...The media and womens body image Its been argued that the western culture is a culture so consumed by image that those with fame give praise for being thin and disapproval for being fat, birthing a generation of women and girls that are often extremely self conscious about their appearance and body image. Media images of the unattainable thin body can be found almost anywhere. There has been continual interest in women’s body image throughout the years. Is there truth in the fact that women’s self-esteem and eating patterns are affected by what a woman sees in the media? Have this been researched enough to show the link between poor body image and the media’s portrayal of women and could this research allow for successful interventions to be evaluated and implemented. Could and intervention lead to fewer cases of anorexia and bulimia and could this lead to increased self-esteem and a more positive body image amongst women? The question many people want to know is if this is the case, where did these stereotypes come from exactly? Is it from the movie, television industry, fashion and beauty magazinesor is it from social and cultural influences , or maybe its just something we learn naturally. Does it really affect women and adolescent females selfworth, or does it go beyond that, leading to serious medical conditions? This paper explores the different factors that influences women body image and if the media is soley responsible for how adolescents and women view their body...
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...Jennifer Archuleta Professor Musgrave English 205 December 13, 2011 The Effects of Media on Body Image Imagine growing up in a modern day society. Everywhere you look there are images of beauty, representations of how beautiful people are supposed to look; flawless and thin. You grow up believing that this unattainable image is the only image of beauty. As you look in the mirror and see only flaws in your reflection, you rack your brain of ways to make yourself more beautiful. This becomes your obsession. Your dream is to become a model, but in the very start of your career, a fashion agent tells you that you will have to lose ten pounds in order to find work. This was the beginning of the end for former model and actress Isabelle Caro, just one of the many women affected by the media industry and the negative effects it has on body image. With Isabelle’s obsession to be thin, she battled with anorexia until it ended her life at the young age of twenty seven. In modern culture, a great deal of importance is placed on our looks and body image. This is portrayed by the media through magazine pictures, television advertisements, billboards, and the influence of models and actresses. Although the media affects both men and women, I will be showing how it specifically affects the behaviors, viewpoints, and attitudes of women. The media portrays a beautiful woman as being someone who is thin and flawless. Photographs of models that are posted in magazines are brushed-up, touched-up...
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...Abstract: This project was based on body image and social media. There are several articles which state that social media plays a huge role in the influence of young adults and the way they see themselves. The reason i did this is to show the impact either being negative or positive on the understandings of body image on young adults and that social media plays a role. The research methods used were primary and secondary as i need existing data as well as gathering new data, both were qualitative research. In this project there was an interview on a school teacher that was taken in consideration. In this report i displayed a survey and interview that was used to gather results on this subject. The survey was given online which was easier for people...
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...Media Research Assignment: Body Image “If your hair isn’t beautiful, the rest hardly matters” (an ad for shampoo). A woman in a diet ad exults, “I’d probably never be married now if I hadn’t lost 49 pounds.” Society never noticed beauty because it is too busy trying to create it. What role is media playing in the effects it has on people? Today's media in America affects social standards, and many often identify the media as their primary source of information. The mass media serves as a mediating structure between individuals and how we address identity by sending a powerful message to society: only a determined physical stereotype of beauty is valued. Reiterated by other primary agents of socialization, such as families, peers and schools, the idea is taken seriously by individuals. Body image is a complicated aspect of the self-concept that concerns an individual's perceptions and feelings about their body and physical appearance. Media negatively affects body image through ideal appearance, health issues and self-esteem. Effects of Advertisement: Society is extremely immersed in media. Media portrays the ideal body image negatively and impacts ideal appearance through magazines, commercials, and advertisement. The mass media's depiction of women portrays a standard of beauty that is unrealistic and unattainable for a majority of women in society. For example, Amy Finley, a community leader advocating advice for women, discusses a healthy message that women shouldn't...
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...in the Media According to Dove Research, The Real Truth about Beauty, only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful (“Surprising Self Esteem Statistics”). Women in the media are shown as having a body type that is unrealistic and impractical. Although mass media has many negative effects on today’s women, including low self-esteem, an increase in eating disorders and an inaccurate definition of beauty, advertisements and thin models can also serve as role-model and as inspiration. From dolls to Victoria’s Secret models, women are exposed to all types of media images that portray “the thin ideal” from a very early age. Media pressure to be thin can cause individuals to have negative thoughts about their appearance. According to psychologist Tiffanie Domil, “Body image is the way people perceive themselves, and the way they believe others perceive them” (“The Influence of Media Images”). Therefore body image is all about what we see about ourselves, and our opinions of our bodies, even though they opinions may not be exactly true. For example, one woman might think she is overweight when in reality she is perfectly healthy. There have been multiple studies done to connect media to women’s low self-esteem. One example of the effects of media is in Fiji in 1995, when televisions were introduced. Statistics show that after 38 months of being exposed to media, females started to be more conscious about their bodies and even started dieting (“The Media”). 74%...
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...attributes (such as body shape, muscle tone, bone structure, hair, makeup, and clothing). Rarely mentioning the importance of being smart, sophisticated, funny, or any other characteristics which does not involve physical attributes. The media have brainwashed our minds, with the same body type, causing us to lose confidence in ourselves. These actors and actresses displayed, show bodies which are not realistic of the general population. Self-harm has increased over the years due to body distortion, diagnoses such as depression, suicide, anorexia, substance abuse, and eating disorders...
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...popular media presents the social cultural standard on body image; the mind set that a person can never be “too rich or too thin” (Serdar). An image that is nearly impossible to be obtained, even for the idealistic female model, who struggle to be “unique”. The media has a profound effect on females and how they come to perceive their bodies, for this specific reason we need to change the societal norm. In the early 1900’s the Gibson Girl highly influenced society, much like the Barbie of the late 1900’s. Charles Dana Gibson, the creator of the...
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...BODY DISSATISFACTION: ROLE OF THE MEDIA “I allowed Social Media to define what I thought of my own body, and now I realize that no matter how thin you are, no matter how beautiful you are, someone will always call you ugly because it is impossible to please the world.” (Demi Lovato, 2014). In today’s society young women are constantly struggling mentally, physically and psychologically with accepting their own bodies. According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders (2003), this trend started since the Renaissance period where self-starvation was practiced for religious purposes, however due to the growing influence of the Media, eating disorders have become more popular in the twentieth century and as a result the death rate has climbed horrifyingly (Frey, 2003). The Media has a heavy influence on how young women in the United States view and modify their bodies to achieve a perfect body type, however this ideology can lead to negative outcomes such as; low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction and eating disorders, as well as affect other spheres of life. In examining the role of the Media and the negative effects it has on an individual one can clearly see that the issue have gotten to the point where young women live a life where they are mentally tormented and pressured to achieve one body type. Media attacks the subconscious mind and imprint false images of beauty which in turn leads to downward social comparison and allows young women to feel insecure in their own skin...
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...constantly telling women how they too can be “beautiful” by selling them weight loss products, exercise programs, and other image enhancers. The constant exposure to the media’s version of beautiful is not something that is often thought of as negative. However, their portrayal of what is beautiful has become distorted over the years, to the point where achieving this “thin-ideal”, which will be defined later, is nearly impossible for women if done through healthy means. Because of this, many women develop body dissatisfaction, which can lead to serious and dangerous consequences, such as the development of eating disorders, in order to be “beautiful”. While there are many factors that can be linked to eating disorders, research has found that the media’s influence on society’s portrayal of extremely thin females as the ideal body is directly correlated to the increase in body dissatisfaction, eating disorders and other harmful conditions found in women. By analyzing this from a feminist perspective, it can be argued that not only does the media’s influence on the idealization of thinness effect females physical and mental health negatively, but it also acts as reinforcement for the patriarchal culture prevalent in today’s society. There is a wide range of eating disorders, ranging from minor to severe. Body dissatisfaction, which is “a psychiatric condition in which the affected person suffers from a flawed perception that views some part of the body or physical feature to be...
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...The Media’s Effect on Women’s Body Image Women and young girls are obsessively trying to alter their appearance just to look like the perfect body images we see in movies and magazines. What is body image? Body image is how people picture themselves and how they think other people picture them. It is basically how you feel about your body, and it includes your imagination, emotions, and perception. Images portrayed by the media tend to make people strive to be someone else's idea of perfect, while ignoring their own goals. The media influences us through television, health magazines, fashion, music videos, film, commercials, and various other advertisements. Sadly, as a result, this frequent exposure, the "thin" ideal, can lead many young girls in triggering depression, stress, low self-esteem, and suicide. The media's ideal body image has led to wide-ranging effects including, surgical procedures, body dissatisfaction, and clinical eating disorders. In “Body Image of Women” by Tabitha Farrar, she points out that the “thin-ideal media” concept highlights thinness as a desirable thing to be even if it comes to the point of damaging a person’s health. Farrar indicated that marketers will do anything that they can to sell a product and make a profit. She also mentioned that poor body image can lead to depression, anxiety, problems in relationships, unhappiness, and various health problems. Farrar suggested that people can focus on their good qualities, work with self-esteem...
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...Society’s Influence on Eating Disorders Society today applies undo pressure on women to conform to a universal definition of beauty. This unnecessary pressure causes women to develop serious insecurities and feelings of inadequacy, which eventually lead to eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia. Without society and the media creating a false image of beauty, the percentage of women suffering from eating disorders would decrease tremendously, and women would stop trying to reach a body weight that is unhealthy and also nearly impossible to achieve. Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia can be stopped, but only if society does something to help prevent it. Anorexia Nervosa is a disorder that causes distorted perceptions of the body and a fear of gaining weight. This disorder causes self-starvation and also extreme weight loss. Those who suffer from anorexia are generally seen as being “painfully thin,” which is quite accurate because many dealing with this disorder have a bit of physical discomfort due to their low body weight (Keel 3). People with anorexia tend to develop daily rituals. Some people will count calories while others will weigh themselves after every meal (Keel 20). Because of the obsession with thinness, the rates of those suffering with this disorders has risen greatly (Keel 59). At least one out of every twenty people with anorexia dies, and when compared to other disorders, it seems to be the most deadly (Keel 16). Though not as harmful as...
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...The Media: Without Make Up On December 4, 2012, 10.3 million people impatiently gathered together to watch a very important event aired on CBS. Were 10.3 million people participating in a revolutionary debate? Or were they watching Obama give a speech about the progress of a ten-year fiasco in Afghanistan? Neither, in fact they we were gathering together to watch the 2011-2012 Victoria Secret Fashion Show. The sixth floor lounge of Day Hall, here at Syracuse University, was packed with girls ready to watch rail-thin models strut down the runway, as they eat away the pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Facebook and Twitter had millions of people updating their status about this worldwide-recognized show. Such as, “Not eating for the rest of the week,” “She is not real, how is she so perfect?” or sarcastic comments such as “I’m glad I look exactly like all those Victoria Secret models” (Profitable Objectification). This show is a perfect example of how the media negatively affects our society. Not only does the Victoria Secret Fashion show cause women to question their beauty, but it also instills unrealistic expectations of what women should look like to all the men. The media has a great influence on our view of beauty and has created a false perception of what females should look like. This has made it difficult for anyone that does not fit this ‘ideal’ body to accept themselves the way they are. Celebrities and models have become a representation of the ‘perfect’ body image...
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...Media: Mirror of Society Everywhere in the world, society keeps evolving and changing. The thoughts, mindsets, and ideas of cultures all over the world are constantly changing due to the influences of what they see. The media has always had a role in the construction of an individual’s body image and ideal self. In the article “How does the media influence our thoughts on body image?” Kayhan, Baig, Mehmi and Basra argue that during the early 20th century the ideal, beautiful woman was 5’4 tall and about 140 pounds with a small mid-section; yet, for some if not most women, in order to achieve a small waist they would be put into a Victorian hourglass corset, which shrunk the woman’s waist to a much smaller size, we still see these tactics used by today’s women. This issue isn’t only occurring in the United States, it is a worldwide problem that continues to grow. The media uses the social elite, such as athletes and actresses, to advertise products and goods; the use of these models can have significant outcomes, both negative and positive, on individuals in our society. The positive being that viewers of these magazines that advertise skinny models and fit athletes may be influenced to change their lifestyle from unhealthy to healthy. The negative being that viewer’s want to take the quickest and easiest ways in order to achieve results, which can lead to dangerous side effects and habits. So the question is, is it even worth it to try to look perfect if dangerous methods...
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...mother rewards her with plastic surgery so she can look more “caucasian” (Hidayat). The previous statement was written about young asian women in Japan and Korea. Nina Hidayat wrote an article about the expectations and body image issues for young women in Asia. When people think about body image, they only think of the US. Not many people think about how those in other countries have the same issues we do. Studies show that the more reality television a young girl watches, the more likely she is to find appearance important (Web 1). The media plays a large role in how women perceive body image and themselves (ie, magazines, internet, television, etc). The results said peers predict the negative outcomes...
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...in the struggle-technologically raped, plagued with images of flawless, stick-thin size zero women who appear to defuse perfection from the very pores of their untarnished skin. Drastic medical procedures such as elective cosmetic surgery. But still, many people in our society feel unattractive and unworthy. Attractiveness is one thing that everyone craves for but can the definition of perfect be argued? The mind of today’s society conforms painstakingly to the idealist doctrine of the perfect body image; portrayed extensively by the media the media should not have this control over what beauty is. How can one say what beauty is? Aesthetic appreciation differs from an individual’s opinion to cultural preferences. One may be fascinated by a certain eye color or skin color, beauty doesn’t depreciate if one is skinny or tall or in contrast, short and fat. The media’s influence on women talking among themselves is like listening to a bombardment of groans, whines and complaints about their appearance. Observing a women eat is to watch them pick perspicaciously through food, confronting a mental battle against calorie and fat inhibitions. women have crumpled into the furthest corners of their minds during their perpetual fantasies of looking like a model. Why aren’t there enough voluptuous models on the ramp? Why does a television advertisement for some toothpaste commercial have to be a size zero models? With constant images of stick-thin, size-zero models, tiny-waisted pop princesses...
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