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How media influences gender roles
The effect of the media on a woman's self-image
Medias negative impact on body image
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Media Manipulation
There is a very subtle, yet powerful force at work on our world today. It is trying to control what woman and young girls do say and believe, especially about their own appearances. The media portrays unrealistic images that affect the way people, particularly woman, feel about themselves. And there is no way to avoid it. The media acts as a transmitter of potentially dangerous, socially desirable values and norms. Anyone can become a victim without even realizing it. Woman are told to believe distortions, inaccuracies, and bias on a daily basis. Somehow in that all the madness thinness has become synonymous with attractiveness. It is the media's job to surround us with slogans and pictures that are able to etch themselves into brains. (Stevens 44) Television, movies, magazine ads, commercials and billboards all attribute to the growing influence the media has on women. (www.rethinkingschools.org). Young girls are the most influenced by the media and its manipulation.(www.ed.gov.ERIC...). However, society as well as the media, has put forth dangerous and concentrated images, that have a strong impact on the lives of woman of all ages.
Society has always placed a great emphasis upon the importance of a woman's appearance, and through that emphasis woman have been taught to measure their self worth in terms of the image they present, even more so than their own intelligence. They have been given rigid and challenging standards to live up to, standards that are usually unrealistic, unattainable, and disheartening. Many woman spend the majority of their lives suffering just trying to reach these standards. The ideal body image in this country today seems to be the long haired 5' 7", 110 lb. female found in every fashion magazine and television show. However, many woman at
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5' 7" could starve themselves their entire life and never reach the so called "ideal".( Rushkoff 27).
The persuasive and intrusive ...
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... dangerous role model, that may even defy their biology, and when this societal and media pressure leads to severe eating disorders among women who believe that they cannot otherwise attain this perceived "ideal" state. The media plays a major role in setting the standard as to what "beauty" is, as the About.com site notes, in finding that, "the average person sees between 400 and 600 ads per day -that is 40 million to 50 million by the time she is 60 years old. One of every 11 commercials has a direct message about beauty."
There is abundant evidence that by communicating unhealthy or infeasible goals for appearance, the media can directly cause an increase in eating disorders among women. A Hofstra University research group reported that: "A study examined over 4,000 TV ads. On the average, 1 out of every 3.8 ads had an "attractive-based" message. (www.cdc.gov.nccaphp/teen.html). These results were used to estimate that women are exposed to over 5,000 of these ads a year, (www.cdc.gov.nccaphp/teen.html) and each one adds to women's body dissatisfaction and the desire to be thin and "beautiful."
African American religious music is the foundation of all contemporary forms of so called “black music.” African American religious music has been a fundamental part of the black experience in this country. This common staple of the African American experience can be traced back to the cruel system of slavery. It then evolved into what we refer to today as gospel music. The goal of this paper is to answer three main questions. What are the origins of African American religious music? How did this musical expression develop into a secular form of music? What is the future of African American religious music? These questions will be answered through factual research of African American traditions, artists, and various other sources.
The media and how it affects our society has changed tremendously over the past few decades. Our population of children who spend a lot of time in front of the television or on social media continues to increase, creating a superficial view of themselves and who they should be. This superficial outlook has been created by the media because it preaches to our society that looks matter. Not only are there millions of advertisements saying to lose weight and buy certain products to be beautiful, but there has been a specific standard of beauty set for models and actresses to obtain. These standards include big eyes, volumino...
The mass media over the years has had such a profound role in creating an image on how women should be viewed. From their appearance to what their duties are in everyday life, the media has made sure to depict unrealistic images of women. These images have caused not only the male public but women themselves to believe that they must attain a certain kind of body or occupation to fit into society. Women often feel obligated and pressured to comply to this praised image of perfection.
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 powerful social system where everyone must have a thin waist and large breasts. As a society, we are so 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.
The media is a fascinating tool; it can deliver entertainment, self-help, intellectual knowledge, information, and a variety of other positive influences; however, despite its advances for the good of our society is has a particular blemish in its physique that targets young women. This blemish is seen in the unrealistic body images that it presents, and the inconsiderate method of delivery that forces its audience into interest and attendance. Women are bombarded with messages from every media source to change their bodies, buy specific products and redefine their opinion of beauty to the point where it becomes not only a psychological disease, but a physical one as well.
Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.
According to Marton Reka, “In Western societies thinness symbolizes sexual seductivity, strength, and fatness symbolizes laziness and loss of willpower.” (Reka 2) Most women are unhappy with their weight at some point in their lives. Often, this starts at a very young age. Between 1966 and 1969, studies showed that the number of grade school
Contemporary, as well as older, Gospel music originated from the “Spirituals.” The spirituals, also known as the “Negro Spirituals or African-American folk songs,” were religious songs sung by the African Americans slaves in Southern America. The spirituals spawned from teachings of Christianity from slave owners, the church and even hymns. The songs were usually about love, hope, peace, oppression, freedom and even used as a secret code. The African American slaves would sing while working so much so that slave o...
“From children's toys to TV programs, images of the idealized body have permeated every level of our visual culture” (Swinson). As the Advertisement industry continues to grow, the focus on looks is increasing as well. With around half of the advertisements using beauty as an appeal to sell their products(Teen Health and the Media), the pressures to be 'perfect' are causing women to become dissatisfied with their looks, driving them to turn to unhealthy measures. The average teenage girl gets a significantly greater amount of media time each day compared to the amount of time they spend with their parents, this is usually around 180 minutes of media per ten minutes spent with their parents (Heubeck). With so much time spent on media influenced activities, and the constant exposure to unhealthy models, it is no surprise that women are being influenced. Most female fashions models wear a size two or four, while the average American wears a size twelve or fourteen (Mirror-Mirror).When advertisements manipulate the photos of their models, it alters the way that women view themselves. Advertisers should not be allowed to promote unhealthy body images because it leads to an increase in self-consciousness, eating disorders, and suicide.
When one thinks of meditation, what comes to mind? Does one think of group of 1970’s hippies sitting in a circle singing about peace? How about relaxing music being played? How about trying to form one’s body into a pretzel-like shape? What if meditation has nothing to do with the background music being played or what position one’s body is in? Meditation is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the act or process of spending time in quiet thought” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meditation). Meditation is just simply sitting in a quiet room and thinking about one’s life. The act of meditating is much simpler than many people think. Through deep concentration and relaxation, meditation becomes an altered state of consciousness.
Gospel music especially enhances music because it shows testimony. If one person tells their story that means that more will gain the strength and the courage to come forth and discuss their story with others. It also enhances music because in every genre music tells a story; it paints a vivid picture of that artist’s life. You gain a special insight to their life because most of what they rap or sing about is portrayed in at least one or more pieces of music in their albums.
Although advertisements may be seen as harmless, one ought to recognize that the media has a large impact on a woman’s self esteem. Marketers use flawless models in their advertisements in order to attract women and induce marketing comsumption of their product. As women try to achieve their unrealistic body frame, women turn to extreme dieting, and eating disorders to achieve their goal. Although these goals are unrealistic, women are still lured by media. Therefore, media has a large impact on the health, and self esteem of women.
Music is everything in many teens lives. Music can speak to teens. There are many genres that teens can learn about and like. Music is "the art of arranging tones in an orderly sequence so as to produce a unified and continuous composition" (Yoshimura, n.d.). Everyone has a different definition of music, so there really isn’t a set definition. “There are many theories regarding when and where music originated. Many agree that music began even before man existed” (Estrella, n.d.). Music has been found from as early as the ancient in the middle east. “In ancient Israel a thousand years before Christ, King David composed and sang hundreds of songs called Psalms” ("What Is Music &"). There are hundreds of genres of music. Here are some important genres of music rock, rap, gospel, country, and classical.
are definitely other causes of eating disorders, but with constant advertising and material showcasing visuals that feature seemingly flawless and thin women, who would not feel insecure? Who would not feel influenced to want to have a similar body image? The very image of the ‘ideal’ woman has caused many women around the world to place outer appearance on a pedestal, to hate their own image, and ultimately fall victim to terrible eating disorders. My name is Valerie, and the purpose of my speech today will be to convince you that the portrayal of a woman’s body image by the media is the root
This type of music is a genre of American protestant music, rooted in the religious revivals of the 19th century, which developed in different directions within different races. Gospel music is ecstatic choral singing during church services, with high flying sopranos over instrumentals and the congregation joining. Sippie Wallace is an African American known for her gospel singing and blues (Kerman, 2012).” Gospel music came about during the same time as blues and ragtime. Some of you may not know the term ragtime, like you know blues. Ragtime is similar to jazz, which was a style of piano playing developed by African Americans in the early 1900s. Referring back to gospel, this genre used various instruments. For example, tambourine, organ, piano, drums, bass guitar are widely used in gospel songs and are widely contributed to Christian worship as a whole. In the beginning, gospel was generally directed by African Americans but now the genre has become