Femininity and the Media

We see and hear all the time from commercials and other forms of advertisement how females are supposed to look. But we also hear so often that the girls in these ads are photo shopped and retouched to make that result someone that is not really a person. But when you hear two opposite things so often, what are you supposed to believe? Is it true that these girls aren't real, or that we all should actually look like them? Just like every other girl, I'm not confident in myself all the time. It's true that the kinds of advertisements that are out there that we saw in the video Killing Us Softly 4 can make a girl feel bad, but while watching the video, I realized that I have learned to tune out some messages that these companies are sending. I think part of it is that I see the same kinds of ads over and over during the years so they stop having an effect, but also I've come to accept aspects of myself. For example, I'm barely 5 foot 1 so I know its actually impossible for me to be taller and have the "perfect body" the media portrays. I've found that stressing over literally unattainable things is wasted energy. I believe that God made every person with a specific purpose and we are all made in his image. God thinks we all are beautiful and knows the number of every hair on everyone's heads. By keeping that in mind, it puts things in perspective for me that if the Creator of everything loves me for who I am, then who do I need to impress or change myself for?  However, its tough for me too keep this mindset when people tell me they don't like things about me. I remember in middle school, another girl who wasn't even my friend came up to me and told me my hair looked bad, that was seven years ago and I still remember it and it still makes me self concious. So we don't only have the media to blame, its the people who we see in public, the ones who's opinions we worry about that make us see ourselves is poorly.