That Famous Fig Leaf. Chad W. Thompson

of magazine covers you see today.

      Yet if, even in this more “innocent” era, people struggled with body image issues, one can hardly imagine what the pressure is like for teens today. Popular culture has created an archetype of physique that only a small percentage of the population can possibly live up to. The anxiety created by this phenomenon creates a social climate in which many youth view group showers as a form of water torture. The scrutiny is just too intense.

      According to the New York Times:

      Modesty among young people today seems, in some ways, out of step in a culture that sells and celebrates the uncovered body in advertisements, on television and in movies. But some health and physical education experts contend that many students withdraw precisely because of the overload of erotic images—so many perfectly toned bodies cannot help but leave ordinary mortals feeling a bit inadequate.89