Emily Thomas Mrs. Lamon English 101 24 September 2015 Being Different is Ugly In today’s world, beauty is mistaken for simply matching society’s extremely high standards for individual appearance. Therefore, people tend to think of being “beautiful” as only being an exact copy of what men and women are told by their surrounding community to be, rather than “the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind” (“Beauty” 1). Furthermore, beauty is not simply possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, or think about; beauty is merely the quality of mirroring the behaviors of others. The sociocultural standards of beauty for an individual are extremely unattainable, …show more content…
"Many of the models shown on television, advertisements, and in other forms of popular media are approximately twenty percent below ideal body weight, thus meeting the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa" ("Female Body Image..." 1). We are trapped in a constant cycle of raising the image standards higher and lowering the age in which insecurities begin. "[Tiggeman (2003)]... found that women who read fashion magazines displayed higher levels of thin-ideal internalization, which is a powerful risk factor for development of weight anxiety and disordered eating patterns." Not only is the media-set beauty standard unrealistic, it is dangerous to the mental, as well as physical, health of those influenced. The numbers of eating disorder patients have skyrocketed over time, almost as if it is a direct relation to media use and the involvement of media in an individual's life. We live in a society that is centered around celebrities and hearing the press talk about a woman gaining five pounds like it is breaking news. With all our focus aimed towards their every move and appearance, it is hard not to become obsessed with our own. The problem of self shaming and unhappiness with one's body is stemmed from the distorted image we have been given by our society of what one is required to be. "Most companies that target women in the media actually attempt to foster social comparison with idealized images, in order to motivate women to buy products that will bring them closer to the ideal" (Female Body Image..." 1). Rather than finding the extreme insecurities which are an immediate result of news, television, movies, as well as advertisements sickening, large companies and corporations actually feed on to the virus overtaking the female mind by convincing women to buy their product in order to make
know beauty in any form”(86). We are so conditioned to see female beauty as what men
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 concept of beauty is a subject society speaks on through many channels. Social media plays a tremendous role in how society measures beauty and how to achieve these impossible standards. People from all walks of life have become obsessed with the idea of beauty and achieving the highest level it. In many cases, those who do not meet societal views of what is “beautiful” can become very resentful to these predisposed notions of beauty. David Akst in his writing “What Meets the Eye”, is bitter toward women and their ongoing obsession with beauty.
A recent psychological study revealed an astonishing truth about the media’s powerful impact on female self-esteem: Seventy percent of women feel depressed after looking at a fashion magazine for three minutes (Women’s Health, Taft College). The media’s excessive use of photoshopped models brainwashes females into believing that they must obtain impossible-to-reach beauty standards that lower their self-esteem, and the desire to fulfill such standards can cause potentially life-threatening mental disorders such as depression, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa.
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.
At no time in history have women been so pressured to be thin. Inner beauty and personality is no longer enough. Women all over the world look at themselves and can only find imperfections. Media constantly shows thin, youthful, and “perfect” women, whom in reality have just as many imperfections as the average woman. Body image in the media tends to be a controversial topic on whether or not it has a negative effect on women in today’s society. “. . . this obsession has contributed to an increase in eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression among women in the United States” (Point: Body Image In The Media Is An Unhealthy Picture). What the public sees as beautiful has constantly changed over the decades. These changes have transformed the messages of the media to “you must be this size or you are not beautiful.” Many women have spent and wasted their lives with diets and starvation in order to reach the standards the media sets. A controversy has evolved from the question as to whether media is the real cause of these problems. Women now see themselves in a negative light due to the change in what is seen as beautiful in society and a constant use of airbrushing in advertisements. This has resulted in an increase in eating disorders and self esteem issues.
Long slender legs, slim figure and size zero hips , that stunning runway model on America’s Next Top Model is the motivation for staying in shape. Appallingly, this motivation is the primary cause of life threatening eating disorders in our young women today. According to a research, 95 % of those suffering from eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25, the primary audience of Fashion modeling television shows. 70% of girls from grades 5 to 12 say magazine images of fashion models influence their ideals of perfect body. Fashion Modeling Industry has been the most influential source in our young women’s lives. Young girls and young women are seen eating as little as they can, even starving themselves at times to stay fit. Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic said exposure to thin models is a great trigger in maintaining an eating disorder. When watching America’s Next Top Model or flipping through a Fashion magazine, these young women don’t apprehend that those models are either naturally slim or are suffering from an eating disorder themselves. Our young women are growing up in a society where they are not comfortable to eat what they crave without regret. To worsen the situation, Victoria Secret models pose in their bikinis in advertisements, building up guilt in young minds. The fashion modeling industry is a leading contributing factor to the increasing number of eating disorders in young females today. Fashion modeling industry is the main source which exposes underweight models on runways and advertisements. Rather than sending the positive message beauty is health, the industry is giving out negative directives to its audience. It is influencing them to believe that being size zero is the only de...
In today’s society, technology is used on a daily basis; whether watching television, using social media, or reading a magazine, people are influenced by what they see. As a result of this, some people develop an eating disorder because their view of what is attractive is distorted because of what is shown in media. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, “The body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5% of American females” (ANAD). The common misperception is that eating disorders are a “woman’s disease” although one out of ten people who have an eating disorder are male. Although it is by no means the only cause, it is believed that media effects how women perceive themselves, but most people don’t consider that media effects how men view themselves.
Through the use of imagery, the display of life-styles, and the reinforcement of values, advertisements are communicators of culturally defined concepts such as success, worth, love, sexuality, popularity, and normalcy. Of particular concern over the past two decades has been excessive use of sexual stereotypes, especially of women. Women are directly affected by this advertising, beyond the mere desire to purchase the product or service described. The influence of the media on people is tremendous, and the effect of advertisements that direct images of beauty, and the perfect slim figure have a harmful effect on a great deal of the world's population, especially women. The media has portrayed the “perfect body image” so successfully, that women’s self-image, self-esteem and even their health is affected. Looking at the media, it’s almost impossible to ignore the many images of thin, beautiful women. In many women’s magazines, nearly every other page is covered with an advertisement that displays a person with the “ideal body”, a slim figure, a happy face, and trendy or chic clothes. Most of the advertisements in magazines try to present models as realistic representations for consumers, particularly women, to compare themselves. Not only do magazines try to portray the “perfect image,” but also television advertisements try to achieve this representation of the perfect body. Television broadcasts events and shows like “Miss America,” and “Baywatch” that represent unrealistic body types for ordinary women. To accomplish the goal of looking like the models being displayed all over the media, women think they need to diet. If it was dieting just for the fact of making women feel better, it would be all right, but the purpose of most people is different. When women compare themselves to models and pictures of people in advertisements, they believe the only way they will get noticed is if they also appear the in the same image of the models. To achieve this goal, they begin to starve themselves. They start to believe that by eating anything at all they will get fat and the most important thing to them is not to be fat. It becomes a compulsion to become thin and some women will do anything to get there. Women need to realize that what the media displays as the “perfect body” and what really is the healthy body are two different things. Even if a woman does get d...
In David Gauntlett’s article “ Women’s Magazines and Females Identities Today’s” she states, “...eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia have one of the highest mortality rates of all psychiatric illnesses, and that ‘ the degree of thinness exhibited by [fashion models] is both unachievable and also biologically inappropriate, and provide unhelpful role models for young women’... The point remains that, for those who are psychologically predisposed to anxiety about the body, or control of the self, media images can play and unhelpful role.” (Gauntlett, 194). This doesn’t necessarily mean that every model is anorexic or faces eating disorders, but the concern of the influence of what kind of message is being sent to our younger generation. Young females around the world are starving themselves or going to extreme measures to exceed this image of a model that is advertising a high end brand, and they do these actions to become just like them. Although magazines may not intentionally send that message to young females, but in a sense females wouldn’t exceed that image unless they do
A tall, glamorous runway model is every girl’s dream. Long beautiful legs, lean body, and beautiful shiny hair is what an average young woman views as an ideal image for a female. If you don’t resemble the images of those stunning Victoria Secret models and Fashion Week models, you suddenly become ashamed of your own body. It is a great life to have with the high pay, fame, drinking champagne on a yacht with famous celebrities and even being on the Vogue cover page. Fashion Modeling Industry has been the most influential source in our young women’s lives. Young girls and young women are seen eating as little as they can, even starving themselves at times to resemble those models. What they don’t realize is that they are contributing to the 2.7 percentage of 13- 18 year olds suffering from anorexia and bulimia. Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic said exposure to thin models is a great trigger in maintaining an eating disorder. When watching America’s Next Top Model or flipping through a Fashion magazine, these young women don’t apprehend that those models are either naturally slim or they are suffering from an eating disorder themselves, in other words, hostages in the dark hell hid behind those runway curtains. The growing number of young anorexia and bulimia patients, and the number of websites such as thinspiration, where girls put up pictures of their thin bodies clearly suggest that the fashion modeling industry do not at all bear any responsibility in providing healthy, realistic physical role models for young women.
The increase of eating pathology is partially due to the mass media. The unrealistic thin images of models in the media in comparison to female's actual self-image. The exposure to images of slender models could lead to restrained diet, and several other risk factors. According to an experiment by Field, they found that males that were looking to imitate models in the media, use products to enhance their appearance. Researcher Anschutz, Strien and Engels stated that approximately 20,000 television commercials are viewed by adolescent in the US every year. Companies use attractive, thin models to promote their merchandise. The social comparison suggest that person analyze their own appearance in an negative aspect after watching exceeding attractive people. (Anschutz, Van Strien & Engels, 2011)
Researchers agree that a medium that depicts cultural norms and beliefs of “ideal beauty” have a direct negative impact on the perceptions of young women’s self-image. According to Bissell and Rask (2010), women who are exposed to mediated images, which portray extremely thin models result in negative body image, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and overall dissatisfaction. The overwhelming pressures to be young, thin, and beautiful are the twisted expectations of the American culture. Kilbourne (1999) argues that, “…advertising is one of the most potent messengers in a culture that can be toxic for girls’ self-esteem…” she further argues that advertisements contain “…glossy images of flawlessly beautiful and extremely thin women…” (as cited in Bissell & Rask, 2010). As a result of such advertising, many young women and teens have a manipulated perception of beauty. Research supports this claim by showing that the average US model portrayed in advertisements is 5’”11” and weighs 117 pounds; when in reality, the average US women is only 5’4” and weighs 140 pounds (Media and eating disorders 2006 as cited in Bissell & Rask 2010).
Magazines have been read since the seventeenth century and have influenced people when it comes to buying the newest products and advice on how to improve one’s life. Beauty magazines today hold women to a higher standard than ever before. For women to be indispensible in society they need to wear their makeup a certain way, dress in a particular fashion, and look utterly flawless. According to Kate Fox, a writer for Mirror Mirror, “Recent experiments have shown that exposure to magazine photographs of super-thin models produces depression, stress, guilt, shame, insecurity, body-dissatisfaction and increased endorsement of the thin-ideal stereotype. Magazines like Vogue and Elle are banned in many eating-disorder clinics, because of their known negative effect on patients ' body-image” (Fox 29). Granted, with the amount of exposure to magazines, women feel aggrieved with their bodies and do not consider themselves beautiful. Aesthetic people come in all shapes and sizes yet the ideal exquisite alters their translation of
When researchers asked one hundred eighteen female, college-aged students to look at twenty pictures in ads from women's magazines, they felt a sudden change in mood after the pictures were observed. There was notable depression in the women, a depression that has seemed to hit many women after leafing through women's magazines (Key and Lindgren 11). This depression is due to the fact there are so many negative messages being conveyed in advertisements that are published in women's magazines. But who can blame the women for their depression anyway? When the majority of the ads in women's magazines show super-skinny models advertising nice clothes, makeup, jewelry, etc., one might find themselves to be a little down. Skinny models portray their figures to be the cultural norm in Western society today. How often does one find a model in a woman's magazine that is over a size six that is not shown advertising plus size merchandise? The answer is not very often, or sometimes never at all. If women do not see their body type being depicted in advertisements, then they are bound to feel left out and depressed. The women will be led to believe that they are not desirable to the public; therefore they must do something about the way their body looks. Unfortunately many times women turn to eating disorders to try to take care of this problem. They become anorexic, bulimic, or other types of eating disorders in a strive for body perfection. All of this melancholy just because of what society teaches women is the only acceptable way to look.