style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/B) Why are standards of beauty being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger and more mature than any of the models? The roots, some analysts say, are economic. By presenting an ideal difficult to achieve and maintain, the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. And it' s no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an essential criterion of beauty. If not all women need to lose weight, for sure they're all aging, says the Quebec Action Network for Women's Health in its 2001 report.And, according to the industry, age is a disaster that needs to be dealt with.
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/C) The stakes are huge. On the one hand,women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth anywhere between 40 to 100 billion (U.S.) a year selling temporary weight loss (90% to 95% of dieters regain the lost weight). On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young,air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/D) The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control--including fasting,skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative ( 泻药) abuse, and self-induced vomiting. The pressure to be thin is also affecting young girls:the Canadian Women's Health Network warns that weight control measures are now being taken by girls as young as 5 and 6. American stat is-tics are similar.Several studies, such as one conducted by Marika Tiggemann and Levina Clark in 2006 titled" Appearance Culture in 9-to-12-Year-Old Girls: Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction," indicate that nearly half of all preadolescent girls wish to be thinner, and as a result have engaged in a diet or are aware of the concept of dieting. In 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35 percent of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that 50 to 70percent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight. Overall research indicates that 90%of women are dissatisfied with their appearance in some way. Media activist Jean Kilbourne concludes that, "Women are sold tothe diet industry by the magazines we read and the televise on programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight."
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/E) Perhaps the most disturbing is the factthat media images of female beauty are unattainable for all but a very small number of women. Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions, for example, found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half aliver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea(慢性腹泻)and eventually die from malnutrition. Jill Barad, President of Mattel (which manufactures Barbie), estimated that 99% of girls aged 3 to 10years old own at least one Barbie doll. Still, the number of real life women and girls who seek a similarly underweight body is epidemic, and they can suffer equally devastating health consequences. In 2006 it was estimated that up to 450,000 Canadian women were affected by an eating disorder.
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/F) Researchers report that women's magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men's magazines do, and over three-quarters of the covers of women's magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman's bodily appearance-by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery. Television and movies reinforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of a woman' s worth.Canadian researcher Gregory Fouts reports that over three-quarters of the female characters in TV situation comedies are underweight, and only one in twenty are above average in size. Heavier actresses tend to receive negative comments from male characters about their bodies ("How about wearing a sack?), and 80 percent of these negative comments are followed by canned audience laughter.
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/G) There have been efforts in the magazine industry to buck (抵制，反抗)the trend. For several years the Quebec magazine Coup de Pouce has consistently included full-sized women in their fashion pages and Chatelaine has pledged not to touch up photos and not to include models less than 25 years of age. In Madrid, one of the world's biggest fashion capitals, ultra-thin models were banned from the runway in 2006. Furthermore Spain has recently undergone a project with the aim to standardize clothing sizes through using a unique process in which a laser beam is used to measure real life women' s bodies in order to find the most true to life measurement.
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/H) Another issue is the representation of ethnically diverse women in the media. A 2008 study conducted by Juanita Covertand Travis Dixon titled "A Changing View: Representation and Effects of the Portrayal of Women of Color in Mainstream Women's Magazines" found that although there was an increase in the representation of women of color,overall white women were over represented in mainstream women' s magazines from 1999 to 2004.
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/I) The barrage of messages about thinness,dieting and beauty tells "ordinary" women that they are always in need of adjustment--and that the female body is an object to be perfected. Jean Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming presence of media images of painfully thin women means that real women's bodies have become invisible in the mass media. The real tragedy, Kilbourne concludes, is that many women internalize these stereotypes, and judge themselves by the beauty industry's standards.Women learn to compare themselves to other women, and to compete with them for male attention. This focus on beauty and desirability "effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate."

style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/B）The dating marketplace is crowded．Online dating，once stigmatized（使受耻辱），is now main-sffeam. Eharmony，founded in 2000，today competes with niche sites catering for users from vegetarians to Ayn Rand fans，as well as social media and apps such as Tinder．Though Dr．Warren patently sees his site，which claims to have been responsible for 600，000 marriages，as a cut above those facilitating mere hookups．“Tinder and eHarmony are in two different businesses．Tinder is very superficial；it’s based on looks．’’
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/C）Dr．Warren wants to broaden eHarmony’s appeal and become a “relationship company”．Not just making love and job matches but also fixing retirees up with advisers and the isolated with friends．He sees loneliness as one of the biggest problems in modem society．Technology，he concedes，is a double-edged sword，both contributing to and combating isolation．
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/D）But first he is going after the jobs giants，Linkedln and Monster．In December eHarmony’s subsidiary Elevated Careers will launch in the US．Dr．Warren believes there is an untapped market of unfulfilled professionals．“0ver 70 percent of employees identify themselves as not engaged or actively disengaged from theft jobs．We think we Call reduce the amount of turnover and raise the level of productivity for companies by matching candidates with the job，in the career，with the company．’’He insists he can counter the modem career pattern of serial jobs in multiple companies and turn employees monogamous（一夫一妻制）．The fallout of those who flit from job to job is far-reaching, he says．His wife’s father, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate，moved jobs 17 times．“That has an impact”, he says．“When a person is unhappy at their job，it affects their home fife，their marriage，their personal relationships，and their relationships with their co-workers．[It has]a negative effect on the productivity of the organisations for which they are working．”So for the past two years he has set social scientists and technology employees to work on the criteria and algorithms（算法）that will help employees and employers find “the one”．The dating site asks sub—scribers to answer about l50 questions to help identify values and personality．So Dr．Warren envisages（设想）a questionnaire to unearth a candidate’s skills，expectation of culture and personality．
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/E）Few recruiters do well on matching an employee with a company culture，he says，“The majority of the workforce change jobs for reasons directly related to company culture．It is imperative we bring candidates verifiable company-culture data that matches to their core work values so they can find the best possible opportunities to experience a meaningful and emotional connection with their work．’’The details of such data remain secret．Dr．Warren knows about being faithful to one career．He worked as a relationship psychologist for 40 years before setting up eHarmony．Originally from as mall town in Iowa，he went to a school attended by only l7 pupils．He was the only child in his class．“I came both first and last。”he jokes．His father was a “true entrepreneur”who，says Dr．Warren，“owned the town”．
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/F）Dr：Warren’s brother-in-law took an interest in him as a teenager and encouraged his intellectual curiosity-no one else in his family had been to university．He studied at Princeton Theological Seminary before doing a PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Chica90．His interest in relationships came from his Christian beliefs but also a sense that despite their 70-year marriage，his parents were incompatible．“My father was brilliant，very vital．He liked to talk about big things like the Middle East but my mother couldn’t keep up with him．They didn’t talk about much．”
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/G）He says the relationship still worked very well for their children：“They never said anything sarcastic to each other。”But his parents’ example instilled in him the belief that a “long marriage is not necessarily a great marriage”．So Dr．Warren set up as a marriage counselor，seeing more than 7，700 people over the decades．The counseling only confirmed his convictions that divorce was due to incompatibility that should have been evident before the wedding．“I thought people had found the wrong person．They had never received any training about who they should meet．”
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/H）Pre-marital counseling did not seem to work．“I never had one couple cancel their wedding as a re-suit．”He recalls one session in which the man told his fianc6e：‘‘Nothing this mall says will stop me marrying you．”It was this that set him-together with his son-in-law-on the idea of matchmaking online．Dr. Warren had also reached a point in his career when his work had become “samey”．Despite diversifying into writing relationship books and running seminars，he craved stimulation．So in 2000，just before the dotcom bubble burst，the pair managed to raise$2.5m funding．
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/I）It was difficult to find subscribers at the start，he says，because internet dating was relatively new．The first users tended to be those living in sparsely populated areas so there were a lot of long-distance relationships．But gradually，the California-based site grew．In 2007 he stood down from the privately owned company and moved to Maine with his wife to enjoy their 30-acre grounds．complete with golf course，swimming pool and tennis courts．Despite trying to stay active，he got bored，and，convinced that his company had lost its way，returned as chief executive．
style=color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Microsoft YaHei"; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);/J）During retirement he read a lot of books about comeback kings such as Starbucks’ Howard Schultz and Steve Jobs．He felt “glad to have a chance to run the company as he wanted it”．In doing so he cut his staff from 320 to 190 and says the reorganisation is aligned with his views on job-matching．“We matched people with the fight jobs in our own company．”Can the 79-year-old grandfather keep on working?“I don’t think I'll ever retire．I was bored in retirement．”He hopes，however，that the company’s chief operating officer will take over when that day eventually comes．“He’s a verb and I'm a noun." What does he mean?“I'm more of a visionary and he’s more of a doer。"