Social Media And Gender Stereotypes

While social media has created a world of opportunities, it has also invented some new ideas and issues among the male and female genders. In November of 2016, it was estimated that an average of 90 % of American adults, aged 18-49, had any sort of a social media account.[2] 71% of teenagers have a social media account.[3] While those aged 50 or more had a average of 49%.[4] In total, 264197512.08 people within the American population has a social media account. Worldwide, this number is multiplied by 8.86 where 2.34 billion people globally, have social media.[5]
When a large number of people are on social media, it can be safely assumed that some major celebrities would have social media as well. Whether it is used as a way to tell an audience

about the latest upcoming concert or to share their “secret” inside lives. Younger viewers, look up to these celebrities and would do anything to become just like their favorite star. Magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Star Magazine or People have included stories on “15 Reasons It's Better to Have a Big Butt” or ways to fix a “flat, no butt figure.” These articles do not show teenagers the right way of thinking. They look at these titles and articles only to be more weary of how they look. It has been proven that 99.99% of all people have a butt, unless a rare genetic disorder is found. Everybody has a butt, everybody has imperfections, and they do not need to be made bigger to impress anyone. They are used to cushion a seat, not win the Nobel Prize. Celebrities such as the Kardashians are known for their big lips and large assets, made possible by numerous plastic surgeries. They are made to look good in the public eye and promote business for plastic surgeons. Plastic surgery was once so taboo that only those who needed to correct a deformity used it. However, it is now used to get bigger butts, breasts, or to get a slimmer stomach. Since teenagers look at these stars, they start to realize they are different. Perhaps they do not a have a large rear, or breast or are even a little chubbier than others, and this goes to their heads. More teenagers are self conscience of how they look because social media has given them the idea that big butts, boobs and a tiny waist are the only way for a man to notice you. In 2015, 64,470 cosmetic procedures were done on teenagers aged 13-19. While 161,700 minimally invasive ones were done on the same age group. Leaving the total number of plastic surgery to be done on teenagers at 226,170 people.[6] No longer are children feeling that they are accepted without altering the way they look.
No doubt that everyone can be judgmental when it comes to how someone looks, but most times our opinions are kept to ourselves. With social media, people can publicly voice their opinion without being found out by posting things anonymously. We hide behind a piece of glass and wires and make ourselves feel better by dragging others down. When asked, the social media site Twitter, provided some interesting conclusions. They found that women wrote more than 5 million negative tweets in 2014, four out of every five negative beauty tweets from women were about themselves, and women are 50 percent more likely to say something negative (rather than positive) about themselves on social media.[7] This type of thinking, has lead to the creation of body shaming.
Oxford Dictionary has defined body shaming as “The action or practice of humiliating someone by making mocking or critical comments about their body shape or size.”[8] Whether it is pointed to that skinny girl who is pale and frail or the heavier set person who seems like they should lose a few pounds. Words hurt and the sooner the younger society realizes that these words have a bigger effect on someone than just making them feel bad, the better. In 2016, a teenager by the name of Brandy Vela killed herself in front of her family because she was bullied about her weight. She had been on social media when a few months before her death, she started to notice people making fun of her. She could see that they were calling her “fat” and body shaming her, so much that she could not handle it. She decided enough was enough and placed a gun up to her chest and pulled the trigger in front of her family. She had gotten to the point where she could not handle the pressures of negative social media and the comments that people left for her. .[9] Vela is only one out of the hundreds of teens that die yearly for the same issues. According to Arielle Cutter, a women who received a grant to study media literacy programs, exclaims that “More and more 12-year-old girls are going on diets because they believe what you weigh determines your worth,” Cutler observed. “When all you see is a body type that only two percent of the population has, it’s difficult to remember what’s real and what’s reasonable to expect of yourself and everyone else.” She later goes to exclaim that “Advertising,... draws on people’s insecurities to convince them to buy a product, and few populations are as insecure overall as adolescent girls—which is why media literacy programs are so important for them. In programs such as that designed by national organization Girls, Inc., girls learn how to look behind the scenes and messages that advertisements are producing in order to reconcile their own bodies with the view of “perfection” presented by the media.”[10]
Teenagers and young women are not always the victims in a body shaming attack.

Celebrities like Melissa McCarthy and Lily James have all seen the attacks of negative body support. In 2016 with the release of the Disney movie Cinderella, Lily James went under fire for her 17 inch waist appearance. She was heavily criticized for being “so bad for young viewers' body image & [is] unnecessary.”[11] Lily James soon began to speak about about the negative comments and exclaimed that she "...think[s] it's all very hypocritical, and they contradict themselves, and they're drawing more attention to it. I think all that stuff's so negative, and you've got to let it wash over your head.”[11] After this, Lily decided to help younger audiences by telling them that they sould not let what other people say get to them. Everybody is perfect the way they are. Melissa McCarthy has also been known to be body shamed for being fat- shamed. Instead of letting negative comments bring her down, McCarthy embraces her body. She exclaimed to Ree Hines, a writer from the Today Show, that “"[I love] all of it — my flaws, my shortcomings, my body parts that you're like, 'Well, couldn’t that be better?' — all of it!" she explained. "I think, especially after having kids, I go, 'Well, the alternative is pretty bad. I’ll take me as I am.'" [12] This type of body reinforcement is beneficial to all people because they are encouraged to accept how they are. Even well known “heavy set” embracers still get body

shamed. Heavy set model Ashley Graham is internationally known for being one of the first heavier person to model. SHe redefined what it meant to be a model. In 2016, Ashley Graham decided to lose some weight. When images surfaced of the once large model, people were outraged because Graham was no longer “fat.” Many could not stand the fact that a women who helped change plus size boundaries, would lose weight. If she was happy with who she was, then why change? Graham soon responded to the people making fun of her weight loss. She states that ““People come on my page and body shame me because I’m too big, because I’m too small, because I’m not good enough for their standards . . . But at the end of the day I’m good enough for me,”[13]
Women are not the only ones affected from body shaming.

It also will affect men as well. Men are portrayed, especially in American society, as beings that need to take care of a girl. They need to be big, strong, well rounded and fit. When a man does not fit this image, he becomes self conscience and in most cases, and also becomes depressed. When society points out flaws like small male reproductive organs, round stomach and lack of muscles, a man's ego will become crushed. Just like woman, they feel like they are not wanted and accepted if they do not fit the mold of society. Take for example, Robert Kardashian. Always being in the shadows of his sisters, the Kardashians, Robert has been body shamed for being “larger” because he did not fit in with how his sisters looked. He was not very thin or fit or had very much to offer. He had also been receiving comments like “Rob Kardashian is still shaped like a soccer mom of 4 kids in an unhappy marriage” on social media sites like twitter.[14] Because of these comments, Robert has slipped in and out of depression and have had suicidal thoughts for many years. Another male that has seen the harsh faces of judgment, is none other than Wentworth Miller. Miller is an actor on the American television show, Prison Break. After the actor had finished shooting the show, a picture surfaced of him slightly heavier than he had been before. Society recognized him as being buff, however, after the image appeared, they no longer viewed him

as acceptable. Tabloids wrote articles with titles saying “Hunk To Chunk.' and 'Fit To Flab.'”[15] He became depressed and opened up about his feeling to CNN. He states “"In 2010, at the lowest point in my adult life, I was looking everywhere for relief/comfort/distraction,.....And I turned to food. It could have been anything. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. But eating became the one thing I could look forward to."[15] Miller could have let his depression and negative views bring him down further and further. Instead he takes that image and it encourages him to never let himself get that low. He concludes his interview with saying, “"Now, when I see that image of me in my red t-shirt, a rare smile on my face, I am reminded of my struggle,...My endurance and my perseverance in the face of all kinds of demons. Some within. Some without. Like a dandelion up through the pavement, I persist."[15]
With all the body shaming happening and the negative responses toward body shaming, leaves the question, why are we still shaming? Why are people still commenting on how one looks when if the roles were reversed, the person would feel just as bad? Americans need to wake up and realize words hurt more than one can ever really comprehend. While social media can be satisfying to use for finding friends, looking at the news or seeing what our favorite celebrities are up. It is best to keep our comments, especially off of social media. This will help shape and redefine how society views those who do not look the same as someone else.