a fact. And it has always made me feel better."
Panettiere said that for exercise she regularly takes the stairs and often attends Bikram yoga classes, according to Us magazine. And though she loves eating healthy foods like egg whites and strawberries, the Whaleman Foundation spokeswoman doesn't follow a particular diet. "Eating healthy is a constant battle. I love chips," Panettiere told the magazine. "I find when I'm overly concerned about what I eat, I stress out my body and put on weight."
The actress said she tries to eat healthy but doesn't "go crazy over it."
"I mean, you gotta eat," she explained.
Panettiere said she's working on the inside as much as the outside.
"People can tell when you're happy with being you and when you're not. It's only cheesy because it's true," she told Women's Health. "As I've gotten older and grown into my body, I've started realizing that the way you carry yourself and that light coming out of your eyes are the most attractive things about you."
According to the Examiner, Panettiere also strength-trains, but prefers to lift low weights at high reps so as to not get stocky. Her best friend helps her with walking up the stairs.
"My best friend, Amy, has an elevator phobia, so we always take the stairs," she says. "We will walk 12 flights. It's less embarrassing than getting into an elevator with her."
According to Counsel Heal, women struggle with body issues all the time, for example Demi Lovato's battle with Bulimia.
"Women in general suffer from self-image issues be it small scale self-consciousness to full on therapy, and medication warranted disorders," CounselHeal said. "Even women who are vain, self-proclaimed beauties would not feel so confident without the outside validation that they use to fuel that fire: if anything those women, more than their less confident counterparts, would crumble under insults, male inattention and pity.
"But, to have your greatest insecurities not only photographed but published by the millions to a nation-wide audience would make any women adopt a disorder of her own.
"There is no such thing as a universal beauty."
Kate Middleton's topless photos are an example of how the media can mess with images of women, even if it wasn't really meant to be like that.
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