Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The impact of social media on the body image
How media has affected body image over the years
Body image and its affects
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The impact of social media on the body image
A young woman is now getting ready for a date, she has been getting ready for 3 hours, got her nails done, showered, and did her makeup. The last thing she needs to do is put on that short dress that shows off her curves. When she is done, she looks at herself and she doesn't even recognize herself. The fake tan, fake nails, the fake hair, her whole self she didn't even see herself. But in now of days it doesn't matter if the woman looks fake it only matters if they look good. Is that what we want to teach the young girls in the world? That beauty on the outside is the only thing that matters, do we really want girls getting plastic surgery, and not eating just to look good? Is body image taking over the minds of teens in our society?
Findings:
…show more content…
One main question is why do we have standers? Standards for beauty is crazy, how many girls say that they are happy with how they look, not a lot say that they are. Most girls say about what they want to change about themselves like, “I want to be skinnier, I want to have longer hair, I want my eyes brighter” and that's only the beginning. Not one girl says what they like about themselves they say who they want to look like or who they want to look like. They look up to the famous people who have the “sex appeal” that all the boys want. One famous person, people want to be is Nicki Minaj who is a rapper, and singer. She is one example of what “to look like” She has what girls want the fame, money, looks. But what did it cost? She had plastic surgery on her so people would stare at her more, so she can get more fans. Body image plays a huge part in everyone's life even famous …show more content…
It still haunts me to this day, I have had so any relapse of my eating disorder because I think I'm fat or someone says something about my weight. For almost I couldn't get over 120, I didn't perfect and lunch, and at dinner, I maybe ate seven bites. It made me even more depressed because I thought to have a good body, and it made me a really bad person it really did. I stop hanging out with my friends and even when I did hang out with them I was snappy or I wasn't myself when I went out to eat, I would eat so much that in the middle of dinner I would puke. I wasn't a happy person. If I found out I waited over what I wanted to I would stop eating. For my 17th birthday didn't eat breakfast or lunch because we were heading out to eat at my favorite restaurant, and you know what happened? My mom found me over the title crying my eyes out because I puke my dinner
Societal constructs of bodily perfection have a massive influence on both genders and on all ages. If you look at any magazine, you will see women constantly being compared to each other, whether it is in the “who wore it better” section or in the “do’s and don’ts” part of the magazine, comparing body images and overall appearances. All parts of the media that encompasses our daily lives are especially dangerous for young and impressionable teens because they see people being torn down for trying to express themselves, and are thus taught to not only don’t look like “don’ts”, but also look like the “do’s”. This is dangerous in that women in the magazine set very high standards that teens want to emulate, no matter the cost to themselves or their health. Celebrities have the benefit of media to make them appear perfect: Photoshop and makeup artists conceal the imperfections that are often too apparent to the naked eye. Viewing celebrities as exhibiting the ideal look or as idols will, in most cases, only damage the confidence of both young teens, and adults, and warp the reality of what true “beauty” really is. It makes teens never feel truly content with themselves because they will be aiming for an ideal that is physically impossible to attain and one that doesn’t exist in the real
Our society is entirely based on looks and how “the perfect women should be”. To be pretty you are expected to have the perfect body with the perfect face and hair. You could never cut your hair short because you would be considered a dyke. If you’re makeup isn’t perfect you are considered ugly and if you don’t have the “hourglass figure” you are considered fat and overweight. “Despite higher global self-esteem, women do not feel good about their appearance. This disconnect can be attributed, at least in part, to concerns about body image.” (@PsychToday, paragraph 4) Our society and social media is so caught up on how every woman should look that our own judgment has been clouded and we always believe we need to look and act that way. “The truth is that women’s insecurity about their appearance is driven by competition with other women.”(@PsychToday, paragraph 16) All we do nowadays is compare ourselves to others and that’s not how it should be. You are considered to be a “whore” such as Eve if you sleep around, so women are afraid to do it. You are considered to be “weak” if you stay at home and can’t support yourself, such as Lori. Our world is so caught up in people thinking that they need to be a certain way in order to impress themselves and others. Why do women shave their legs? Why do woman dye their hair? Why do woman get spray tans? Everything we do has to do with our appearance in order to impress
Women are told that in order to get anywhere in life they must constantly worry about their outer appearance. In Jennifer Weiner’s article, “When Can Women Stop Trying to Look Perfect?” she delves deeply into how today’s society women’s worth is based on how they look. Weiner believes that women who do not meet the standards of beauty do not have as many opportunities.
What girl would not and does not want to look like Barbie, or one of those models you see on at fashion shows, or even a famous actress? They have this body that every girl wants and will do anything to get; tall and thin. These models are everywhere; they surround us in magazines, posters, advertisements, television shows, music industry, and at shopping centers. This perfect women figure is surrounding us, making us, women, believe that that is the only figure accepted in this world. Those women who do not look like that are laughed at, and picked on. Women will do whatever is on their hands in order to get the body everyone considers accepting. A few will go to the extremes and cut down on the amount of meals they are eating, they’ll increase the time exercising, and some will even get plastic surgery done. All this for the “pe...
If one does not fit this ideal, then they are considered unappealing. Unfortunately, there is nothing one can do to truly change their body image other than think happier thoughts, obtain plastic surgery, or go to the gym to make themselves feel and potentially look better. Popular media is making it extremely difficult for one to maintain a positive body image. They have created the perfect human image that is almost unattainable to reach. The idea of a teenager’s body image is being destroyed by the standards of magazines, television shows, and society as a whole, making it to where it will never recover again. To better understand the effect popular media has on one’s body image, viewing psychology, medicine and health sciences, and cultural and ethnic studies will give a better understanding on the
"Introduction to Body Image: Teen Decisions." Body Image. Ed. Auriana Ojeda. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Teen Decisions. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 May 2014.
The overwhelming idea of thinness is probably the most predominant and pressuring standard. Tiggeman, Marika writes, “This is not surprising when current societal standards for beauty inordinately emphasize the desirability of thinness, an ideal accepted by most women but impossible for many to achieve.” (1) In another study it is noted that unhealthy attitudes are the norm in term of female body image, “Widespread body dissatisfaction among women and girls, particularly with body shape and weight has been well documented in many studies, so much so that weight has been aptly described as ‘a normative discontent’”. (79) Particularly in adolescent and prepubescent girls are the effects of poor self-image jarring, as the increased level of dis...
Now I’m going to give those teens a way to ignore what others think and think about themselves in the most important years of their lives. Body image has become more important that education and it needs to stop. I am going to point this article more towards teenage girls. Although I know guys are self conscious about themselves too I cannot relate to that. Girls when you look in the mirror do you see what you want to see?
The mass media plays a large role in shaping a teenage and adolescent girl’s body image. By pushing an ideal body type that is uncommon and untrue to life, girls strive, and struggle to obtain this image. When the mass media only shows one type of body as desirable, they are alienating every girl who does not fit into that category. Pushing these ideal bodies onto teenage girls at an important developmental time in their lives can be detrimental to their bodies and their self worth. By showing what a girl should look like, the mass media is damaging the body images of young girls, and unless awareness is raised, could become more and more adverse on young women today and tomorrow.
Clearly, there is a necessity to curtail the cases of teenagers suffering from body image pressures immediately (Kennedy, 2010). If there are no pressures, there will be surely no obsession with their appearance and there will be certainly no more risks of young women’s health and rise in serious eating disorders.
In today's society we have made up an illusion which has destroyed the true meaning of beauty. The standards that we have created are far from beauty itself. If you were to look at high end magazines you would see tall and skinny models wearing clothes that would only look good on someone with the same boy as there. On the other hand causing the average woman to feel uncomfortable in there own clothes and would never be able to wear the outfit that the model was wearing and because of this young women with impressionable minds who see these high end magazines might develop mental and health
Alexandra Scaturchio, in her article “Women in Media” (2008) describes the media’s idea of beauty as superficial. She supports her argument by placing two pictures side-by-side; a picture of a real, normal-looking woman and her picture after it has been severely digitally enhanced. Her purpose is to show young teenage girls that the models they envy for their looks are not real people, but computer designs. She also states, “the media truly distorts the truth and instills in women this false hope because…they will live their lives never truly attaining this ideal appearance”. Scaturchio wants her readers to realize the media’s distorting capabilities and feel beautiful about themselves, even with flaws.
Body image and gender roles have always been the face of magazines, television, advertisements, and many more. In today’s society, the size of your body, the color of your skin, and your sex could determine could determine your future, but when does it stop? When will women be looked at more than just a sex symbol?
I would like to begin with the fact that women have always been known to dedicate their time to beauty. Those who are devoted to their appearance most often believe that beauty brings power, popularity, and success. Women believe this, because they grow up reading magazines that picture beautiful women in successful environments; not to mention they are popular models and world famous individuals. Beautiful women are no longer just a priority for most advertising, but we have become a walking target for the working class employers. It is documented that better-looking attorneys earn more than others after five years of practice, which was an effect that grew with experience (Biddle, 172). We cannot overlook the fact that it is always the most popular and most beautiful girl who becomes homecoming-queen or prom-queen. While these are possible positive effects of the "beauty myth," the negative results of female devotion to beauty undercut this value. These effects are that it costs a lot of money, it costs a lot of time, and in the long run, it costs a lot of pain.
Teenagers constantly worry about their body image. Magazines, newspapers, and television don’t exactly help to boost their confidence. The portrayal of stick thin woman and body building men forces teens to believe they need to achieve that “perfect” body and look. The biggest issue of these images being broadcasted to teens is the effects that the images have on them. Teenagers who obsess over their body image can experience stress due to trying to impress others, develop an eating disorder, and neglect, and even jeopardize, important aspects of their lives when they focus too much on their body image.