The Portrayal of Female Body in The Media

It is virtually impossible to spend a day consuming media without hearing the troubling veracity of how the portrayal of female body in the media. This portrayal influences some females view themselves. Throughout the past century, the ideal body form ranged from the boyish looking flapper girl, to the hourglass, to today’s thin ideal. Thankfully, a new advertising movement embraces the female body in different shapes, colors, and sizes. This development has powerful supporters such as actress Jennifer Lawrence, who is known for refusing to lose weight for roles. Her reasoning is to encourage her fans that they do not have to squeeze into the ideal thin body type ("Jennifer Lawrence”). Lawrence’s outlook is supported by “The American Medical Association has decided to take a stand against rampant photo retouching, declaring the practice detrimental to your health” ("5 Celebrities”). Certainly celebrity endorsements can inspire change, but there are other obstacles to overcome before magazine covers, theatrical posters, and lingerie advertisements show the female body unedited.
Today’s technology makes enhancing and editing easier than in the decades before. Even though companies are ridiculed for their unrealistic representations of the female body, there has been little progress for advancement in realistic representation. Perhaps, this is because magazine editors purposely intend their covers not to resemble reality. Two Self Magazine editors explained that, “Covers shouldn’t reflect reality, but ‘inspire women to want to be their best’” this statement occurred after Self’s September 2009 controversy with Kelly Clarkson (Hartmann 1). Recently, Ellen DeGeneres attacked Target in a comedic way in response to their 201...

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...rie’s “Real” campaign has a positive influence on the way their target market views their own self-worth in comparison to the control and Victoria Secret groups.

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Hartmann, Margaret. "Self Editors Explain Covers Aren't Supposed To Look Realistic." Jezebel. N.p., 115888 Aug. 2009. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
"Jennifer Lawrence Refuses to Diet for Film Roles." Hollywood.com. N.p., 9 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
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