Media’s Impact on Female Body Image As Alan Ginsberg once said, “Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.” In today’s society, countless means of mass communications have managed to take a hold of every individual’s mind and distort their views on reality. Because media depicts people a certain way, the word’s beliefs have been wrongly influenced by contorted descriptions and statements. For instance, as stated by Sifat Azad, “The images women — particularly young girls — are shown inevitably affects the way they are seen by others and themselves” (Azad). With media channels such as films, commercials, and music to influence young people’s perception of the female persona, the women of today’s society are often misjudged …show more content…
Since thin celebrities and models are often shown in movies and commercials, many teenage girls develop the desire to have a slim body. On the other hand, many songs nowadays tend to “skinny shame” which might cause slender girls to gain unhealthy eating habits and body weight. Just as most aspects of the world have changed over time, women’s ideal body type has been altered throughout the years. For some, it might be challenging to believe that there was a time in which possessing a fair amount of weight was considered the perfect body type. Although women began to acquire troubling customs in relation to their body image during the 1900s and earlier, the technology that is now available to the world has made sure to worsen the way the world sees the female physique. Currently, people, more specifically teenagers, occupy a large amount of their time with technological elements such as films. Movies often tend to focus on thin and fit lead characters who become role models to many young girls, and, while some actresses are worthy of admiration, others can cause devastating damages to a teenager’s mind. Although actresses Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman often tend to teach today’s youth …show more content…
As stated in Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders, “Numerous correlational and experimental studies have linked exposure to the thin ideal in mass media to body dissatisfaction [and] internalization of the thin ideal… among women.” Romanticizing the concept of slim bodies in television advertisements has been leading women towards becoming self-conscious individuals. Mary Wollstonecraft wrote in her piece “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” that “Women thus infallibly become only the wanton solace…when they are so weak in mind and body....” and advertisements play a tremendous role when it comes to a female’s negative body image. Victoria’s Secret, a corporation that sells lingerie and other womenswear, is one of the companies that is greatly known to strictly display thin models in their commercials. In one of their ad campaigns, the company placed “…the title "The Perfect 'Body'" over a slew of svelte supermodels” as part of their project (Stampler). By allowing the world to believe that thin and fit women are the only feminine beings considered to be flawless, large numbers of teenagers and adults began to lose confidence in themselves. On the contrary, Dove, a personal care brand, has owned real beauty campaigns for many years. Among these is the Self – Esteem Project, and the representatives of Dove stated, “We have a
A certain value is put on commodities and services that in turn promote “consumption of products that encourages conformity to feminine beauty ideology”. (Johnston & Taylor, 2008) Media and advertising also immensely influences the way one looks at themselves and how much they compare their own beauty to the models on TV screens and in magazines. Through advertising, Dove promotes a movement to minimize institutionalized and structural gender inequality, and encourages the practise of self-care. Although its is makes great business sense, it is clear that their is a prioritization of commodity purchases above the overall message which creates brand loyalty. Dove shows mixed messages early on in their campaign as they are “telling women to buy creams, "slim" down, put on a bra and generally engage in… the "body project" (Essig, April 22, 2013) and “young girls started to worry far more about cellulite on their thighs than goodness in their hearts”.
Media is a wide term that covers many information sources including, television, movies, advertisement, books, magazines, and the internet. It is from this wide variety of information that women receive cues about how they should look. The accepted body shape and has been an issue affecting the population probably since the invention of mirrors but the invention of mass media spread it even further. Advertisements have been a particularly potent media influence on women’s body image, which is the subjective idea of one's own physical appearance established by observation and by noting the reactions of others. In the case of media, it acts as a super peer that reflects the ideals of a whole society. Think of all the corsets, girdles, cosmetics, hair straighteners, hair curlers, weight gain pills, and diet pills that have been marketed over the years. The attack on the female form is a marketing technique for certain industries. According to Sharlene Nag...
Through Thick and Thin 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, to a constantly changing expectation of what is beautiful. Women are taught to look at themselves from an outside view, to be a sexual image for men and fuel the diet and fashion industries.
In every magazine and on every page there is another source of depression, another reason to skip a meal or two or a reason to be self-conscious. In present society people are overly focused and determined on the perfect body that both the fashion and advertising industry portray and promote. Through diction, pictures and celebrities presented they are trying to convey a message to their viewers that is “suppose” to be used as a source of motivation and determination. The message they are truly conveying is self-conscious thoughts, depression, and the promotion of eating disorders. It is estimated that millions of people struggle with depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem; concentrated on dissatisfaction with their body image (Ballaro). The advertisement and fashion industry are conveying a message that creates an internal battle for their viewers, though they should be creating a fire in their viewers that provides motivation to be healthier, take better care of themselves and a source of inspiration for style.
The media has had an increasingly destructive effect on young people who are becoming worryingly obsessed with their body image. The media is saturated in sexual imagery in which young people have to face every day. The sheer volume of sexual imagery in the media today has resulted in the vast majority of young people to become hooked on looking as near to perfection everyday by using the latest products and buying the latest fashions. This used to be enough but lately the next step to achieving perfection is cosmetic surgery. Everyone wants to look attractive, especially teenagers who are not only put under massive strain to succeed but to look beautiful and climb the ranks of the social ladder, and it seems that the only way to achieve the much desired beauty is to turn to drastic measures.
Advertisers use women that are abnormally thin, and even airbrush them to make them appear thinner. These advertisers promote a body image that is completely unrealistic and impossible to achieve (Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006b). It has been instilled in these advertisers’ minds that a thinner model will sell more (Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2003). Media has a direc...
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.
The media is a fascinating tool; it can deliver entertainment, self-help, intellectual knowledge, information, and a variety of other positive influences; however, despite its advances for the good of our society is has a particular blemish in its physique that targets young women. This blemish is seen in the unrealistic body images that it presents, and the inconsiderate method of delivery that forces its audience into interest and attendance. Women are bombarded with messages from every media source to change their bodies, buy specific products and redefine their opinion of beauty to the point where it becomes not only a psychological disease, but a physical one as well.
[This] phase of the campaign was created to debunk the stereotype that only thin is beautiful” (“The Dove® campaign for real beauty”, n.d.). This part of the campaign was monumental because “all women in the ad are real.” (Fielding et al., 2008). Because the concept of real women was implemented, women were able to relate their own self-identity, flaws and overall body image to the women on the advertisements. The use of “real people” in Dove’s campaign helps people realize that average citizens can still be as beautiful as the people that are consistently portrayed in the usual advertisements. These real people offer a connection to an individual’s everyday body issue struggles and allows Dove’s audience to recognize the fact that beauty should not be limited to western societies view. Ultimately, this section of the campaign allows viewers to make personal connections to the models in the advertisements which furthers Dove’s intentions of the Real Beauty
In today’s society, being the perfect size, weight as well as having the perfect hair and skin is constantly on the minds of all women. These women see incredible looking models in magazines and become jealous of their perfect looks (Bite
Media can be seen as a channel of communication in whereupon millions of people frequently use in their daily lives. So, with all of this technology around, how is the media portrayal of beauty affecting women? According to Cheryl J. Haas, Laura A. Pawlow. Jon Pettibone, and Dan J. Segrist, “Research has shown media exposure to unattainable physical perfection is detrimental to people, especially women and that inimical effects are currently more the rule than the exception” (1). When a person feels as if they do not compeer with the standard of beauty media has set, that individual develops negative emotions towards themselves which can lead to ailing eating habits including binge-eating, purging, or starving.
The overwhelming idea of thinness is probably the most predominant and pressuring standard. Tiggeman, Marika writes, “This is not surprising when current societal standards for beauty inordinately emphasize the desirability of thinness, an ideal accepted by most women but impossible for many to achieve.” (1) In another study it is noted that unhealthy attitudes are the norm in term of female body image, “Widespread body dissatisfaction among women and girls, particularly with body shape and weight has been well documented in many studies, so much so that weight has been aptly described as ‘a normative discontent’”. (79) Particularly in adolescent and prepubescent girls are the effects of poor self-image jarring, as the increased level of dis...
Based on the findings of a major global study, The Real Truth About Beauty: A Global Report, Dove® launched the Campaign for Real Beauty in 2004. The campaign started conversations around the globe about the need for a wider definition of beauty after the study proved their hypothesis that the definition of beauty had become restrictive and seemingly unattainable. The study found that only 2% of women around the world actually see themselves as “beautiful”. Since 2004, Dove® has utilized various communications channels to challenge beauty stereotypes and invite women to join a discussion about beauty. In 2010, Dove® evolved the campaign and launched an extraordinary effort to make beauty a source of confidence rather than anxiety, with the Dove® Movement for Self-Esteem.
Women and girls seem to be more affected by the mass media than do men and boys. Females frequently compare themselves to others, finding the negative rather than looking at the positive aspects of their own body. The media’s portrayal of the ideal body type impacts the female population far more than males, however, it is not only the mass media that affects women, but also influence of male population has on the female silhouette too.
The media has increasingly portrayed unrealistic views of women in the media. Whether it be on billboards or in commercials, it is almost always the same image; a beautiful woman with an amazing body and no visible flaws. In 2004, Dove challenged those advertisements and came up with the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. It is a world-wide marketing campaign with the goal of banishing the conventional standard of beauty, and defining what ‘real beauty’ is. Despite having good intentions, I believe Dove’s real purpose is to simply broaden the definition of real beauty while making a profit.