Body Image in the Media

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Body image today is so drastically exaggerated in importance that people, often adolescents, go to the extremes of trying to be perfect. The media is what I believe makes body image such an important issue these days. It makes people want to change everything about themselves, their look, their choices, and their personality. The media are the ones also bringing this on to adolescents because of all the places they advertise. The adults are also people that I would blame for the cases of young children causing themselves to hurt for things they shouldn't be caring about. The indicative that shows that my findings are correct are all the cases that are reported about adolescents and their body image problems.

Places that the media stress on body image the most are on the television. They show all these revealing dramas, and this is what kids these days are watching, and whatever they see is what they start thinking. For example, in Time Magazine, it clearly states that " Gossip Girl" a TV series, was promoted as MIND-BLOWINGLY INAPPROPRIATE. The magazine even gives us an example about this girl from a family starting to suggestively sing a song about licking a lollipop. Show that are supposed to be for children even give them ideas about things they wouldn't be thinking about unless they watched those certain shows. For instance, little girls might love to watch the show " Hannah Montana" but imagine what they start to think when they find out she was found on a picture semi naked, at the age of 15. Another teenager star that have lots of influence on adolescents and younger children is probably TV star Jamie Lynn Spears, and what has she gotten herself into...she got pregnant.

Another place where they advertise things about p...

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Body Image, Media, and Eating Disorders. Derenne, Jennifer L, and Eugene V. Beresin

M.D. May-June 2006. Academic Psychiatry. 30 March 2010 .

Eating Disorders: Body Image and Advertising.11 Dec 2008. Body Image and Advertising. 31 March 2010

http://www.healthyplace.com/eating-disorders/eating-disorders-overview/all-eating-disorders-articles/

Levin E. Diane Ph.D., and Jean Kilbourne. Ed.D. So Sexy So Soon. New York: Random,2008.

Pichardo, Maribel. “Body Image in the Media.” Questionaire. Fresno: Heald College, 2010.

The Truth about Teen Girls. Luscombe Belinda. 11 Sept. 2008. Time. 16 Feb 2010

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Wykes, Maggie, and Barrie Gunter. The Media and Body Image. Thousand Oaks: SAGE,2005.

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