aitlin Whitten
Professor Dye
1304.35
April 29, 2016
“Anaconda” and “All About That Bass”: Normalizing Skinny Shaming Media has a huge impact on our society. We are constantly surrounded by the media and feel the effects of its influence. We watch television. We read magazines. We subscribe to newspapers. We listen to music. We come in contact with countless forms of media everyday. What many of us do not realize though, is that all the commonplace media that we encounter can have drastic and dangerous impacts on the way we view the world and ourselves. Much of this media has positive effects, such as keeping people informed about news and the happenings around the world. However, recent music is beginning to take a dangerous turn that will
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Dana Olivier, a fashion and beauty expert for the Huffington Post, recounts her previous struggles with skinny shaming in her post “Skinny Shaming Sucks Too, Ya Know”. Olivier references two particular media incidents that are prime examples of “skinny-shaming”. The first of these is popular comedian Mo’Nique and her famous comedy sketch shaming skinnier women. The comedian calls skinny women “‘evil’”. (Olivier), and attacks them with cruel jokes, to which the audience responds by laughing and applauding. Although Mo’Nique’s sketch is older than the recent body positive movement, it addresses a problem that has been present in our society for many years. As evidenced by this popular sketch and its reception, skinny-shaming is thought of as acceptable by our society. This problem began a long time ago, but is beginning to grow at an alarming rate as the body acceptance movements gain popularity, as evidenced by mainstream music by Minaj and Trainor adopting the skinny shaming …show more content…
This influence and promotion that skinny-shaming is a norm will only increase this growing problem. Lyrics shaming skinnier women like “Anaconda”’s repetition of “fuck them skinny bitches” contribute to the internalization of the idea that it is acceptable and normal to body shame skinnier women. This internalization of the ideas through music leads to much greater damage than external pressures like family pressure or peer
Like a blueprint or instruction manual, the objective of a rhetorical analysis is to dissect a written argument, identify its many parts, and explain how all of them come together to achieve a desired effect. Susan Bordo, a professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky, wrote “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies”, published in 2003 in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Her essay examines how the media plays a pervasive role in how women view their bodies to the point where we live in an empire of images and there are no protective borders. In “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies”, Bordo not only effectively incorporates numerous facts and statistics from her own research and the research of others; she also appeals to emotional realities of anxiety and inadequacy felt by women all over the world in regards to their body image. Ultimately, her intent is to critique the influence of the media on self-confidence and body image, and to remind her audience of the overt as well as subconscious messages they are receiving on a daily basis.
The media can impact people’s lives in many ways, whether it’s fashion, movies, literature, or hobbies. One of the impacts is how women view their bodies. Movie stars and models feel pressured to catch attention and to look good in order to have a good career in their respective field. People tend to judge how someone looks based on their body composition. The result of this “judgment” is that Hollywood is getting skinny. Since models and actresses serve as role models for people, people tend to want to look like them. The result of this seemingly harmless model of behavior is in an increase in eating disorders.
Picture the world controlled by the media. Could you imagine how ugly, scarce, and hateful it would be. What would you do if a magazine or a television show told you that your body weight had to be twenty pounds lighter to be all most perfect? Would you actually consider the fact or let ignore it? Teens, mainly girls, will be sucked into these magazines. (National Eating Disorders Info Centre 15) These could be magazines like Seventeen and Cosmo Girl. In addition with many others of course. All though, the media is a bad example at times it is not precisely the main issue for negative body image. (National Eating Disorders Association 1) All though, these constant screaming messages the media produces can progress to something more serious. (National Eating Disorders Association 1) More serious as in an eating disorder.
The sociocultural approach to the issue of body image among women states that women receive harmful and negative cultural messages about their bodies. These messages can come from the media as well as from family and peer influences (Swami, 2015). By promoting the thin ideal for attractiveness, the media contributes to women rating their bodies more negatively and thus increases their likelihood of developing eating disorder symptoms (Spitzer, Henderson & Zivian, 1999). In a meta-analysis studying the effects of media images on female body image, Groesz and Levine (2002) found that women’s body image was significantly more negative after viewing thin media images than after viewing average or plus size models. Harmful body messages from family can be direct, such as verbal criticism or teasing, or in...
In her novel “Beauty Myth”, Naomi Wolf argues that the beauty and fashion industry are to blame for using false images to portray what beautiful woman is. She believes the magazines are to blame for women hating their bodies. Wolf states, “When they discuss [their bodies], women lean forward, their voices lower. They tell their terrible secret. It’s my breast, they say. My hips. It’s my thighs. I hate my stomach.” (Wolf, 451) She is focusing on how w...
Released in 2014, Meghan released the song “All about that bass” that was a number one success on the billboard charts and still one of the most watched videos on youtube. However, while this is all well and good for the pop singer, the song itself doesn’t come across as a positive message for body acceptance. Through lyrics that are one-hand uplifting, but then suddenly come across as entirely an attack on thinner women, and imagery like the “plastic dolls” and the role of the thinner women within the music video, this creates conflicting images and overall begs to question as to what the exact message of the video is. On one hand, Meghan is displaying body positivity for round women, but at the same time, projects the message that, perhaps,
Music has always been a basic form of expression. From Antonin Dvorak, to Eminem, to even ancient, tribal music, it has been a medium through which individuals convey their thoughts and expressions. Today this medium is under attack. Everywhere we turn, everything we do and say is being scrutinized. We are being told what to say. We are being spoon-fed our emotions. No longer are we allowed to think freely, openly. All the censors out there are on the prowl for another piece to rip to shreds because it doesn't fit their description of what is decent and moral. What they fail to realize is that we don't make the music for them... We do it for release.
Often times throughout history and in today’s world, music along with lyrics of songs and musical artists are blamed for deviant behavior in adolescents and teenagers. Some argue that subcultures are created because of artists and their music which leads to groups of young adults taking part in deviant behavior, while others argue the opposite; that the behavior leads the person to listen to the music. There is also concern about the effect that music videos have on the behaviors of the listeners of music throughout all genres. Although there is not much extended research on music and the effect it has on its listeners there is plenty of speculation, theories, and minor studies.
By presenting these negative themes, such as drugs, violence, or sex, in high volume, the public quickly becomes desensitized. The findings of this study show that in popular music, sexually-charged themes are being presented at high rates, which can lead to desensitization in the future if it has not already happened. The culmination of this study may lead to potential positive social change on the societal level by opening the eyes of musicians and producers to cut back the number of sexual themes that are being shown to the public through such a widely-enjoyed type of media. Further Research
For years, popular music has involved pushing the boundaries of artistic expression and the negative effects of explicit music has outraged society. There is a fine line that divides vulgarity from artistic expression. Whatever the motive behind the explicitness of popular music, it has many negative consequences on our society and therefore should be stopped.
A girl cannot scroll through her Instagram feed without seeing a picture of someone showing off their body. The media also worsens things with its tiny models and the way it portrays celebrities. Photoshop is a popular and common practice in the media as well, causing people to have desires of unrealistic bodies. Many celebrities have been body shamed for not having a small enough physique or for gaining weight. Selena Gomez is an example of this. Recently in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Gomez talked about how she had gained some weight, and was called fat because of a picture taken by paparazzi of her in a swimsuit. Even though the comments got to her a bit, Gomez took to Instagram to fight it and show that she is not ashamed of her body (“Selena Gomez Talks Lupus, Body Shaming, Boyfriends & Taylor Swift With The Ellen DeGeneres Show [HD]”). Gomez, along with other celebrities, have inspired other girls to take a stand and be proud of their bodies. There have been multiple songs, articles, and social posts written about this issue, all in an attempt to fight and weaken the argument that a girl must be skinny to be
With the music being the highly profitable, capitalist enterprise that it is today, it is no wonder that it is controlled and regulated by a few large conglomerates that exist is today’s world. It is important to make clear that although evidence is being presented of the positive aspects of globalization through music that there is overwhelming evidence that cultural imperialism is more than it seems on the outside. One must keep in mind that cultural imperialism, globalization and the creation of a global village is a business. People are profiting at other people’s loss of cultural identity, they are sold a culture and heritage. With the every growing N’Sync fan clubs and Britney clones, the world is turning into a stage for pop culture and its glamorous unattainable standards.
A girl scans the sidewalk while walking home after a day of school, hoping no one notices as she hides her face, feeling like an alien in her own skin. Instead of feeling beautiful, she feels hideous because of the words said to her. Body shaming, a term that is becoming an increasingly popular issue because humans are obsessed with appearances. This generation creates these standards and puts pressure on people to live up to and then ridicule those same standards when realizing that the standards are unattainable. Everybody criticizes the way that others look but then began shaming when people began to shame that one's personal appearance. People have separated been into categories based on looks. It’s fat against fit and it is becoming unhealthy. In today's society, body shaming is an ongoing issue. Body Shaming, though active in both genders, is especially harmful to women. Body shaming is pushing women to be insecure, eating disorders, and giving men unrealistic expectations.
Body Shaming is “inappropriate negative statements and attitudes toward another person’s weight or size” (Lumpur). Throughout history this has been a huge topic discussed by society and the media. There have also been many different health issues concerning this topic defending many views of society. Many artists such as Selena Gomez, Meghan Trainor and Nicki Minaj have drawn a lot of pubic awareness to this topic. Selena Gomez has talked about her experiences eating disorders and with the body shaming she has deal with through the media. Nicki Minaj and Meghan Trainor have made some of their lyrics shaming some women about their bodies.
Body-shaming can have a negative impact on a person's physical and mental health. They can end up with so many body issues. As teenagers, they can become self-conscious and have self-esteem issues. Mentally it may make the person feel ashamed and like there is something wrong with them (Loughlin, 2017). People also need to realize that skinny shaming is just as hurtful as fat shaming (Gies, 2017). Also, some skinny people can’t help that they are naturally thin it’s in their genetics. For example, I was born with a thin body type and eat whatever I want. It is very difficult for me to gain weight no matter how hard I try. The critical comments being made about a person’s body can lead to a development of eating disorders that can even be fatal (“Anorexia Nervosa”, 2015). So before you tell someone to go eat more remember that that person may be battling a serious illness like anorexia or bulimia and anorexia disorder has the highest mortality rate of any of the psychiatric illness (“Anorexia Nervosa”,