...Exercise 2: The role of the media in the development of eating disorders Individuals over time have continually been exposed and manipulated to believe in the concept of having a ‘perfect’ or ideal body and appearance. The pressures to meet societies demands to achieving self-satisfaction with one’s body image and physical and emotional wellbeing have influenced the notion of eating disorders. As people are exposed to countless forms of media such as television, radio, magazines and the Internet on a daily basis, media being a mass form of communication has been labelled as the culprit of eating disorders. The role of media heavily contributes to the development of abnormal or disturbed eating habits within an individual, including anorexia, bulimia and even obesity. The role of media in the development of eating disorders can explored via analysing the social context, influence and aetiology of eating disorders. Through further evaluation of this matter the role of the media in the development of eating disorders can be thoroughly explored. Individuals are exposed to the media on a daily basis and many blame the mass media for being the source of eating disorders, however not all people develop eating disorders from the mass media, therefore it is to question what role the media actually plays in the heavily viewed topic of eating disorders (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004). To understand the role of media in the development of eating disorders, the social context, of this...
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...Societal beauty standards are unrealistic for many adolescents, and most forms of mainstream media tend to promote these ridiculous beauty standards. Television and fashion magazines only show one kind of body type, which is unrealistic and unattainable. Media shows who and what teenagers are supposed to look like in order to be considered attractive. The media puts pressure on adolescents to look a certain way which can cause body dissatisfaction, and can lead to mental and eating disorders. The body-type ideal that mainstream media promotes is a negative body image that causes body dissatisfaction. In a study conducted on girls and young women, the results showed that exposure to media correlates with body dissatisfaction (Grabe, Ward, and...
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...to be fascinating. “He uses history to dispel the sort of routine, instituted self-assurance people have about reality of such entities as the mental disorders they fear they may be suffering from, or the inner sexual needs they believe they have to release. Foucault has examined various kinds of systems of thought through which people have come to identify themselves as subjects.”(Rajchman) And then another good quote about Michel Foucault is “For more than a decade, his elegant shaved skull had been an emblem of political courage-a cynosure of resistance to institutions that would smother the free spirit and stifle the right to be different.” (Miller 13) I will be exploring how the present days views are reinforced; the dominant message of how a wedding should be and then how in some movies, the post-feminism is displayed which slightly alters this dominant image. I will be also exploring the mix of cultural traditions within the wedding to see how the structure is similar or drastically different. I will discuss Marx’s Materialism ideology aspect of the domination of the ruling class and explore the aspect of the base and superstructure with the mode of production/the system of economic relations within the institutions surrounding wedding ideology. Through close textual analysis, I will show the dominant ideology of the wedding industry as illustrated through media and the attitudes of various woman; comparing views of two extremes to the leading up to that of the...
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...2013 Defining true beauty "Better Buns in 10 Days!", "Flatten Your Stomach!", and "Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days!" These are all headlines that are thrown at women each and every day. The media today presents an unrealistic image of women, which pressures women to make unhealthy decisions. Perfection is “important” and the media has no problem letting women around the world know they are slacking. In today's society, women are plagued with images of the so-called "perfect woman”; this causes a catalyst of effects in the women of today's society. Over the years the average woman’s weight has increased while the average fashion model’s weight has dropped. “This growing difference has had a well-documented and pronounced negative effect on the body image of the women and girls who read women’s magazines” (Qtd in Kramer). Throughout history women have been constantly pressured to have the “ideal” body image. As the years went by, the women in the magazine became less realistic and more idealistic. When we look into the magazines today we are bombarded with thin models. In 2004 a journal “Eating Disorders,” women were portrayed in the media as having ideal bodies weighed approximately 15 percent less than average women, making the ideal body difficult, if not impossible, for most women to attain” (Qtd in Kramer). Since women today are feeling so much pressure to look a certain way they will believe any Magazine ad that they see for weight loss. Some even think that they need to go...
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...does the media use airbrushing to hide any flaws a model has? If looks do not matter, why do so many teenage women suffer from low self-esteem? If looks really do not matter, why do so many young women struggle with eating disorders? It is because our society promotes a certain body image as being beautiful, and it’s a far cry from the average woman’s size 12. A common issue young women face in today’s society is the airbrushing of models in the media, creating an impossible ideal for these young women to strive for. The unrealistic standard of beauty that women are bombarded with everyday gives them a goal that is impossible to reach, and the effects are devastating....
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...impossible task. People might think that they can help others, or one might be too embarrassed to search for help. For the most part, when one sees teenagers raising children, we often think that the teen has been raped or is too mature for their age. For this reason, some totally miss the issues that one must have been exposed to in their society, the society of their home, community, school. There are many viewpoints as to why teenage females are having so many children out of wedlock. However, the facts are obvious—teenaged females are highly influenced by many social issues, but those with the lack of strong parental guidance, sex education, and positive mass media are more likely to have a premarital pregnancy. As one travels the globe, they will find that industrialized and developing countries have distinctly different rates of teenage pregnancy. In the online article, “Teen Pregnancy on the Rise,” Sipokazi Maposa says that in developed countries, teenage pregnancies are associated with many social issues: lower educational levels, higher rates of poverty, and no strong parental guidance in the teenagers life. Maposa discusses the challenges which teens in Africa face as the teenage pregnancy rate increase. She contributes a wealth of information as to why teens have children at such a young age. Maposa suggests that...
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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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...Families Are Not The Only Agents Of Socialization The agents of socialization are the persons, groups, or institutions that teach us what we need to know in order to participate in society. There are four agents of socialization. They include family, peers, school, and the mass media. Of the four agents, family is considered the primary agent of socialization. The other three agents of socialization, peers, school, and the mass media, are considered secondary agents of socialization. Though these are considered secondary agents, they are very important components of socialization. Many people tend to forget about the function and importance of these three agents. It is important for people to realize that family is not the only agent of socialization. Family is the most significant agent of socialization but the secondary agents, peers, school, and the mass media, must not go unrecognized. As earlier stated, family is the primary agent of socialization. This is so because family is one’s first view of social value. This is valid in all societies. Family sizes and structure vary from household to household and from culture to culture. These play key roles on how one grows up and views the world. Families serve as important functions in society because they are the primary locus for the socialization of children. They are also the primary source of emotional support. They often go through the same things at the same time and can provide comfort for one another. This allows and...
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...“perfect” female. Women have always been seen, and portrayed as a sex symbol, and usually the disobedient one. Dating back to B.C and the story of Adam and Eve, Eve was the naked one who bit into the fruit that god told her was forbidden. Why couldn’t it have been Adam that caused such scandal, and was the cause for destruction, and crime in the world, and not Eve? From the believed beginning of time, to present day, women have really only progressed a small amount up the social ladder. Today, women are looked down upon, if they are slightly more over weight then what is considered “normal,” if they are “underweight”, “darker skin color”, too “pale”, “flat chested”, big boned, “thick,” or because of their ethnicities and backgrounds. So what exactly defines the “perfect female?” Is it the girls featured on “Girls Gone Wild” in Cancun, or the half naked models posing for Victoria’s Secret? Or is it the perfectly put together “Miss America” pageant queens? Or is it the Hollywood actresses with billion dollar dresses, and priceless jewelry? Or the well toned, well defined professional team cheerleaders, and dancers we watch? WE, speaking for us “average” women, who often tend to idolize, and carry pieces of all these girls within us, and envy them, for not being able to ever look like one of them…so damn perfect in every single way. These women, among many others all contribute to the foundations, of media, public relations, and entertainment sectors. Women are usually seen...
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...How to promote women empowerment? First let us define women empowerment. United Nations population information network (POPIN) defined Women empowerment as “women's sense of self-worth; their right to have and to determine choices; their right to have access to opportunities and resources; their right to have the power to control their own lives, both within and outside the home; and their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order, nationally and internationally.” Looking in to the state of affairs of women empowerment in the Philippines, we could say that we have come far using, education, Employment, Social and Political influence and freedom to decide home and health choices, as the measuring stick. According to the National Statistics Office survey as of 2008, 41.1% women while only 36.4% of men have finished high school or higher. Another NSO survey as of 2010 reported 78.4% men and 50.4% women are employed. In the fields of social and mass media we can see a lot of successful female icons such as Jessica Soho, Mel Tiangco and Kris Aquino. Also, the term house husband has now been coined, accepted and even practiced by a lot of Filipino families. In the Political scene we see Jambi Madrigal, Meriam Defensor Santiago and Former President Cory Aquino as beacons of female competency. And we now have laws which promote and protects women’s personal, professional and health choices such as RA9262 Anti-Violence...
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...The play Hedda Gabler has been around for nearly a hundred and twenty-seven years. The play displays various themes that include manipulation, women’s rights, wealth, and social peculiarities. Although life in the late nineteenth century was different from current times, many aspects of society stayed the same. Women around the world are pressured daily to conform to what society considers “normal” This leads to unpredicted and destructive behaviors. The play Hedda Gabler does a fantastic job of showing what happens when someone is left without choices. Hedda Gabler wasn’t given any options with society and began taking the lives of those around her into her own hands. Manipulating George, Loveburg, and Brack was among her victims, playing them against each other in her twisted games. Manipulation still occurs very often today; people play one...
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...Media Inequalities Abstract Today as in the past, mass media plays a very significant role in our lives. Individuals get information about people and places they have never actually met or seen. My research explains the media inequalities shared by minorities and media ownership. It also explains the influence a few companies have over the media industry and how minorities make little progress, whether in front of the camera or in influential positions behind it. In addition, much work has been done to bring forward this issue. With the help of special interest groups and other agencies there is a push to bringing diversity into the mainstream media business. Thesis Analysis of the mainstream media reflects inequalities for minorities and women. Of grave concern is the mass media’s negative approach to educating our society through what we perceive is open knowledge in the media, and poor media oversight. The media is undoubtedly important and there is extensive evidence that it both reflects and shapes society and individuals in both positive and negative ways. The issue of control and ownership of the media, and the extent to which this affects society, remain problematic and predominately white male media ownership. According to the article (Media Stereotyping, 2010) “media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, which need as wide an audience as possible to quickly understand information.” The passage...
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...studies have focused on providing vital information regarding what influences the different genders to have eating disorders. The females are most likely to suffer from anorexia nervosa, while the males suffer from bulimia. A brief summary of all the key points has also been provided. Thereafter, some important recommendations regarding research in some key areas involving eating disorders has been provided as well. Keywords: Anorexia, Bulimia, Females, Males, Study, Eating Disorders, Gender, Media Introduction Eating disorders have now become part of the current culture people live in. In fact, the eating disorders tend to affect different people regardless of their genders and socioeconomic classes. There is even an overall prevalence that is estimated to be about five percent among the population. Many people have a desire to become thin since it is an issue that is always being highlighted by the media. Some of the popular sources of media that influence individuals to become thin include movies, television shows, and magazines, among others. It is such a pity that the prevailing culture, and specifically the western culture influences people to lose weight using diet products because of the many diet advertisements. They seem to portray the message that an individual can never be extremely thin or extremely rich. When girls are growing up, they play with dolls that are quite thin, and their body proportions are extremely unachievable. It seems that women deal with...
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...against the clock, women have made it known that they are willing to do whatever it takes for external youth and beauty. Women are taking extreme beauty measures to remain youthful and possess life long beauty, these extreme beauty measures include turning to plastic and cosmetic surgery. Plastic and cosmetic surgery has grown increasingly common over the past decade and has gained more acceptance through out our society. It has been reported by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), that there are well over several million women undergoing cosmetic surgery each year. Women seek opportunity to enhance and ultimately change their appearance by investing thousands of dollars each year in cosmetic and plastic surgical procedures. Women are in a constant fight to keep up with America’s picture perfect ideals, leading to profitable opportunity to not only the fashion industry, but also anti-aging, beauty cosmetics, and skincare industries. These industries develop products, services, and procedures that cater to women seeking alterations in one’s physical appearance, giving women the chance to turn their ultimate dreams of a picture perfect appearance into reality. Every woman at some point in their life, if not being done on a daily basis takes part in daily beauty routine. Whether it be simply washing the face and using moisturizer or waking up every day and applying a full face of make up. The pressure to achieve unrealistic physical beauty has lead many women, to be obsessed...
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...Does media effect a women’s body image? Rational The rationale of this experiment is to study the effect media has on a female’s body image and self-esteem. “Popular media barrages women with images that portray what is considered to be the ‘ideal body’” (Serdar, 2014, para.7). Society tells women what kind of body image they should strive for. The media portrays the ideal body as accentuating features such as eyes, breasts, bottom and legs. This image is based of the look of an average fashion model that is 5’10” and weighing around one hundred twenty pounds. These features do not apply to the average day women when in fact the average Canadian woman is only 5’4” and weighs about one hundred seventy pounds (Linken, 2009, para.3). These ideas are pressured upon women of all ages through every source of media. Television, bill boards, newspaper, radio, magazines etc. are all guilty of applying such pressures to females. Media is also guilty of creating a “cult of thinness” known as cutting girls down to size, infantilizing so grown women appear as children and objectifying women by turning them into objects, cutting out body parts and attaching them to objects in ads. It’s important to understand that the ideal body image that is presented by the popular media is not healthy or realistic. Should a female actually achieve this body image or weight, she would be classified as underweight. Risks associated with being underweight include anemia, nutritional deficiencies...
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