Everywhere you turn society is being presented with images of perfection, beauty, or sexuality. Some of these images represent unrealistic or unreachable expectations and can be truly harmful. It is common to see women exploited in reality TV shows and music videos. Young women are also influenced by the images that they see in commercials, billboards, internet sites, and movies. These images serve to harm a woman’s self confidence and also are affecting their overall health. Today’s mass media messages are having a negative effect on how women perceive themselves. I would like to propose a project which involves analyzing several women, of many different age groups, across their lifespan while testing how much the media affects their lives. In the paragraphs below, I am going to summarize three research articles concerning this topic.
The first article is titled: The Effects of the Media on Body Image by Amanda J. Holmstrom. This article proposes the theory that the media’s depiction of a thin body image can lead woman to believe they should meet this ideal goal. She explains in detail three theories that make a positive correlation to the affects of media on body image. The first and the most common of the three theories is Festinger’s social comparison theory. Festinger states that people evaluate themselves through comparison with others and are more likely to compare with people similar to them. The comparison motivates a woman to improve on her image if it seems to be lacking. An average woman might be discouraged by the difference between her body and the body the media portrays as ideal. This can lead to body dissatisfaction. The second theory is called Gerbner’s cultivation theory. This theory implies that the more...
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...alyzing woman throughout their lifespan, I would be able to record and hypothesize the effects of their everyday influences. I would also take field notes of woman from all around the world to see if some cultures differ from others.
Works Cited
Amanda J. Holmstrom , AJH. (2004). The effects of the media on body image: a meta-analysis . Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 48(2), 196-217.
(Amanda J. Holmstrom , 2004)
Marika Tiggemann , MT, & Jessica Miller , JM. (2010). The internet and adolescent girls’ weight satisfaction and drive for thinness. Sex Roles, 63, 79-90.
(Marika Tiggemann , & Jessica Miller , 2010)
Marika Tiggemann , MT, & Julie Slevec, JS. (2010). Attitudes toward cosmetic surgery in middle-aged women: body image, aging anxiety, and the media.Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34(1), 65-74.
(Marika Tiggemann , & Julie Slevec, 2010)
The media has a crucial influence on adolescents. Golan, Hagay and Tamir (2013) stated that “Since puberty, by its very nature, is associated with weight gain, adolescents frequently experience frequently experience dissatisfaction with their changing bodies” (p. 1). Young boys grow up with the expectation of having to become a strong, muscular, masculine man. Young girls see skinny models and movie stars and grow up thinking that it is only socially acceptable and attractive if they are also skinny, or very thin. “In a culture that glorifies thinness some adolescents, mostly girls, become excessively preoccupied with their physical appearance and begin to diet obsessively in an effort to achieve or maintain a thin body (Golan, Hagay & Tamir, 2013, 1). Little girls play with dolls that have narrow waists, full busts, lots of makeup and their hair done a certain way. Advertisers and manufacturers are portraying a particular body image with the dolls, and this makes little girls form an opinion on how they should look. “Young girls may engage in conversations...
There are three variables that affect the body image one perceives about themselves, the first according to Thompson and Stice is “internalization if the thin-deal, that is, the endorsement of the media-prescribed ideal as part of one’s own personal belief system” (Thompson & Stice qtd. in Ashikali et al. 143). (Alvarez 4)
Hass, Cheryl J., et al. "An Intervention for the Negative Influence of Media on Body Esteem." College Student Journal 46.2 (2012): 405-418. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Finally, we need to understand that the review might not be everything related to the relationships between mass media and females’ perceptions of body image. In particular, most studies that were featured in this literature review were conducted not from a local context but it will be able to aid us in the formulation of our survey questions for our specific sample group of a particular population.
Media is infamous for having a tremendous effect on teenage girls. The mass media have long been criticized for presenting unrealistic appearance ideals that contribute to the development of negative body image for many women and girls (Harrison & Hefner, 2006). Whether it’s the influence on their choice of friends, school, or their self image, media has played an important role in affecting those decisions. A growing number of experimental studies have demonstrated a causal link between acute exposure to "thin-ideal" images (i.e., images of impossibly thin and attractive female beauty) and increased body dissatisfaction (Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2003). It has recently been brought up that media influences girls in preadolescence, which is highly likely since most young girls idolize Barbie (Rintala & Mustajoki, 1992). “Were Barbie a flesh-and-blood woman, her waist would be 39% smaller than that of anorexic patients, and her body weight would be so low that she would not be able to menstruate” (Rintala & Mustajoki, 1992). Most young girls wish that they could look like Barbie when they grew up, but if they knew the reality of having her measurements their perceptions would probably change. Children frequently fantasize about who they will be, what they will do, and how they will look when they grow into adulthood.
. Romo, Samantha. "As Body Image Issues Grow in Society Be Aware of Medias Influence." The Crimson White 7 Mar. 2012: n. pag. Print.
Dittmar, Helga. "How Do "body Perfect" Ideals in the Media Have a Negative Impact on Body Image and Behaviors? Factors and Processes Related to Self and Identity." : Sussex Research Online. N.p, 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Graydon, Shari. "How the Media Keeps Us Hung Up on Body Image." Herizons 22.1 (2008): n. pag. Web. 5 Mar 2010.
Holmstrom, A. (2004). The effects of the media on the body image: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 48(2), 196-217.
Yamamiya, Y., Cash, T. F., Melnyk, S. E., Posavac, H. D., & Posavac, S. S. (2005). Women's exposure to thin-and-beautiful media images: Body image effects of media-ideal internalization and impact-reduction interventions. Body image, 2(1), 74-80.
The media have been criticized for portraying the thin women as “ideal” .This research plans to look at the effects of media on the body image of women. This cumulates the findings of empirical studies that observe the effects of media on body image. This study will also look at the different social comparison theories that relate media and body image. It will also investigate the different sources of media that have an impact on the body image of women. It also scopes to find out which sources have a greater consequence than the others. Furthermore it also researches about how the women could be prevented from comparing their body image from that of the models and actresses portrayed in the media.
Tiggeman, Marika. Miller, Jessica. “The Internet and Adolescent Girls' Weight Satisfaction and Drive for Thinness.” Sex Roles 63. 1-2 (Jul 2010): 79-90. ProQuest. Web. 12/24/2013
The pattern is similar for the portrayal of women on television, magazines, and other parts of the media. The way media represents women are for them to be thin-like models and other women on television to be the high standard of “attractiveness” to others. The advertising involved targets young teenage women and feature these models that are portraying desirable items, and the “norm” is for these women to be slender and beautiful (Vonderen & Kinnally, 2012). Research has been done to prove that media’s pressure on being thin causes women to be depressive and negative feelings about themselves . Women’s view are skewed and perceived incorrectly of what the typical female body should be (Haas, Pawlow, Pettibone & Segrist, 2012).
As mentioned before, unrealistic media images are very prevalent. This creates the illusion that females who match the ideal seem like the norm rather than the exception. These perceptions and the constant comparisons lead to the cultivation theory which is known as the contributions media exposure makes to the viewer’s perceptions of social reality (Von Vonderen and Kinnally 53). The repetitiveness of these images influences the individual’s ability to understand that the images are unrealistic. Over time the nearly impossible standard of beauty is adopted and perceived as “reality.” People who watch heavy amounts of TV are more likely to see the real world according to what they have watched. Viewers often seek out programming that reinforces their beliefs, further strengthening their attitudes. If a woman has low self-esteem and views media that portrays emaciated models as beautiful, those negative attitudes will only be reinforced. A person’s level of awareness of the characteristics portrayed by the media is an indicator on how they will internalize these images. Females that are more aware of the media’s effects are more likely to be resilient to body image concerns and females that are unaware are more likely to show symptoms of body disturbance (Serdar). Therefore, if a woman is unable to determine that the media is unrealistic she will be more likely to internalize the images and be more prone to body dissatisfaction.
Vargas, L E. (2013) The Negative Effects of The Media on Body Image. Personal.psu.edu. Retrieved 30 Nov. 17 from: