ICONS OF BEAUTY are conning the American woman into a costly, dangerous and futile pursuit: the perfect body.

Her story is never the same.

photo: Ellen Fisher Turk

Ana battled the mirror daily.

Claire banned food, and then binged.

Makeda donned a veil.

Carla became thin by accident.

Erin was thin for a living.

Raven became a diva.

But every woman’s story contains common threads. The media, the diet industry and culture all come into play.

The media promote a biologically unattainable ideal.
The diet industry promises to deliver it.
Food has become a tempting taboo.
Plastic surgery has upped the ante of perfection.

But many women are fighting back by rejecting culturally imposed beauty standards and replacing them with their own, individual version of beauty.