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Media effects on body image
Marilyn monroe social impact the world
Impact of media on body image
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Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body image (Cosslett, LucyBaxter). Before the beginning of the 20th century, most women who were considered attractive had bodies richly equipped with typically feminine curves. Researchers have stated that in former times the ideal of attractives, or being fat, was considered to be a status symbol. Between examining the careers of Marilyn Monroe and Kate Upton, one can see that over time society’s views of body image has evolved in very different ways.
Most of the time when females hear the word “curves” the first women that comes to mind is Marilyn Monroe. According to the article Cosmo Girl, “Marilyn Monroe graces the cover of the Playboy magazine, making her body type ‘large breasts and a curvy bottom’ the ideal.” She was born in 1926 with her original name Norma Jean (Owings). To become a star she changed her name and that’s where she got her start. With her signature curves and her sexual appeal, she was simply every girls idol and every man’s celebrity crush. She was a very talented women, she acted, sang, and modeled a little. Even though she was very popular, she was also very troubled. During film making she often seemed depressed (Owings). Finding confidence became a struggle for her and criticism from the paparazzi didn’t help. Rumours went around that President JFK was having an affair with Marilyn, which also didn’t help with her self-consciousness. American Society at that time was just as harsh as it is now. Especially when it comes to being famous and unique, like Marilyn. The author Lisa Owing states, “By 1962 Marilyn was perhaps more beautiful than she had ever been. At nearly 36 years old, she was trim, but ob...
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... Upton.” Newsmakers. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Student Resources in Context. Web. 4 Feb 2014.
Lassek, WillGaulin, Steve. “Eternal Curves.” Psycology Today 45.4 (2012): 70. Mas Ultra - School Edition. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Owings, Lisa. Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon. Minneapolis: ABDO Pub., 2012. Print.
Serdar, Kasey. "Female Body Image and the Mass Media: Perspectives on How Women Internalize the Ideal Beauty Standard." Westminster College: A Private Comprehensive Liberal Arts College in Salt Lake City, UT, Offering Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees in Liberal Arts and Professional Programs, including Business, Nursing, Education and Communication. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Stein, Sadie. “For the Last Time: What Size was Marilyn Monroe?” Jezebel. N.p.,n.d. Wed. 18. Feb. 2014.
Willis, Laurie. The Culture of Beauty. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Print.
Today in modern society, we are driven by social forces. The media plays such a pivotal role in what we buy, eat, wear, etc. that we are conditioning ourselves to fit the mold for the “perfect” or “ideal” body type. This social construct has been a pressing issue for many years regarding the negative effects it has had on the female physique, but not as much has been said on behalf of men. What negative effects do the media have on male body image? When confronted with appearance based advertisements, men are more likely to experience both physical insecurities and emotional issues related to body image. This paper will address these facets of the media’s negative
We hear sayings everyday such as “Looks don’t matter; beauty is only skin-deep”, yet we live in a decade that contradicts this very notion. If looks don’t matter, then why are so many women harming themselves because they are not satisfied with how they look? If looks don’t matter, then why is the media using airbrushing to hide any flaws that one has? This is because with the media establishing unattainable standards for body perfection, American Women have taken drastic measures to live up to these impractical societal expectations. “The ‘body image’ construct tends to comprise a mixture of self-perceptions, ideas and feelings about one’s physical attributes. It is linked to self-esteem and to the individual’s emotional stability” (Wykes 2). As portrayed throughout all aspects of our media, whether it is through the television, Internet, or social media, we are exploited to a look that we wish we could have; a toned body, long legs, and nicely delineated six-pack abs. Our society promotes a body image that is “beautiful” and a far cry from the average woman’s size 12, not 2. The effects are overwhelming and we need to make more suitable changes as a way to help women not feel the need to live up to these unrealistic standards that have been self-imposed throughout our society.
Society is obsessed with fitness and weight loss. Ever since I was in sixth grade I have had issues with my weight and self-image. The article “Fat Is a Feminist Issue”, by Susie OrBach focuses on how our society puts this unrealistic image of what women should look like into everyone’s heads. The media and magazines urge women to conform, at any cost, into a constantly changing expectation of what is beautiful. Women are taught to look at themselves from an outside view, to be a sex image for men and fuel the diet and fashion industries. Society thinks if women do not fit within the unrealistic image something is wrong with them. The highly glorified concept of beauty marketed by the media contributes to the concern over body image that causes many women, including myself, to eating disorders and poor self-image.
At first glance, it appears that body image researchers have not just focused on the individual. Nearly every researcher in this field acknowledges the essential role that cultural norms for appearance play in the development of one’s body image. They have even gone as far as recognizing the gender differences in appearance norms in our culture. Men are held to a standard of a moderate, muscular built that generally matches the size and shape of the average man, but women are compared to a cultural ideal that has thinned beyond belief (Wolszon 545). The Miss America contestants have become so thin that most are fifteen percent below their recommended weight for their height, a sympt...
Harriger, J., & Thompson, J. (2012). Hollywood and the Obsession with the Perfect Body. Sex Roles,66(9/10), 695-697.
Body image is among of the top reasons for developing psychological conditions in the country based upon the bias of what is shown through the screen. Since the nineteen-nineties an alarming trend has come to pass as a result in the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States, to oppose this the exact opposite became popular to become skeletal in appearance with bones showing naturally through the skin. Becoming an accepted notion to starve in order to attain this new angelic appearance, rising above the notion of overly plentiful food by not eating until the body became undernourished. Even the naturally thin models were not skinny enough trying to appeal to this new craze. The resulting effects became depression in this pursuit of perfection, with competition becoming higher among women with finding mates, with this idealized persona becoming the image to men of what women should
The overview of the studies listed below are experimented and tested evaluations of the effects that thin dolls have on young girl’s body image. One study in particular finds and addresses that the dolls did directly affect the young girl’s food intake, but had no effect on body image. In this study the researchers used girls 6 to 10 years old, average sized dolls, and Legos in a controlled condition. This testing also required the girls to do a taste test, and questionnaires. The other study finds and addresses that Barbie’s could be a driver of negative body images in young girls. In this testing there were 162 young girls used, from ages 5 to 8. The young girls were shown pictures of Barbie, which is known to be slimmer, Emme Dolls, which
In recent years, sociologists, psychologists, and medical experts have gone to great lengths about the growing problem of body image. This literature review examines the sociological impact of media-induced body image on women, specifically women under the age of 18. Although most individuals make light of the ideal body image most will agree that today’s pop-culture is inherently hurting the youth by representing false images and unhealthy habits. The paper compares the media-induced ideal body image with significant role models of today’s youth and the surrounding historical icons of pop-culture while exploring various sociological perspectives surrounding this issue.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In our society today, people would rather see what celebrities are up to than what is going on with our health plan. Watching the news makes us aware of the latest trend, new gadget, who’s in rehab, or who has an eating disorder. In the eyes of society, women like Eva Longoria, Kim Kardashian, and Megan Fox are the epitome of perfection. What girl wouldn’t want to look like them? Unfortunately, this includes most of the girls in the US. Through TV shows, commercials, magazines or any form of advertising, the media enforces a certain body type which women emulate. The media has created a puissant social system where everyone must obtain a thin waist and large breasts. As a society, we are so image obsessed with the approval of being thin and disapproval of being overweight, that it is affecting the health of most women. Women much rather try to fit the social acceptance of being thin by focusing on unrealistic body images which causes them to have lower self esteem and are more likely to fall prey to eating disorders, The media has a dangerous influence on the women’s health in the United States.
In her novel “Beauty Myth”, Naomi Wolf argues that the beauty and fashion industry are to blame for using false images to portray what beautiful woman is. She believes the magazines are to blame for women hating their bodies. Wolf states, “When they discuss [their bodies], women lean forward, their voices lower. They tell their terrible secret. It’s my breast, they say. My hips. It’s my thighs. I hate my stomach.” (Wolf, 451) She is focusing on how w...
Laurie was a size fourteen at age eleven and weighed one-hundred fifty-five pounds. She went through elementary school being the kid that everyone called fat and never felt love from any of her peers. Even a counselor at her after-school YMCA program made an example of her to the other children. The teacher told all the children that she used to be as big as Laurie. Putting aside all the criticism from her fellow peers and teachers she found the courage and strength to lose weight. She began doing sit-ups and eating “healthier”. In all reality, she was eating less and less every day. She went from a size fourteen to a nine and then from a nine to a five. This all happened to her between summer and Christmas. By the following summer Laurie was a size double zero. During the following school year, she was called to the nurse’s office to be weighed and the scale read ninety-seven pounds. Laurie had become anorexic from the mentally abusing childhood she experienced from her peers.
Models of Rubens, Rembrandt, Gaugin and Matisse were all rounded, plump women.A plump and healthy women was admired as it reflected wealth and success.(14). Where as images of women have become slimmer since the 1950’s according to Jennifer A. (Australian journal of nutrition and dietetics).
In this day and age, hundreds or thousands of women and men are having an ongoing battling against themselves to meet up to society 's standards on body image. Every day people are sacrificing their bodies to strive for the "perfect" figure that would make them feel like they belong in our society. Because of society 's pressure, it has given men and women the immense amount of pressure to achieve these unrealistic goals. Needless to say, women and men are grappling with their inner demons to reach their goal of having the ideal body. In today 's society, men and women both struggle with body issues by the profound impact of social media and a lack of self acceptance; however, it appears that men are struggling more due to having to shield
Body image is the mental image of one 's own body. Body image is very important because the majority of people think about their appearance and how they look all day long. Many people today have a very poor body image. The causes of poor body image include: body size, bullying, media, low self-esteem, depression, and even gender. Body image also has some very unhealthy effects on men and women. Body image in our world today is at an all-time low, but there are many ways to help improve it. The most important ways are to focus on the good and positive talents he or she has and to not compare his or her body to another individual’s body.
Ever since the 70s, body image has been heavily influenced on young adults. Trying to fit in and look skinny has always been a big problem. Media has played a huge part in this by showing what they believe being beautiful means. In the 70’s curves lost their popularity and the look to achieve was slim and slender. Making the supermodel Twiggy a big deal; not only because of her beauty, but because of how skinny she was. Making “the average fashion model” at that time 8% thinner than the average woman. Today, that number has risen to 23%” (Derenne 259). Making the 70s the beginning of the “me generation” – an era that saw many bouts of plastic (Klein 39) surgery in an attempt to fit a certain mold of unattainable physicality (Mulvey 165). Extremely high amounts of money were spe...