We usually begin developing our self-esteem as young children. Preference for physical attractiveness begins at infancy. During our preschool years, children have cultural ideas of physical beauty due to the media and social interactions with peers. Early developing girls have less positive body images than boys, which greatly contributes to self-esteem. Boys however, are the opposite. If they mature early, they are taller, stronger, etc., and have a better self-esteem. Both boys and girls that are perceived as less attractive usually have a lower self-esteem. Low self-esteem in adolescence is linked primarily to appearance and peers. If a certain individual or group of peers fail to include a specific person, often times that person is left feeling unimportant, ugly, fat, or just not good enough. When such feelings are constant many problems can arise. In extreme cases, suicide, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and self-mutilation can appear (McKauley, 1999). In this paper, I will discuss several factors that contribute to the low self-esteem in adolescent females.


Webster¡¦s dictionary defines self-esteem as "an objective respect for or favorable impression of oneself. This simply means how you feel about yourself. Dr. Nathan Foster states that ¡§Self-esteem is the experience of being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life, and of being worthy of happiness¡¨ (McKauley, 1999).


Media Roles in...