Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
How the media influences beauty standards
How media affects beauty standards
Negative effect of media's beauty standards
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: How the media influences beauty standards
We’ve all been told that those darn diets do not work, yet millions of Americans still look to be skinny with any alternative other than exercising. The power of television plays a large role of how successful the diet industries are. Everyone is aware of the advertisement methods of diet industries, apparently comparing two photos of some poor overweight fellow, to an amazingly finely fit one wearing the same outfit can persuade thousands of citizens hoping to have the same effect happen to them. The strive to be thin is higher than ever with cases of anorexia growing like weeds in a field, being skinny has molded our perspectives into thinking that looking like a stick is far better than having bodily curves. Little do we know, the images we see on billboards, magazines, and elsewhere in society are all photoshopped to look almost to good to be true (Romo). By putting pictures of tall, skinny, good-looking people right smack in front of our faces, the media has influenced us in thinking that the skinner you are the better. I have also had hardships related to my weight. Growing up, my mom has always looked at herself in the mirror telling me that she needed to lose weight. To me, my mom was the most beautiful woman in the world, and I could not pinpoint the reason why she was so unsatisfied with her body. As I grew older I had many insecurities myself, along with being short, I thought that I needed to lose weight too. My brother and I also would always get into arguments, and he would always end up calling me fat. As much as I wanted to believe that he was joking; a part of me started believing. As I walked down the street, I would see billboards of flawless looking models modeling clothing on them and telling myself that I ... ... middle of paper ... ..., remember that no one is perfect, we are unique in our own way. That’s what makes us human. Works Cited “Eating Disorders: Why do they happen?” 19 Nov. 2013. Chemeketa Community College Library. . Web. Hiskey, David. “Marilyn Monroe was not ever close to a size 12-16.” 17 Apr. 2012. Chemeketa Community College library. 18 Nov. 2013.< http://www.todayifoundout.com>. Web. Relant, Julie. “Eating disorders on the rise: What you need to know.” Fox News. 13 Oct. 2013. Chemeketa Community College Library. 19 Nov. 2013. < http://www.foxnews.com>. Web. Romo, Samantha. “As body image issues grow in society, be aware of media’s influence.” The Crimson White. 7 Mar. 2012. 20 Nov. 2013. . Web. Uzoma, Kay. “Percentage of Americans Who Diet Every Year.” Livestrong. 16 Nov. 2010. 18 Nov. 2013. . Web.
Like a blueprint or instruction manual, the objective of a rhetorical analysis is to dissect a written argument, identify its many parts, and explain how all of them come together to achieve a desired effect. Susan Bordo, a professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky, wrote “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies”, published in 2003 in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Her essay examines how the media plays a pervasive role in how women view their bodies to the point where we live in an empire of images and there are no protective borders. In “The Empire of Images in Our World of Bodies”, Bordo not only effectively incorporates numerous facts and statistics from her own research and the research of others; she also appeals to emotional realities of anxiety and inadequacy felt by women all over the world in regards to their body image. Ultimately, her intent is to critique the influence of the media on self-confidence and body image, and to remind her audience of the overt as well as subconscious messages they are receiving on a daily basis.
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...
In this generation, filled with technology, we are surrounded by the media and are constantly seeing commercials for weight loss and billboards covered with extremely fit people that have the bodies we wish we could obtain. We see images in the media all the time and do not even realize the affect that they are having on us. When watching television,about 30% of what you are watching is advertisements that are slowly stimulating your mind. “The media and body image are closely related due to the number of images we see in the media and the excessive amount of exposure we have to those images” (The media and body image, 2015). When people view advertisements they do not think of the effect that it is having on them, it may be small but it can grow as more and more are viewed. Advertisements lead us to believe that we need to be like that, so when a magazine has photo shoot of a woman with a perfect body getting a tan on the beach we strive to be like that. We do know that that body is not achievable but want it so badly we will do whatever the magazine tells us. Photoshopping is also a dangerous thing when it come to body
The media can impact people’s lives in many ways, whether it’s fashion, movies, literature, or hobbies. One of the impacts is how women view their bodies. Movie stars and models feel pressured to catch attention and to look good in order to have a good career in their respective field. People tend to judge how someone looks based on their body composition. The result of this “judgment” is that Hollywood is getting skinny. Since models and actresses serve as role models for people, people tend to want to look like them. The result of this seemingly harmless model of behavior is in an increase in eating disorders.
Times have changed throughout the generations and the portrayal of women in the media has definitely changed over the years. Unfortunately, there is still a stereotypical appearance and social role in the media that women need to achieve in order to be socially desired. Even though it has improved, there is such a stigma towards being too fat, too skinny, too tall, or too short and the list of imperfections go on and on. Aside from body image, social roles are a big issue in the media today. When you look at any advertisement in the media, you can notice the appearance, gender, and race of the model. The media’s idea of the “perfect” body is having the unflawed and women are typically skewed for this by society.
Finally, we need to understand that the review might not be everything related to the relationships between mass media and females’ perceptions of body image. In particular, most studies that were featured in this literature review were conducted not from a local context but it will be able to aid us in the formulation of our survey questions for our specific sample group of a particular population.
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.
One of my closest friends was anorexic for a year and a half, and even when she was down to eight percent body fat, she still thought that she was fat. She thought that no guy would like her because she was too obese. In fact, she was so skinny she was ugly. It took a lot of counseling and a lot of friendship to help her realize that she didn't have to be skin and bones to be attractive. Quite the opposite is actually true.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In our society today, people would rather see what celebrities are up to than what is going on with our health plan. Watching the news makes us aware of the latest trend, new gadget, who’s in rehab, or who has an eating disorder. In the eyes of society, women like Eva Longoria, Kim Kardashian, and Megan Fox are the epitome of perfection. What girl wouldn’t want to look like them? Unfortunately, this includes most of the girls in the US. Through TV shows, commercials, magazines or any form of advertising, the media enforces a certain body type which women emulate. The media has created a puissant social system where everyone must obtain a thin waist and large breasts. As a society, we are so image obsessed with the approval of being thin and disapproval of being overweight, that it is affecting the health of most women. Women much rather try to fit the social acceptance of being thin by focusing on unrealistic body images which causes them to have lower self esteem and are more likely to fall prey to eating disorders, The media has a dangerous influence on the women’s health in the United States.
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.
Vargas, L E. (2013) The Negative Effects of The Media on Body Image. Personal.psu.edu. Retrieved 30 Nov. 17 from:
. Romo, Samantha. "As Body Image Issues Grow in Society Be Aware of Medias Influence." The Crimson White 7 Mar. 2012: n. pag. Print.
It seems that the media’s portrayal of women has negatively affected the body image of The Wykeham Collegiate senior school girls. The media has a negative effect on the youth of today, primarily amongst the female population when it comes to how young girls and women regard their bodies.
...zine articles and television ads without understanding that appearances are altered and modified. They take on false role models and assume all people should be a certain way. With this in mind, obesity should be overcome to remain in good physical condition and lead a healthy life, not to follow trends that can get out of control.
Graydon, Shari. “How the Media Keeps us Hung Up on Body Image.” Herizons Summer. 2008: