Essay On Body Image

Body Image
Body Image is one of the most crucial topics America has developed over the years. It is based off of the way an individual sees themselves or think people see the way their body looks and this might not completely be equevalent . In the United States, it is not uncommon for a person to feel like they need to fit in with society and the way people are portrayed. Without very little realization, the effects of being obsessed with a certain look can be drastic to ourselves, it becomes like a disease which eventually can lead to potential drastic measures. Body Image is sometimes influenced by the people that surround us. Since we are around them most of the time, they have a huge importance, for instance, if you have a friend who is

Men and woman have the same conflict when it comes to body image. For example a woman can see a beautiful model on a cover of a magazine, while skimming through that magazine she only finds beautiful flawless women. She might ask herself why she doesn’t look like that, where a certain obsession may develop. Same goes for men. Media has made it more than aware that beauty is characterized by perfection. “These interactions help define the self (Oxford, p. 653). Media 's Idea of Self Today 's media focuses on body image, especially a woman 's outward appearance and the size of her waist. The media typically uses models, actresses, and singers, such as Victoria Beckham to relay these values.” Jenna West, stated that the emphasize now is based on the simple appearance, which in most cases people love to see below average female waists, the smaller she is the more beautiful she looks. Symbolic Interaction plays a huge role in society, if we see someone that we do not look like we immediately start comparing each other and become self-conscious of the way you look now. Where in fact, body modifications start to happen. The biggest portion of the symbolic interaction with body image is the Looking Glass Self. Meaning that people will always have an idea of adjustments only because of how the rest of the world in portrayed. In all, it is based on

Usually when we see a better-looking person than we are, we strive to be like them because we think it will make us feel better when in fact it does quite the opposite. When obsessing over a look, we start to acknowledge how our body’s are far from perfect. Seeing flaws that you have never noticed, and quickly starting to compare your body to someone else’s. “They may feel self-conscious and aware that they are different from their peer group, and fear that others will start to label them, and may actually feel worse about themselves. They may start to isolate themselves, creating social problems with others and creating a sort of social inequality between those who are “normal” eaters and those who are not. Hence, these groups are actually creating a conflict between what some perceive as normal and what others perceive as abnormal and in need of help.” This article stated that people start to drift from how they used to be because of the social inequality. It can also cause a state of confusion in young kids barely trying to find themselves in the world. “Based on the analysis of 20 in-depth grounded theory interviews with 12- to 14-year old boys and girls, we suggest that comparison processes are used for the purpose of identity development (core category). Given the opportunity, adolescents spontaneously describe a variety of targets, comparison attributes and comparison appraisals.”