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is female perception of body image affected by the media
gender roles in society and culture
is female perception of body image affected by the media
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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, into a constantly changing expectation of what is beautiful. Women are taught to look at themselves from an outside view, to be a sex image for men and fuel the diet and fashion industries. Society thinks if women do not fit within the unrealistic image something is wrong with them. The highly glorified concept of beauty marketed by the media contributes to the concern over body image that causes many women, including myself, to eating disorders and poor self-image. I could really relate to the article, like Susie Orbach wrote about, most women in our society occupy themselves with making themselves fit into a image that society, men and the media find attractive and beautiful. “The women’s body is not satisfactory as it is. It must be thin, free of “unwanted hair”, deodorized, perfumed and clothed” (Orbach, 451). Even if we don’t realize the effect of advertisement and media has on our image it still has its way of creeping into your subconscious. Flipping thru magazines I constantly think, “Geez, I wish I looked like that.” Women constantly compare themselves to others especially those in the limelight. I started this fight at age eleven to reach this glorified image the media constantly throws at our face. I was a healthy average size pre-teen but I viewed myself as HUGE and that I needed to lose weight. I turned to magazines like seventeen that are full of... ... middle of paper ... ...nd do not have to be under weight to look good. It was not always an easy ride, but it was a battle I needed to take, and I wouldn't take back my choice to fight my eating disorder. Now, I realize how beautiful I really am, and I never want to let go of that. I now realize that I do not need to be stick thin to be beautiful. Similar to what the article mentioned, not conforming to the unattainable image the media flaunts is a “rebellion against the powerlessness of the women, against the pressure to look and act in a certain way and against being evaluated on her ability to create an image herself” (Orbach, 252). I no longer strive to meet impossible standards but strive to be happy and healthy. The world needs to learn how to create it’s own image and stop giving the media so much power over their daily life’s and for women and men to respect themselves for them.
When we look into the mirror, we are constantly picking at our insecurities; our stomach, thighs, face, and our body figure. Society has hammered into our brains that there is only one right way of looking. Society disregards that there are many different shapes, sizes, and colors. Then society makes us believe that corporations can shove detrimental products to fix our imperfection. As a consequence, we blame media for putting all the negative ideas into women’s brain. It is not wrong to say that they are in part responsible, but we can’t make this issue go away until we talk about patriarchy. In the article Am I Thin Enough Yet? Hesse-Biber argues that women are constantly concerned about their looks and if they are categorized as “beautiful” by society. These ideas are encouraged by corporations that sell things for us to achieve “beautiful” but the idea is a result of patriarchy. Hesse-Biber suggests that if we want to get rid of these ideas we need to tackle patriarchy before placing all the blame on capitalism.
One of her points is how the media negatively affects many women’s self esteem. She talks about how in “Fashion, magazines, talk shows, ‘lite and fat free food in stores and restaurants, and diet centers and all daily reminders of these expectations [of women to have a slim body.]” She explains how fashion is moving to be more revealing, which is only flattering on the
In the early 1990’s, it was reported that eleven million women in the United States suffer from various eating disorders. At the same time, at least ninety percent of people struggling with eating disorders are female (Stephens). Many researchers tried to figure out why so many women today were suffering from these terrible conditions that destroy people from the inside out. After thorough amounts of research were done, it was concluded that today’s society generates intense amounts of pressure on women to fit an “ideal image” of the models they see in various ways. Thanks to false advertising, false images of women, and the changing “desires” of society, the Beauty Myth gives women an image of themselves that is physically impossible to achieve.
In conclusion, women should be comfortable in their own skin and shouldn’t feel compelled to be as thin as a model. Women need to feel appropriate and content in their own skin, and to not feel inferior to the model on TV or pasted in a magazine advertisement. We are all different and no woman is exactly the same and even the ones that seem to be picture perfect have flaws and love handles, and women need to realize that is the truth. So, by accepting one’s self for who they truly are and what they have accomplished in life is what is going to boost our self-esteem. Once the world understands this, then the media won’t have such a monumental affect on society.
Everyday all over the world young women is skipping a meal, maybe two or even starving themselves the whole day, because of the unattainable ideal body image the beauty industry have created.This is an issue to the world because the because is sending a negative message to women all over the world. This message makes women feel guilty about themselves. “Woman are deemed below the beauty standard and then made to feel guilty so that they purchase beauty products.” (Nicolosi and Sarvani) If this issue is not solved it will increase, and the ideal body image will keep on getting less attainable for the average woman. “It is commonly known that the average model during the 1950s wore a size 8 and the average woman a size 10: today the average model wears a size 2 and in contrast the average woman now wears a size 12” (Childress) These facts show that the beauty industry is sending a wrong message to women about what being healthy...
Meanwhile,, men and women are being forced to think what is attractive and what is not. Such as being too fat or to skinny. Many research has suggested that 86% of all women are not happy with their bodies and constantly want to lose weight (“Beauty and Body”). With all the high expectations the media is feeding to their audience, how could one not think they need to lose weight? We see it through magazines, we see it in movies; as a result, men and women all over the world want the unrealistic bodies that the media creates in these mediums.
In today’s society it seems as though women are forced into being something that they are not. Women see pictures in magazines and they believe to be accepted by everyone else they need to look like an air-brushed image. I believe that some of the feelings from “The Beauty Myth” are still true in today’s society, but on the other hand I believe that it should not have to be this way. I believe that women’s feeling that they have to look like something they are not are brought on by advertisements like this one and many other things.
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.
The feminine stereotype of beauty in western culture is placed in magazines, television screens and the internet, consistently reminding people to achieve the ideal look. Tons of platforms are utilized to teach the public on how to achieve that look and why anyone shouldn’t aim for anything less. This of course shows the awareness that women are expected or strive to be beautiful at any cost. Women are constantly faced with these images and is plastered in their heads, as a result will go through the extremes to achieve it, whether it’s through cosmetic surgeries or weight loss. Whichever way is chosen, it can be very detrimental to their health. However, this is not only about body image and what women think about themselves but it is as if
...mselves at the same time. Thus, beauty and morality have become equated. For many women, weight is a quick and concrete barometer by which to measure oneself and one’s worth – how well one is doing as a woman. (Rodin et al., 1985, p.290) In this sense, a “good” girl must remain skinny and be in control of her desires, and this pressure is even worse by prejudice against fatness (Thompson et al., 1999). Though mass media should be responsible for this, individuals should also take part of their responsibility as it is not solely the problem created by the mass media. According to Focault (1977) contemporary women can control their body rationally and wisely in spite of the influence of the mass media. Women have their own choice in controlling their bodies, they slim down can be for the sake of health, not merely blindly follow the trend instilled by the mass media.
Everybody is born to be different. Therefore shouldn’t we all have a different perspective on what is “beautiful”? Our body is what makes us who we are and a person different from everyone else. At one point or another, we have all looked in the mirror and wish to change the way we look. Why can’t we be happy with the way we look? Many believe that the media is to blame. Unattainable ideals of beauty presented in the media are creating problems in society. The messages that media sends out to viewers are setting unrealistic standards for both men and women; this is causing emotional and physical problems for people. To help end this problem, advertisers and the fashion industry should make an effort to present models, a healthy weight, but parents should teach their children to criticize the media. These insecurities are creating serious problems for millions of people across the nation struggle with an unhealthy body image. each day.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Marilyn Monroe was iconic for the ideal ‘body perfect’ image. Ranging from a size 10 to 18, with the curvy body everyone fantasied of having. Gawking, awing, and oohing emphasized not only words affected the ‘body perfect’ image, but peoples’ actions did. When did this body image become ‘fat’? In today’s society Marilyn Monroe is consider ‘fat’, how she can go from the iconic ideal body, to an overweight ‘ugly’ woman (Blackwell, 2000). In today’s studies, the ideal ‘body perfect’ image, is ranging from a size 0 to 2, standing at 5’8 feet weighing 110-115 pounds, resembling the looks of a child’s toy called the Barbie (Dittmar 2009, 2). “In the mass media shape and weight define perfection. Women perceive themselves as being bigger than they actually are.” (Blackwell 2000, 367). Placing this as our ideal ‘body perfect’ image, is destroying young adults’ preference of what is beautiful. If you do not look this way, you are ugly, but why do we allow this. Today’s social media portray such an image, destroying a real body image of a real woman. In the past few decades, social media has overtaken what a young adult believes is the ideal ‘body perfect’ image, leaving them in despair to look that way. According to Dittmar (2009) and Sohn (2009) one’s image link negative consequences due to social media. Negative consequences range from eating disorders, low self-esteem, depression, and low self-worth. Attaining these negative consequences results in the idea of maintaining an unrealistic ‘ideal body’. Social media allows young woman to believe thin is ideal, no other way (Sohn 2009, 20). Social media effects young woman in believing the ‘ideal’ body image is socially acceptable allowing one to endanger themselves. ...
When most girls are little, their minds and imaginations illuminate at the sight of the beloved Disney princesses, with beautiful ball gowns, perfect hair, and dainty waists, as they start to become their first heroines. They grow up a little and play with Barbies, dressing her for day on the beach or a date with Ken. Soon enough, these girls are up flipping through magazines, in awe of a movie star’s dress that perfectly silhouettes her body, or of a model at the Victoria Secret Fashion Show who walks with such a calm cool. These girls become immune to the sight of women with a perfect physique, the very images of the thin ideal. It is accepted as the norm, as something to strive for. Although the standards of beauty have changed in the past sixty years, media images still depict women with perfect, unattainable bodies, and increased exposure to media has resulted in more women losing confidence in their own bodies, driving them to use advertised methods to fruitlessly attain physical perfection.
Susan Bordo states in her article “Never Just Pictures”, that children grow up knowing that they can never be thin enough. They are thought that being fat is the worst thing ever. The ones responsible for this are the media, celebrities, models, and fashion designers. All of these factors play a big role on the development of the standard and how people view themselves. Everyone at one dreams about being the best they can in any aspect. But to achieve that most believe that one of the big factors is outer beauty. So people look at celebrities and fashion designers, and believe that to be accepted they have to look like them. That’s when they take drastic measures to change their appearance because they’ve been influenced by the Medias idea of “beautiful.” This feeling mostly happens in women but in recent years the gender gap has become smaller. Now men also feel the need to look good because of the media. On the TV, instead of having infomercials ...
However, it is evident that the media usually presents and sexualizes women who are “young, fit and beautiful” hence probably creating self esteem issues more than confidence especially in younger women who are religious towards the media’s expectations. This stereotype of being a desired body shape only forces women to meet unattainable perfect physical standards (Gill 2015). The media bombards the youth with gender representations and the types of bodies that are deemed to be attractive. Many teenagers all around the world are desperate to lose weight to be “beautiful”.