Analysis of Article: “Influence of Mass Media on Body Image and Eating Disordered Attitudes and Behaviors in Females” by Jordi Fauquet, et al.

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Mass media consists of a range of multimedia technologies that have enhanced our way of communication. The media conveys norms and attitudes that socially construct those who are involved. Inadvertently, the media depicts a widely accepted misconception of personal image. “Influence of Mass Media on Body Image and Eating Disordered Attitudes and Behaviors in Females” reveals the high correlation between media content and females’ idea of beauty. Although the article does not specify on their intended audience, the reader can infer the audience to be adolescent females and important familiars to them, i.e. mothers and friends. Appealing to individuals who have the most impact on an adolescent female may evoke guilt through the pressures placed to fit body image.
The authors’ collective tone seems to portray disappointment in the importance that society allows mass media to obtain. As the authors describe multiple studies used to convey media’s correlation with body dissatisfaction, statistics of its probability are continually listed in support. The comparison between girls who read magazines or listen to the radio more frequently than those who do not, show the displeasure regarding the fact that our surrounding media inadvertently strains female adolescents’ personal self esteem. The majority of the authors’ who published this article studied in Barcelona, Spain. While some studies specify as being conducted in Spain, others provide general descriptions of females who participated in surveys, studies or experiments with no specific origin. With the authors’ research being conducted in Spain, their advertisements across the media may be portrayed differently than in the United States. This may influence the way the information...

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...t ideals of thinness has been around for decades. The resolution used to combat this growing negativity within our generations is not apparent. This article pushes society one step closer to a solution than simply objecting to the idea of body norms. Providing insight to the specific subsets that the media portrays, like dieting articles to perfect image advertisements, allows females to gain a new social perspective. This slightly new understanding of media permits an individual to decide on their own how to view “body norms” without being submerged by the surrounding stereotyped misconceptions of body image.

Works Cited

Lopez-Guimera, Gemma, et al. "Influence Of Mass Media On Body Image And Eating Disordered Attitudes And Behaviors In Females: A Review Of Effects And Processes." Media Psychology 13.4 (2010): 387-416. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.

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