The female body image and what a person should, or could, look like in marketing and advertising is a controversial topic. Beauty sells and is to some extent a problem when the media produces images for women that seem unrealistic. Body image is a critical mental health issue for young girls. It is a concern widespread among women of color, specifically among Latinas. Increasing diversity and perceptions of beauty have driven the need for dialogue on the scrutiny Latinas face across all industries regarding their bodies and appearance.
According to Viladrich, Yeh, Bruning, and Weiss (2009) research suggests that Latinas are more tolerant of heavier female figures, and therefore suffer from less body dissatisfaction than white women do. However, the thin-ideal concept is still quite present in them. Researchers also dispute that an increased occurrence of obesity/overweight in Latinas has steered them to the belief that Hispanic culture is more lenient of heavier figures. Six focus groups were conducted in New York and were divided into two sections. The first addressed the participants’ cultural and personal influences correlated to their opinions of body weight and shape including their
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Participants responded on a 5 point Likert-type scale asking what language they usually think in, read and speak, used as a child, and what language they typically speak with friends. To measure the participants’ body satisfaction, the Body Image subscale of the Self-Image Questionnaire for Young Adolescents was included and they responded to those questions on a 4 point Likert type scale. The results were Latinas are increasingly turning to black girls and women as possible sources of comparison. These comparisons may be more favorable as Black-oriented television is more commonly being associated with greater body satisfaction, specifically in the midst of those girls who were more
Beauty is a cruel mistress. Every day, Americans are bombarded by images of flawless women with perfect hair and smooth skin, tiny waists and generous busts. They are presented to us draped in designer clothing, looking sultry or perky or anywhere in between. And although the picture itself is alluring, the reality behind the visage is much more sinister. They are representations of beauty ideals, sirens that silently screech “this is what a woman is supposed to look like!” Through means of media distribution and physical alteration, technology has created unrealistic beauty ideals, resulting in distorted female body images.
Altabe, M. (1996). Ethnicity and Body Image: Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis. Tampa, Florida: University of South Florida.
Body image is an important facet in understanding the phenomenon of eating disorders. Body image concerns are important in the etiology and treatment of eating disorders and obesity (Smith, Thompson, Raczynski, and Hilner, 1997; Thompson, 1997). The construct of body image reflects the level of satisfaction one feels regarding his or her body. Body image is a multidimensional construct. It involves race, socioeconomic status, age, as well as, perceptual and attitudinal components. For this reason, research has been done to dispel the myth that all women have a negative body image. Rather, as has been shown, there are definite differences in the perception of body image and self-concept, especially across racial lines. The claims of most studies suggest that African-American women generally have a greater tolerance or acceptability for higher body weight. In addition, African-American women are also thought to place less importance on body size in the scheme of their overall body image, and there are more likely to be satisfied if they are at a higher body weight, and still regard themselves as attractive. Research not only confirms these statements, but also draws attention to other important, culturally- relevant factors, such as age in relation to other cultural forces such as, different attitudes and behaviors that shape the body images of African-American women. Finally, since research shows that body image is an important aspect in the etiology of eating disorders and obesity, its influence and the cultural forces and components behind it should be taken into account in treatment and for future research.
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...
This paper clarifies the correlation of body image and the media upon African American girls. The relationship between them influences society perception of beauty. Beauty is usually encompassed with physical appearances and is associated with body image. Girls' projection of beauty is directly related to body image. The standards of beauty are defined throughout society. The aspects that will be focused on is body image. Society's portrayal of beauty is seen as unattainable which is similar to the standards of body image.
Every culture around the globe stresses specific ideals for body image. In the United States and many other countries, the media plays a big role in how we view ourselves- it shows us what is "good" and what is "bad." In many ways our society infiltrates our concept of ideal body image by setting unrealistic expectations for both genders. At an early age we are instructed to pay special attention to our appearance. A...
The 1997 Psychology Today Body Image Survey revealed that Americans have more discontentment with their bodies than ever before. Fifty-six percent of women surveyed said they are dissatisfied with their appearance in general. The main problem areas about which women complained were their abdomens (71 percent), body weight (66 percent), hips (60 percent) and muscle tone (58 percent). Many men were also dissatisfied with their overall appearance, almost 43 percent. However body dissatisfaction for men and women usually means two different things. More men as opposed to women wanted to gain weight in order to feel satisfied with their bodies (Ga...
Obesity among Hispanic Latino women between the ages of twenty and sixty-four years old is a current health disparity in the United States. Nutrition, physical activity and obesity are one of the twelve leading health indicators categorized as significant public health issues by Healthy People 2020. Obesity is classified as anyone who exceeds body mass index (BMI) of thirty. According to Women’s Health, three in four Latino women are overweight or obese ("Overweight and obesity," 2010). Compared to other ethnicities, Hispanic Latino women were 1.36 times more likely to be overweight/obese than non-Hispanic white women (Vahratian, 2009).
Women in our culture today have developed an obsession with body image and weight that has contributed to the development of eating disorders. The media portrays super-thin models and women take that as the ideal of what they “should” look like. This can have a tremendous impact on their self esteem, and on both the low and high end of the BMI scale, a measure of body fat calculated using your height and weight; whether it be a woman with anorexia, or a woman with obesity. Men also experience this pressure to be muscular and tall, yet it is small compared to what women face. Statistics of college men show that 25% binge eat, 24% diet and 3% purge (Cain, Epler, Steinley, and Sher, 2012). Studies show that people with higher BMI’s experience more body dissatisfaction and and negative body image than people with lower BMI’s (Duncan, al-Nakeeb, and Nevill, 2013). When people feel bad about their body they can experience low self esteem: when a person feels inadequate and lacks respect for the self (Mäkinen, Puukko-Viertomies, Lindberg, Siimes, & Aalberg, 2012). Someone with low self esteem is more at risk for experiencing body dissatisfaction, which can lead to abnormal eating habits (Mäkinen, Puukko-Viertomies, Lindberg, Siimes, & Aalberg, 2012). This can take two forms, dietary restraint and binge eating. High and low BMI has a negative impact on self esteem and body image of women due to the pressure to be perfect in today’s society. The presentation of the following studies of children and adults will seek to understand the differences in men and women and their relationship with BMI, self esteem, and body image through its effect on eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, and the thin-ideal portrayed by the media.
The most fashionable, sought after magazines in any local store are saturated with beautiful, thin women acting as a sexy ornament on the cover. Commercials on TV feature lean, tall women promoting unlimited things from new clothes to as simple as a toothbrush. The media presents an unrealistic body type for girls to look up to, not images we can relate to in everyday life. When walking around in the city, very few people look like the women in commercials, some thin, but nothing similar to the cat walk model. As often as we see these flawless images float across the TV screen or in magazines, it ...
"Introduction to Body Image: Teen Decisions." Body Image. Ed. Auriana Ojeda. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Teen Decisions. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 May 2014.
It has been said time and time again that media heavily influences the desastisfied body image, may women and girls enconter. Previous studies have shown how over expouser to the hyper-sexualized ads and images in the media lead to a distortion of body image in women and girls. However, there is yet another factor that influences the decline of body image just as much. Peer competition has been shown to contribute to this decline as well. Peer competition is any rivarly for supermacy amongst those of the same age group or social group. A recent study shows that women’s body dissatisfaction is influenced by peer competition with other rather than depictions of women in the media. Muñoz and Ferguson, (2012) developed a study in order to further understand the influence of inter-peer pressure in body dissatisfaction.
In this age, media is more pervasive than ever, with people constantly processing some form of entertainment, advertisement or information. In each of these outlets there exists an idealized standard of beauty, statistically shown to effect the consumer’s reflection of themselves. The common portrayal of women’s bodies in the media has shown to have a negative impact on women and girls. As the audience sees these images, an expectation is made of what is normal. This norm does not correspond to the realistic average of the audience. Failing to achieve this isolates the individual, and is particularly psychologically harmful to women. Though men are also shown to also be effected negatively by low self-esteem from the media, there remains a gap as the value of appearance is seen of greater significance to women, with a booming cosmetic industry, majority of the fashion world, and the marketing of diet products and programs specifically targeting women.
This study hopes to gain a more in depth view of a demographic that is believed to put a great amount of focus on body image in the way the...
A study shows that 44% of Latino high school students aim to lose weight due to the representations of media and stereotypes. This study also shows that these students turn to extreme measures of weight loss such as vomiting and laxative abuse. The need for these students to lose weight as quickly as they can, are caused by how the media presents what is attractive and what is not - for example, women in the media are shown to be thinner than average (Lopez et al.,