Persuasive Essay On Body Image

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Recommended: Media representation on gender

Chase Conner
Mrs.Clyncke
English 111
9 April 2014
Smearing Beauty and Photoshopped Bodies
In every magazine and on every page there is another source of depression, another reason to skip a meal or two or a reason to be self-conscious. In present society people are overly focused and determined on the perfect body that both the fashion and advertising industry portray and promote. Through diction, pictures and celebrities presented they are trying to convey a message to their viewers that is “suppose” to be used as a source of motivation and determination. The message they are truly conveying is self-conscious thoughts, depression, and the promotion of eating disorders. It is estimated that millions of people struggle with depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem; concentrated on dissatisfaction with their body image (Ballaro). The advertisement and fashion industry are conveying a message that creates an internal battle for their viewers, though they should be creating a fire in their viewers that provides motivation to be healthier, take better care of themselves and a source of inspiration for style.
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...

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...ese images but it is awareness that society should be promoting. In 2009 in Europe, French Parliament member Valerie Boyer suggested that all published images that are digitally enhanced - including advertisements - come with a warning label that reads, “Retouched photograph aimed at changing a person’s physical appearance.” If they fail to do so they will be fined up to 50 percent of the cost of the publicity campaign in question. America should be creating a proactive movement that will bring teens and adults in society up to par on what is going and informing them of how they can change how they view their images. Like cigarettes, advertisements with false images should be given a warning label. Essentially, these industries should be creating an encouraging message to their viewers to provide a healthier outlook about size, beauty, and weight.

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