There have been a few successful attempts to broaden the beauty ideal.

TV viewers have embraced the bushy-browed, braces-wearing "Ugly Betty," while advertiser Dove has successfully launched a "Campaign for Real Beauty" that includes women with tummy rolls and wrinkles.

But, Cottle says, those examples go against the flow.

Recent studies have found that a growing number of young adults are more narcissistic and materialistic than their predecessors. And more of them are seeking spa treatments, plastic surgery and anti-aging remedies at younger and younger ages.

It's gotten to the point that image is the "currency" on which youth culture runs, says Jessica Weiner, a Los Angeles-based author and public speaker who specializes in young people and self-esteem.

"We have flung so far out of control in this society based on appearances," Weiner says. "We're incredibly more focussed on image than we were even 10 years ago."

Denise Fedewa, an executive vice president and planning director at ad agency Leo Burnett USA, also has noticed an obsession with image in her work in other countries, such as Japan and India, where more career opportunities are opening up for women.

"It's interesting how much they rely on designer brands and having certain accessories that say certain things about them — to say, 'I'm a woman on the rise and doing well,"' Fedewa says.

Not that focusing on image is always a bad thing. Many young people who are starting careers, for instance, work at looking more professional.

"My appearance is not only important, but crucial," says Tyler Barnett, a 23-year-old Los Angeles resident who started a public relations firm and often works with clients over 40 who ask how old he is.

He tells them he's "not quite 30" — and says he's able to earn their respect partly because he dresses the part of a seasoned professional.

That's fine, Weiner says.

The problems come when people get so wrapped up in image that they lose themselves. "They're trying to emulate an image given to them that's really not encouraging them to discover who they are, truthfully," Weiner says.

It's that much worse, she adds, when discrimination based on image becomes a "very public hazing," as she believes it did at DePauw.

Young people elsewhere concede that they often can be one another's worst enemy.

Joelle Epps, an 18-year-old New Yorker, sees it all the time at her Bronx high school — particularly pressure for girls to "wear piles of makeup" and sexy clothing.

Phil Lawson, a senior at Centre College in Danville, Ky., says he and his fraternity buddies often comment on people's looks and weight.

"We jokingly do that stuff — and it often goes unchecked," he says. "But in the back of my mind, I think about it."

Once an overweight kid, Lawson knows what it's like to be teased — and yet, he doesn't always feel comfortable calling his friends on their comments. "I think we could all be more sympathetic," he says.

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