[Images and representations of the female body in Brazilian magazines]

This documentary, qualitative, descriptive study has the objective to analyze images and representations of the female body and their relation to drug use in the content of articles published in four magazines with national circulation (Veja, Isto E, Boa Forma, Claúdia). The articles selected were submitted to the technique of content analysis, with three thematic groups identified: the body as an incentive to use drugs; risks to the body resulting from drug use; and the search for the perfect body through drug use. The data showed that the media reproduces rigid aesthetic standards, exposing women to social and health offenses that stimulate drug use, either autonomously or by prescription. The search for beauty and the appeal to feminine eroticism, published through the communication channels analyzed limit the social importance of women by using images that link them to the status of sexual object.