...magazines and television advertisements are 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...
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...Aviva Hurvitz 24 November 2015 Feminism and the Media Representation of Women in the 1970’s Major social change happens when enough people strongly believe in it. The media influences public opinion and thus has the ability to support or destroy these social change movements. In the 1970’s, the second wave feminist movement was attempting to create wide spread social change. Its leading organization, the National Organization for Women (NOW), was focused on dismantling workplace inequality, such as denial of access to better jobs and salary inequity, and protecting women’s rights, such as stopping domestic violence. They attempted to do this through creating legislation and changing public opinion. The media’s representation of women overall at this time counteracted these goals. By creating a derogatory picture of the “feminist”, the media made her unsympathetic to the public. Rather than creating support for the core goals of the feminist movement, the media focused on more controversial topics, specifically gay rights. This negative media coverage of the women’s movement hurt its ability to implement meaningful legislation, such as the Equal Rights Amendment. The way in which print media degraded women, demonized feminists, and connected feminism to controversial topics damaged the progress of second wave feminism in the 1970’s. The definition of a feminist is a person who believes in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes (Miriam Webster...
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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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...Introduction In mass media today, there are numerous gaps between reality and the information that is presented. Seemingly every current issue, whether it’s political, social or otherwise, is reported through so many different outlets and with so many different facts that it’s hard to grasp what the reality is. The role of media in democracy is to represent every perspective and to provide well-researched and accurate information to create an educated and involved society. Media’s representations impact our society’s perception and shared reality. The way media represents a certain topic creates a public perception. Because of media framing, they can show us certain sides of an issue or shine a light on one perspective while effectively dimming the light on another. Because of this, we create perceptions based off of information that may not be whole. With these perceptions, we begin to construct a social reality. Once this reality is created, it is difficult to change it even if we find contradicting information. Because of these reasons, the way media represents information is crucial. The issue that will be discussed in this paper is that of gay marriage, stereotypes of homosexuals, and the scientific side of homosexuality. The way media has represented this topic over the past 30 years has varied immensely. We’ve come a long way over the past couple decades and homosexuality is now widely discussed in all forms of media including news, television, advertisements, movies...
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...Taylor Barto English 101 Holman 4/4/2012 Portrayal of Women in the Media In society today attractiveness can be the base of the empire that one builds. A certain look could be the entire reason someone gets a role in a movie or television show. Everything today is flashier, bigger, better, and more glamorous than before so why would women fall to any exception? These women on television can all play different roles, for example, the corporate climber, the supermom, the social butterfly, the ruthless villainess, but they all have one common denominator; their attractiveness. The women seen on television are beautiful, thin, and primarily white. These are the types of women the media wants us to strive to be like because it boosts their ratings. How many people would watch a television show about someone’s life that was less successful and less attractive? Many would agree that the last 30 years some progress has been made in how the media portray women in film, television, and magazines and there has also been a growth in the presence and influence of women in the media. Nevertheless, female stereotypes continue to thrive in the media we view every day. The media’s portrayal of women plays a significant impact on the effects to body image and self-esteem to implications in sports and politics. One current popular show that many young adults watch on television is a show, Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl follows the lives of Manhattan’s Upper East Side socialites. Each show...
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...AMERICAN POLITICS AND THE MEDIA A love story The impact of the media on American politics has several different outlets. Today people have a variety of choices in where they choose to get their news from, they can use the internet, evening news locally or internationally, and even read the newspaper. No matter the source they choose they still get a “version” of the story. The media is a force to be reckoned with for politics because it seems that the more money the Politicians have the more influence they have. What we see on television is not real, on some level it is all fabricated. From the set to the hair and make-up we see what they want us to see, and it’s no different for the stories the media chooses to highlight as the important topic. Politics is an organization of professional manipulation of the masses and will continue to be just that until people can make their own choices. Unfortunately for politicians...
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...with issues involving confidence and body image. Whether it’s the size of your nose or the size of your lips, hair or skin color, More than 90 percent of girls – age 15 to 17 years – want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance. Body weight of course ranking in at the highest. Images in the media today project an unrealistic and even dangerous standard of feminine beauty that can have a powerful influence on the way women view themselves. Young girls are buying into waist training belts and lip injections just to fulfill the image of celebrities that they admire such as Kylie Jenner and Nicki Minaj. Images of Women in the Media Thinness is idealized and expected for women to be considered “attractive”. The media is bombarded with images of women who fulfill these unrealistic standards. Making it seem as if it is normal for women to live...
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...Nursing’s Public Image How does the public view nursing? From its earliest beginnings, the profession of nursing has revolved around human needs. One of the greatest strengths of nursing is the extensive range of opportunities and options that it has to offer. There are many different levels of practice, specialties, and there are always opportunities to advance in the nursing profession. With nurses playing a major role in designing the new healthcare system in the United States, now there is an even greater need for a positive public image of nursing. However, nursing's contributions to healthcare may be transparent or even ignored by the public and the media. The media has an immense effect on the perceptions of society. Therefore, any misrepresentation of the nursing profession by the media may negatively affect nursing's public image. As nurses, we have a responsibility to the entire nursing profession to protect our image, and take action to ensure that the public is not mislead by the media. Over time, there have been many images of nurses purported by the media. Nurses play roles in movies, television series, plays, books, and in reality they may be seen on the news or in newspapers. Some suggest that these media portrayals are solely to blame for the public's misconceptions or stereotypes regarding nursing. In actuality, the public image of nursing has evolved as the nursing profession has evolved, even before media influence was a factor. In the late 1800's through...
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...Today, racism seems like an old-fashioned term. That’s not to say that it’s rare that racism isn’t found in America, but the majority of Americans will most likely agree that most people have abandoned racism. In fact, 1 in every 5 couples in the US will be interracial. Yet, despite popular belief, racism is still very prominent in America, especially within the media. The media has the power to influence the minds of many unsuspecting viewers. In recent years, the media has used its control over the American mentality to diminish the black culture by portraying African Americans on the news or on general television as various forms of degenerates such as thugs and criminals. This negative image of minorities created within production has...
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...to set up the creation of a 'moral panic'. Just as Hitler's 'facts' were unfounded, so too were The Daily Star and what resulted from both incidents was, in effect, the persecution of two minority groups within society. Hitler's quote stemmed from the use of propaganda, and although it would be fair to say that the essence of what is termed 'propaganda' does not exist in such a force today, it is nevertheless evident that what was quoted from The Daily Star is tantamount to propaganda. Throughout history, the mass media industry has been utilised as a tool to appeal to the public at large, particularly in the field of politics, where people in a position of power can tempt society into believing what they want them to believe. As Eldridge describes "The media, wittingly or unwittingly, reproduce the definitions of the powerful." [Eldridge 1997: 65] This document will examine not only the essence and origin of the term 'moral panic' but the very important nature of the media's involvement in the whole process of creating a 'moral panic'. It was Stanley Cohen, in his work, Folk Devils and Moral Panics. (1987) who first coined the term 'moral panics'. He defined the concept as a sporadic episode which, as it occurs, subjects society to bouts of moral panic, or in other terms, worry about the values and principles which society upholds which may be in jeopardy. He describes its characteristics as "a condition, episode, person or group of...
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...Assess the view that the media as a cause of crime. (21) There is concern that the media have a negative effect on attitudes, values and behaviour - especially of those susceptible to influence, such as the young, the lower class and the educated. Recently rap lyrics and computer games such as Grand Theft Auto have been criticised for encouraging violence whereas before horror comics and films were held responsible for criminality. According to social learning theory, the media provides deviant role models - resulting in ‘copycat’ behaviour. Ericson et al found that 45-71% of quality press and radio news was about various forms of deviance, whilst Williams and Dickinson found British newspapers devoted 30% of their news space to crime. As crime makes up such a large proportion of the news, it is easy for individuals to imitate the crime or behaviour. Though horror and crime films have age restrictions, the internet makes such films easily accessible to anyone and therefore those at an impressionable age (usually adolescents), are exposed to the violence portrayed in which they then imitate. Sue Palmer argues childhood is becoming toxic and children are committing more ‘adult’ crimes from their exposure to violence on the internet and through films. The murder of Jamie Bulger committed by John Venables and Robert Thompson, has been linked to the boys re-enacting scenes from the film ‘Child’s Play 3’. Similarly, the perpetrators of the Columbine massacre in April 1999 allegedly...
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...have suffered from illnesses such as eating disorders and depression. Until recently, men weren’t believed to have concerns with body image dissatisfaction. However, research shows that not only is body image a growing concern for men, but it affects a larger number of males than previously thought. Throughout history men were seen in society as being strong through security and being defined by their jobs. This no longer holds true for males today. With men and women being nearly equal in the job market today, men feel that to distinguish themselves from women they need to exhibit their strength through physical strength. Men’s body image dissatisfaction has greatly increased over the past 25 years, and like women, it is having a negative effect on their psychological welfare. Cosmetic and grooming productions were at one time thought to be more of a female based industry. In today’s society along with the help of the media, we are seeing a rise in the production of cosmetic and grooming among males. As with the ideal female body image, the media supports what it sees as the ideal male body. Women want to lose their wait to fit the media’s version of the ideal female body where men are split between wanting to lose weight, or gain it through muscles mass to fit the ideal male body image. Men are now dealing with the same issues and pressures concerning body image that have plagued many women for years, causing a decrease in self-esteem which leads to more serious affects...
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...The Harmful Effects of Media on Teenage Girls’ Self Image Media is one of the most effective tools in the world. People learn more from the media than any other single source of information. No matter where people look, they are constantly assaulted with images and ads, whether it is online, watching television, or even walking down the street. Because of the media’s ease of accessibility, it is vital that America understands the subliminal messaging behind the entertainment and advertising, not necessarily for the adults’ sake, but for the sake of their children’s impressionable minds. With the average teenager spending 10 and a half hours a day absorbing the media’s messages, it is imperative that parents become aware of the negative effects it is having on their child, especially young teenage girls. The media has targeted this demographic and the results are tragic. The average teenage girl spends 31 hours a week watching TV, 10 hours a week online, and 17 hours a week listening to music. (Kaiser Family par. 13) With that much time spent doing these things it’s a safe assumption that the media has a huge influence on teens and takes up a majority of their free time. Drew Altman, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation said, “When children are spending this much time doing anything, we need to understand how it’s affecting them – for good and bad” (par. 7). With the media imposing so much influence over young America, it is crucial that action be taken...
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...existent in right. Since the beginning of time, gender has played a major determining factor in how someone acts and how they are viewed upon in our society. From a young age children are encouraged to embrace their natural gender roles. Boys are taught to play up their masculinity and ignore the more feminine traits and the girls vice versa. Although in today’s world stereotypes amongst the media has affected the view of gender roles. One of the ways that media and stereotypes have shaped the view of gender roles is by influencing individual’s outlook, attitudes and principles on life; for example, the beer and high heel shoe commercials from the clip. Commercials are the vast source of gender stereotyping, because they are adapted to a specific gender, either male or female characteristics. The purpose of the latest commercial is not only the satisfaction of needs, but also their design. Women are more often presented in commercials more than men because they are perceived as more liable for making everyday purchases. Men on the other hand usually advertise cars, alcohol, promote business products or investments, whereas women are publicized in commercials with cosmetics and domestic products. Women illustrate a home environment unlike men, who portrays outdoor environments. As you deliberate on gender roles and the effects of media and stereotypes you begin to examine...
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...Chapter one 1.1 Introduction The issue of the social media and its impact on society became even more apparent after the Arab Spring that spread through North Africa and most parts of the Middle East. The fact that the social media played an active role in mobilizing the people to fight perceived injustice has brought to the fore the need to assess the impact public reliance on the social media has on traditional news media, that is the thrust of this study. This chapter of the research will provide a background into the study, vis-à-vis its aim, objectives, problem statement, significance, limitations and delimitation. 1.2 Background to the study The Arab Spring that rocked most of North Africa and the Middle East was a wake-up call to...
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