This thesis looks at the changes of beauty canons in parallel with the refinement of media communications and the development of consumer society as well as the impact of media images on women. It analyses the ways women are pressured to conform to the thin ideal images imposed on them, and how these pressures are targeted at women of all ages – from childhood to maturity. It observes how compliance with certain models has become bound to success, and how women’s lifestyles and relationships are affected as a consequence. Finally, this thesis considers the position of the media with regards to this phenomenon of collective “aspiration to beauty” of their creation, and the extent to which they accept responsibility for the deleterious effects they engender.