The Ideal Body Type: As Portrayed in Media and an Exploration of the Outcomes for Males and Females

The inspiration for this topic, that will be later elaborated upon, was because of Sunny Bergman video. She has produced several documentaries such as “Sletvrees” (Bergman, 2013) where she talks about how women encounter unrealistic expectations that are required of them, with regards to their sexuality in particular. She explores parts of Europe like The Netherlands and Great Britain in her documentaries but also travels to Cuba and to get a taste of how things work there. Watching these videos sparked a great interest in her main idea and made me ask a question that concerned body image expectations and attitudes across gender and culture. I want to delve into these unrealistic expectations of how bodies should look by further exploring its portrayal in media and how it varies across cultures, ethnicities and gender.

In my surrounding culture and environment it is not uncommon to hear people speak of issues they have with weight, or that they are unhappy with their body parts (that often cannot do much about) and how they reflect this dissatisfaction through unhealthy eating patterns or over exercising. There are strict rules for how one should look and dress, and this is a common conversation topic that I too am a part of. I am no different, and although I am aware of the detrimental effects these negative outlooks on the body are, I have trouble distancing myself from them. I notice that they too, are integrated in who I am: how I live and think. Having been ingrained with this idea of a negative body image since I was at least seven years old, I feel it is something I have been aware of for a long time. However, not since the Gender and Sexuality class did I realise that this portrayed ideal body type is all around us. Now I...

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