The Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction”

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One day 6 year-old Taylor came home from school and asked her mother, “Mommy, why is my tummy so fat?... A girl in the bathroom at school asked me why I was fat"(Canning and Wynn 1). The article “Appearance Culture in Nine- to 12-Years-Old Girls: Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction” by Levina Clark and Marika Tiggermann tells us that is been said that adolescence is the point when it is most likely for body dissatisfaction to arise, but a growing amount of research suggest that it may develop earlier during childhood. Many studies have shown body dissatisfaction in girls as young as six years old (628).Stephanie Hanes article, “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect”, says The University of Central Florida did a poll and found the 50 percent of 3-6 year old girls worry that they are fat (482-483). The percentage of preadolescence girls who desire a thinner body size is between 28 to 55 percent. With this body dissatisfaction at a young age it can lead to dieting and related behaviors that are risk facts for chronic body image problems, weights cycling, obesity, and eating disorders. To contribute to this dissatisfaction of ones body there are many influences such as media and peers (Clark and Tiggermann 629). The way body image is portrayed in the media and influences from peers it is having a negative effect on young girls and they are are starting to have body dissatisfaction at younger ages. In Opposing Viewpoints article “Body Image”, Carla Rice a health professional defined body image as “an individual's experiences of his/her body. It is the mental picture a person has of his/her body as well as the individual's associated thoughts, feelings, judgments, sensations, awareness, and behavior”... ... middle of paper ... ... Fat To Be A Princess? Examining The Effects Of Popular Children's Media On Young Girls' Body Image." British Journal Of Developmental Psychology 28.2 (2010): 413-426. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. Hellmich, Nanci. "Do Thin Models Warp Girls' Body Image?." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. Hellmich, Nanci. "The Fashion Industry May Be Linked to Poor Body Image and Eating Disorders." The Culture of Beauty. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. USA Today. 25 Sept. 2006. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. Kowalski, Kathiann M. "Body image: How Do You See Yourself? How You Feel About Your Body Has A Big Impact on Your Health. Learn to Like The Person You See In The Mirror! (focus)." Current Health 2, a Weekly Reader publication Mar. 2003: 6+. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

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