Media's Influence On Body Image

363 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Media's effect on body image

To begin with, one way the media influences both men and women body images in a negative way is that it can lead people to have doubt in their appearance. In today's world many people, even children, begin to feel ashamed of their appearance because of the media showing a certain type of body image that is considered "perfect". From early times the media has influenced everyone that there are body types for both men and women that are considered to be perfect (Fast Facts, Teen Health). For example, in one situation elementary students were asked if they were satisfied with their appearance, and the students replied by saying that after they watch music videos of celebrities, such as Britney Spears, they felt self-conscious about their appearance

Show More
Related

  • Media and Body Image

    1147 Words  | 3 Pages

    We hear sayings everyday such as “Looks don’t matter; beauty is only skin-deep”, yet we live in a decade that contradicts this very notion. If looks don’t matter, then why are so many women harming themselves because they are not satisfied with how they look? If looks don’t matter, then why is the media using airbrushing to hide any flaws that one has? This is because with the media establishing unattainable standards for body perfection, American Women have taken drastic measures to live up to these impractical societal expectations. “The ‘body image’ construct tends to comprise a mixture of self-perceptions, ideas and feelings about one’s physical attributes. It is linked to self-esteem and to the individual’s emotional stability” (Wykes 2). As portrayed throughout all aspects of our media, whether it is through the television, Internet, or social media, we are exploited to a look that we wish we could have; a toned body, long legs, and nicely delineated six-pack abs. Our society promotes a body image that is “beautiful” and a far cry from the average woman’s size 12, not 2. The effects are overwhelming and we need to make more suitable changes as a way to help women not feel the need to live up to these unrealistic standards that have been self-imposed throughout our society.

    Read More

  • The Sociological Impact of Media Body Induced Image on Women

    1905 Words  | 4 Pages

    Body image is the perception, both thoughts, and feelings concerning an individual’s physical appearance. Research has suggested that exposure to an ideal standard of what it may mean to be beautiful is the norm for the media to expose a woman to. The results of an idea of feminine beauty can be disastrous for women, leading to depression, and an unrealistic body image. According to Posavac & Posavac in the article titled Reducing the Impact of Media Images on Women at Risk for Body Image Disturbance: Three Targeted Interventions...

    Read More

  • The Media Influence on Body Image

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    Researchers have used various abstract foundations for examining the relationship between media and body image ( Holmstrom, 2004). Here I review the theory that has been used by researcher in the area. Bandura’s Social cognitive theory (1994) assumed that “people learn and model the behaviors of attractive others”. The supporters of this theory suggest that young women find slim models in the media attractive and try to imitate them through dieting which leads them to eating disorders.

    Read More

  • Media Influence Over Body Image

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    The media has had an increasingly destructive effect on young people who are becoming worryingly obsessed with their body image. The media is saturated in sexual imagery in which young people have to face every day. The sheer volume of sexual imagery in the media today has resulted in the vast majority of young people to become hooked on looking as near to perfection everyday by using the latest products and buying the latest fashions. This used to be enough but lately the next step to achieving perfection is cosmetic surgery. Everyone wants to look attractive, especially teenagers who are not only put under massive strain to succeed but to look beautiful and climb the ranks of the social ladder, and it seems that the only way to achieve the much desired beauty is to turn to drastic measures.

    Read More

  • Media's Negative Impact on Body Image

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    One's body is what makes us who we are. Every single person is unique due to an individual physical trait. Even though everyone has an opinion about what his or her perfect body would be, changing one's personal features would take away from individuality. I personally would never have plastic surgery because when I look at myself, I do not see a tall, skinny young man with a funny looking nose and big "bug" eyes, rather I see a beautifully sculpted masterpiece that God has made just for me. I take pride in the fact that there is no one else on this earth exactly like me. Not just my inner beauty, but my outer beauty makes me different from everyone else. Life would be so boring if everyone looked exactly the same. I personally could not be more content and happy with my body image. What’s body image? Body image is how people picture themselves and how they think other people picture them. It is basically how you feel about your body, and it includes your perception, imagination, emotions, and physical sensations. Mass media has been able to shape popular culture and often influence public opinion. However, when abused, the power of media can harm the general population. Images portrayed by the media tend to make people strive to be someone else's idea of perfect while subconsciously ignoring their own goals. Stereotypes formed by the media that include thin, tanned women, and wealthy, muscular men have led to a decline in self-acceptance. The majority of media today often present the perfect body to the public, hoping that consumers will strive to achieve fitness using a certain product or idea. While this form of advertising may somewhat increases a product's market share, many people suffer from inner conflicts as a result of f...

    Read More

  • Body Image Exploratory

    786 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today in modern society, we are driven by social forces. The media plays such a pivotal role in what we buy, eat, wear, etc. that we are conditioning ourselves to fit the mold for the “perfect” or “ideal” body type. This social construct has been a pressing issue for many years regarding the negative effects it has had on the female physique, but not as much has been said on behalf of men. What negative effects do the media have on male body image? When confronted with appearance based advertisements, men are more likely to experience both physical insecurities and emotional issues related to body image. This paper will address these facets of the media’s negative

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Privilege In Society

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, body image is a stressed issue in the media, however, the male body is acceptable regardless of how it looks. Society instills the idea that a man can be in horrible shape and still win a woman with supermodel looks. Men are essentially taught that they do not have to work to deserve a woman. Also, it is common to see men letting themselves go, while women must retain a strict body image to be accepted by society. Generally, men get a pass when it comes to judgement by body type. Rigorous work and social rejection are circumstances men can opt out of when based on appearance. Men have the ability to experience limited trouble from society for

    Read More

  • The Media Has a Grasp on Younger Generations

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people might think they aren't influenced by the media, but in actuality they are. Andersen in Thinking About Women writes “Each of us sees thousands of advertisements per day. Advertisements not only sell the products we use, but they also convey images of how we are to define ourselves, our relationships, and our needs”(57). Every time we turn the television on, we can expect roughly twenty minutes of an hour show to be commercials. These commercials are normally aimed at women and how to become young again. Aging in society for women is seen as a failure and according to media influence, if your age is showing then your careless of your self-image. So in return women will spend money on beauty products sworn to work, but never do. The perfect woman is unattainable because we come from different nationalities and because of these differences, women will never be able to copy-cat their idol making their self-esteem drop. With the media continuance to say women need to look a certain way, there will be more and more women trying to obtain the perfect body-image.

    Read More

  • Effects of Media on Women’s Body Image

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this age, media is more pervasive than ever, with people constantly processing some form of entertainment, advertisement or information. In each of these outlets there exists an idealized standard of beauty, statistically shown to effect the consumer’s reflection of themselves. The common portrayal of women’s bodies in the media has shown to have a negative impact on women and girls. As the audience sees these images, an expectation is made of what is normal. This norm does not correspond to the realistic average of the audience. Failing to achieve this isolates the individual, and is particularly psychologically harmful to women. Though men are also shown to also be effected negatively by low self-esteem from the media, there remains a gap as the value of appearance is seen of greater significance to women, with a booming cosmetic industry, majority of the fashion world, and the marketing of diet products and programs specifically targeting women.

    Read More

  • Media's Influence on Body Image

    1544 Words  | 4 Pages

    The media have been criticized for portraying the thin women as “ideal” .This research plans to look at the effects of media on the body image of women. This cumulates the findings of empirical studies that observe the effects of media on body image. This study will also look at the different social comparison theories that relate media and body image. It will also investigate the different sources of media that have an impact on the body image of women. It also scopes to find out which sources have a greater consequence than the others. Furthermore it also researches about how the women could be prevented from comparing their body image from that of the models and actresses portrayed in the media.

    Read More

  • How Does Media Influence Body Image?

    451 Words  | 1 Pages

    While watching the video "looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model" By Cameron Russell I got a lot out of it. Cameron made some very interesting key points throughout her talk that will eternally stick with me such as when she stated people ask her "do you get a lot of items for free?" And she replies a lot of the items she gets for free are the ones in real life that people don't like to talk about. Cameron stated that one day she left her wallet at home when she went to a store to buy a dress and the workers just gave it to her for free another example, she gave us was when her friend was a reckless driver and ran a red light the cop car pulled them over but all it took was a simple "I'm sorry officer" and the officer allowed them to go freely. She stated she got these "free things" because of how she looks and not because of who she is. I loved when she went on to talk about how other people are paying a cost because of how they look and not

    Read More

  • The Influence of Mass Media on the Young Male Image

    1646 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mass media creates a stereotype promoting an image of how a young man should act, appear, or resemble in today's society. The media has a great influence over what we view and hear as a society and it can have an effect especially on a younger men and the image that they want to portray. Moreover, the media has a lot to do with the image we perceived in our minds and young men are easily perusable by what they see or hear. With the media flooding negative influence, it builds up to having this negative effect on younger men by how they look and feel about themselves and others. Furthermore, a man even a younger one is not to expose their vulnerabilities, weaknesses or to even to display emotions such as love and fear. In addition, mass media is a big contributor to this negative younger male self-image. The media has its own version of what a normal younger male should be; act, think or even look like can be very impressible to younger male generation. According to D'Arcy Lyness, Ph.D., a Behavioral Health Editor with KidsHealth.org describes in the article, A Guy's Guide to Body Image. Lyness writes, "Body image is part of someone's total self-image. So how a guy feels about his body can affect how he feels about himself" (par 7). Even though mass media plays a very important role in creating providing entertainment and awareness, it does however, shape the minds of the younger male generation. In other words, mass media creates a negative image in the younger male's mind.

    Read More

  • EFFECTS OF THE MEDIA ON BODY IMAGE

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    Is the media helping or hurting the way women view their bodies? The media has a powerful influence in women's everyday lives. The media constantly sends messages of what women should spend their time and money on; Putting a picture in women's minds daily of what they should look like. False images of young beautiful women are airbrushed and altered to perfection to hide every flaw. It is impossible for young women to live up to the standards the media has created. Young women have been negatively influenced by these advertisements every day; something has to be done. Young women are striving for a perfection that does not exist; this then affects their self-confidence and causes them to see their own bodies in a negative way. Researchers have found that in the United Sates, 94% of female characters in television programs are thinner than the average American woman (Gonzalez-Lavin & Smolak). Therefore, Average women watching these extremely thin actresses compare themselves to a body that is not the minority standard. Seeing these special case bodies does not make women feel good in their own skin. The pressure from the media on women is giving women a complex about their bodies. Women are going to extreme measures to obtain the perfect look that they see on the magazine covers. These daily influences are affecting women's thoughts on the way that they look. These influences should be positive not negative. The ideal body showcased by the media should be realistic, attainable, and real; not made on a computer.

    Read More

  • Fat Woman Research Paper

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    The media does indeed present great pressures upon people concerning bodily image. It seems as though all types of media in some form or another, especially toward women in particular. As seen in television, cinema, magazines, the internet and the advertisements thereof, women are covered in makeup and Photoshopped into a form that is unattainable and certainly entirely unhealthy to achieve. The benchmark of beauty is now completely categorized by slim waists, perfect white skin and thigh gaps, a standard that is taught from a young age to be upheld no matter the cost. The Barbie dolls and the Disney princesses teach young girls that men will only want someone with a perfect complexion and an hourglass figure. Men are also somewhat victimized

    Read More

  • Has the Media’s Portrayal of Women Negatively Affected the Body Image of The Wykeham Collegiate Senior School Girls?

    3125 Words  | 7 Pages

    Women and girls seem to be more affected by the mass media than do men and boys. Females frequently compare themselves to others, finding the negative rather than looking at the positive aspects of their own body. The media’s portrayal of the ideal body type impacts the female population far more than males, however, it is not only the mass media that affects women, but also influence of male population has on the female silhouette too.

    Read More

More about Media's Influence On Body Image

Open Document