Thin Ideal Media Analysis

In today’s world, with the easy access to technology such as smart phones and tablets, young women are constantly subjected to images of what they should look like. Movies, magazines and commercials often portray beautiful women as being slim and slender. The “thin ideal” is often highlighted by the media. Flip through any magazines or catalogues, it is common to find picture perfect models plastered on the cover page. Moreover, many research have found that the body size of women in the media have shrink tremendously over the years (Bahadur, 2014). With the constant exposure of these “thin ideal”, could it lead to low self-esteem, eating disorders and other unhealthy behaviour? Therefore, the purpose of this research is to prove that mass

It indicates lack or resources or poverty. On the other hand, obesity was considered prestigious. In today’s society, which is fixated on physical appearance, fatness is despised while thinness is worshipped. Although women today are very much aware of the unrealistic body figure, they still aim for it. Findings show that cover models are getting thinner than the average women over the years (Rehabs.com). The gap between actual body size and the bodies of idealized women are more noticeable than ever (…). This is referred to as the “thin-ideal media” (Farrar, 2014). The “thin- ideal media” includes media images that appear in fashion magazines, catalogues and movies with thin female models or celebrities (Farrar, 2014). Not only that, advertisers used photo editing softwares to alter images which can be found in all sort of media. In fact, a photographer said that he manipulated 107 commercials and 36 cover photos in one issue of Vogue magazine (Kretz, 2011). It has become a norm for the media industry to alter images of models and celebrities for their own benefit. These thin-ideal media makes women think that being thin is a good and desirable, even if it is to a point that is potentially risking a person’s health. As a result, more young women are developing eating disorders and other unhealthy behaviour. What cause the change? Why women are constantly pressured to live up to the ideal body