Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Media and societal expectations significantly affect an individual’s view on body image and influence efforts at body enhancement and modification
Body image in today's society
Society unrealistic body image
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In her memoir, Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy tells the story of how the deformities caused by her cancer forced her into a life of isolation, cruel insults, and unhappiness. Grealy clearly demonstrates how a society that excessively emphasizes female beauty can negatively affect a young girl, especially one with a deformity. Most interpret this story as a way for Grealy to express the pain that she endured because she did not measure up to society’s definition of female beauty, a standard that forces girls into unhealthy habits, plastic surgery, and serious depression. In the afterword of the memoir, Grealy’s friend, Ann Patchett, tries to change this interpretation by saying that Grealy never meant for it to be a story of the hardships she faced as a young girl with a deformity; she simply wished it to be viewed “as a piece of literature.” (232). However, this short passage takes away from the important message that Grealy expresses in her memoir: that the unattainable standards of female beauty in society can destroy the joy and livelihood of young girls. Grealy understandably denied this as her reason for writing because, to her, admitting that the story of her life was dominated by her deformity would be like admitting that she had never lived. She frequently explains in her memoir that she longed for physical beauty so that she could finally live without isolation and dejection. To label her memoir a story of loneliness and sorrow would be admitting that she never reached this sense of beauty she so strongly desired. Despite Ann Patchett’s interpretation of the memoir, it should still be seen as a story demonstrating how society’s unreachable standards of beauty can deprecate the lives of young girls, as ...
... middle of paper ...
...t of sexes becomes more equal, young men may begin to develop the habits of young women who try so hard to live up to a perfect standard of beauty. This issue should not and cannot be ignored, and correct acknowledgement of stories like Grealy’s will tighten opportunities for young women to preserve and cherish what really makes them beautiful.
Works Cited
"A Conversation With Lucy Grealy." Charlie Rose. Web. 5 Mar 2010.
Graydon, Shari. "How the Media Keeps Us Hung Up on Body Image." Herizons 22.1 (2008): n. pag. Web. 5 Mar 2010.
Grealy, Lucy. Autobiography of a Face. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Print.
Kruger, Paula. "1 in 5 Girls Display Eating Disorder Behaviour." ABC News . 20 Jul 2007. ABC, Web. 5 Mar 2010.
Sweeney, Camille. "Seeking Self-Esteem Through Surgery." New York Times 14 Jan 2009: n. pag. Web. 5 Mar 2010.
In the article “Beating Anorexia and Ganing Feminism,” Marni Grossman shares her experiance of how she overcame her struggle with anorexia through understanding the feminist movement. Marni objectafies the ways in which society’s expectations and ideas of what it means to have “beauty” is having and negitaive impact. I had a very similar experiance to Marni, in fact the first time I hated my apperance was in the seventh grade. I have olive skin and bold brows, features which i was often complamented on, yet hated. Shawn and Lee argue that “there is no fixed idea of beauty”, suggesting how social ideals from society differs depending on the culture (183). I remember A male student was bullying all the females in the class by Inscribing Gender
Following Joan Jacobs Brumberg throughout her conveying research of adolescents turning their bodies into projects the reader is able to see where all of the external beauty fascination came from following up to the 21st century. Brumberg effectively proves her point, and any girl of today’s age knows the struggle of which she continuously portrays throughout her book. Beauty has become such a preoccupation that it has gone from soap and washcloths, to makeup, to cosmetic reconstruction of body parts.
Wykes, Maggie, and Barrie Gunter. The Media and Body Image: If Looks Could Kill. London: SAGE, 2005. Print.
Autobiography of a Face follows the story of Lucy Grealy, who as a child was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer leading to the removal of part of her jaw. With the damage to her face conspicuous to the rest of the world, Grealy struggles with her concepts of beauty and strength in the face of adversity. Her memoir makes a brilliant comment on the nature and definition of strength, and the lengths to which one will go in order to protect oneself from harm.
First, Connie and her mother focused on outward beauty rather than inward beauty, which can never be tarnished. Connie’s mother was jealous of her daughter’s beauty, because she knew she could no longer attain the beauty that she once possessed. She often scolded her daughter for admiring her own beauty in order to make herself feel more secure inside. Connie did not try in the least bit to make her mother’s struggle any easier, but instead gawked at her own beauty directly in front of her mother, and often compared her own beauty to others.
At the age of 9, Lucy Grealy was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In her book, The Autobiography of a Face, Grealy explains the hardships she faces throughout her journey and how she dealt with them. I would highly recommend this book to my classmates because it shows the atrocity of cancer, the importance of having a support system, and puts in perspective how the little things throughout society can mean so much when you're going through such trials and tribulations.
According to Beverly Ballaro, the combination of two trends, the technology-enabled media saturation of the American public, and the promotion by this media of highly unattainable body types, is largely responsible for an epidemic of body image pathologies afflicting American girls and women, as well as an increasing number of boys and men. She also mentions that the media has given certain images for each gender. Generally, for females the body image is extremely thin, and there is an emphasis on large breasts and for males, tall, slender, muscular and toned. For both genders, the most valued and appreciated appearance i...
The "Body Image" - "The Body Image" Readings for Writers. 14th ed. of the year. Boston: Monica Eckman, 2013. 310.
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.
Because young girls and women around the world are beginning to alter themselves to fit a certain mold, people are starting to realize that a pretty face and one’s youth is a factor that has been hurting the world for many years. So much so that a person is willing to kill to obtain beauty. This is truly and amazing yet sickening fact and the more we emphasize on one’s appearance the more catastrophes like this will happen.
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.
ANAD. “Eating Disorders Statistics”. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders, Inc., 2013.Web. 18 Nov 2013.
Vargas, L E. (2013) The Negative Effects of The Media on Body Image. Personal.psu.edu. Retrieved 30 Nov. 17 from:
...e ability to achieve anything in life. Hopefully, readers would learn from this novel that beauty is not the most important aspect in life. Society today emphasizes the beauty of one's outer facade. The external appearance of a person is the first thing that is noticed. People should look for a person's inner beauty and love the person for the beauty inside. Beauty, a powerful aspect of life, can draw attention but at the same time it can hide things that one does not want disclosed. Beauty can be used in a variety of ways to affect one's status in culture, politics, and society. Beauty most certainly should not be used to excuse punishment for bad deeds. Beauty is associated with goodness, but that it is not always the case. This story describes how the external attractiveness of a person can influence people's behavior and can corrupt their inner beauty.
. Romo, Samantha. "As Body Image Issues Grow in Society Be Aware of Medias Influence." The Crimson White 7 Mar. 2012: n. pag. Print.