Body Image And Social Pressure Research Paper

Body Image and Social Pressure In not only America, but western society as a whole, eating disorders have been on the rise. A fact which is especially true in teenagers. Many attribute this to the rising social pressures teens face everyday. These pressures put an emphasis on being attractive, and during the present being attractive is becoming more and more synonymous to being thin. These pressures society compels upon teens also have negative effects on the self esteem of teens. While these issues are not exclusively limited to teens, teens are still the most affected. Both teenage girls and boys judge themselves and others based on society’s standards for beauty (most often in the case of females) and manliness or toughness (most often in the case of males). When a teen does not fit into the normal standards that society sets, they may view themselves or others negatively, which often can lead into low self-esteem which has its own negative consequences.

Those two believed they should exercise more to improve it. Three out of five said that they felt pressured to meet a certain expectation of beauty or “manliness.” None of the females questioned said that they dieted frequently, and none of the males said that they would consider taking supplements to build muscle. None of the students questioned said that they would have work done from a plastic surgeon done, even if it was for free. While the group of students questioned are not a very good representation of our society’s teens as a whole, this does show that many people do feel that they are expected to look a certain way, or weigh a certain weight. Even if some people who feel pressured by society do not wish to go to extremes in order to fit a certain body type, there are many others who would go as far as to starve themselves in order to try and meet society’s