Misconceptions about Phisique Portrayed by the Media

966 Words2 Pages

In society today the media misrepresents a lot of things giving people the wrong impression and false beliefs that something is what it isn’t or gives them the belief that they might be able to achieve something that is not very likely to be achieved. Media today is all about making money and trying to persuade people to consume as much as they can. The paper that you are about to read focuses on how the media incorrectly portrays weight lifting and working out in the gym in general. They show misleading photos and advertisement that could give a person the false impression that working out is easy and idea of the perfect body is only a couple pushups away. And also gender stereotype weightlifting makes females seem weaker and inferior to men in the weight room. After reading this paper there should be a better understanding of how the media incorrectly portrays these ideas.
First I’m going to focus on how the media destroys people motivation by displaying misleading photos in their advertisements. Most gyms, workout facilities, and athletic wear clothing get models that are very physically fit to advertise their company in their commercials which is understandable because you do want the best to advertise your product. But when using people that look like they have been in the gym working out for over ten years, it can be very discouraging to the person that is just trying to start working out. And even more discouraging most gyms will use models that use supplements that help improve their body size and strength. These photos give people the false impression that if they work out hard enough they can achieve the results as the photos they are forced to stare at every day. What a lot of people fail to realize is a lot of times ...

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... you see in the media and in the gym advertisement will be extremely difficult to achieve but not necessarily impossible.
Taking all this into consideration the goal of my paper is not to discourage you from working out, but rather inform you in the realities of weight lifting. The media and society continues you to fill out heads will lies about weightlifting weather its gender stereotypes and just the belief that one can achieve the stereotypical perfect body. There should be a greater understanding of how the media incorrectly portray weight lifting, working out, the idea of the perfect body and how society.

Work Cited
Brace-Govan (2004). Weighty matters: Control for women’s access to physical strength.

Sociological Review, 52(4), 503-531
Fink, J. W. (2012). Crunches Give You Six-Pack Abs -- And Other Exercise Myths. Current Health Teens, 38(8), 21-22.

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