Nearly 90 percent of girls feel pressure from the media to be thin, according to research conducted by Girl Scouts of the USA, or GSUSA.

Because of issues such as this, the Healthy Media for Youth Act was introduced to promote positive images of girls and women.

“The Healthy Media for Youth Act is the ‘take action’ project of the Confidence Coalition, an alliance of organizations, companies and individuals who are committed to building confidence in girls and women,” said Heidi Roy, director of communications at Kappa Delta Sorority’s Memphis, Tenn. national headquarters.

The act’s development is a collaboration of Kappa Delta and the GSUSA. On March 24, the act was introduced by U.S. Representatives Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va.

“The act is about trying to sort out the truth from the images being shown in the media,” said Betsy Connell, assistant program director of the older girl program for the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia.

The bill would promote healthy media messages about girls and women by establishing a grant program to support media literacy and youth empowerment organizations.

Kappa Delta and the Girl Scouts are pushing for fewer depictions of objectified women in the media. PHOTO BY EMILY KAROL.

The bill would also facilitate research on the effect of media images on youth as well as create a national task force on women and girls in the media.

“We want our girls to choose role models who are realistic, not the imitation people who are sometimes seen in the media,” Connell said.

GSUSA’s research found that 80 percent of girls would rather see real or natural images of women, rather than the “Photoshopped” ones that flood television and magazines.

“If they don’t feel good about themselves, they will make unhealthy choices,” said Cheryl Legette, community relations officer for the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia.

The research also found that 55 percent of teen girls admit they diet.

Going even further, 37 percent of teen girls admit to starving themselves to lose weight.

Additionally, three of the most common mental health problems among girls — eating disorders, depression or depressed mood and low self-esteem — are linked to the sexualization of girls and women in the media.

“Television, magazines and movies play a big role in many girls’ lives,” Roy said. “These images can chip away at their self-esteem and healthy body image.”

Legette said the promotion of healthier media images is a grass roots campaign.

“Our whole goal, at the end of the day, is to make sure our girls are leaders and that they are confident and feel good about themselves,” she said.