Beauty is an omnipresent characteristic that plagues societies’ youth today because mainstream media has them convinced that inner beauty is less important than physical beauty. Unfortunately the media’s warped sense of what true beauty is has been advertised in such a way that it has become an unhealthy observation for today’s youth. The expectations of beauty are unacceptably stereotyped, which creates unrealistic idealistic goals for our young people to try to achieve. It is crucial to mention that as a society we need to strive toward teaching the proper balance between both aspects of beauty to offset the portrayal of what true beauty is by the media. The media has created an obsession with perfection through the use of technology by digitally enhancing still and moving images of models, music artists, athletes and actors. From enlarging muscles and breast to erasing wrinkles and slimming waists, airbrushing has been constantly used to influence unobtainable idealistic goals of perfection for our younger generations. We need to correct the media’s warped portrayal of beauty in the minds of our young people through education, because it is helping contribute toward encouraging low self-esteem and low self-worth in our young people. “Many studies have found that exposure to certain stimuli through the media can lead to body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and thin-idealization in certain individuals” (Cohen, 2006, pg 15). These portrayals contribute toward poor body image and eating disorders, which contribute toward self-injury and suicide rates in our younger generations. A survey of adolescents in grades 7-12 in 2003 revealed that 30% of girls and 25% of boys have been teased by friends about their weight... ... middle of paper ... ...Anorexia? Social Pressure, Psychology, or Serotonin? Retrieved from: http://www.tree.com/health/eating-disorders-anorexia-causes.aspx New, Michelle PhD (2012). Kids Health: About Teen Suicide. Retrieved from: http://kidshealth.org/ Pavlishina, Olya (2012). Adolescent Self Harm - Teen Cutting. Retrieved from: http://www.integrity-counseling.com New, Michelle PhD (2012). Kids Health: About Teen Suicide. Retrieved from: http://kidshealth.org/ National Eating Disorder Association (2012). The Impact of Media Images on Body Image and Behaviors: A Summary of the Scientific Evidence. Retrieved from: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/uploads/file/The%20Impact%20of%20Media%20Images%20on%20Body%20Image%20and%20Behaviours%206%20Nov%281%29.pdf Confucius (China's most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, 551-479 BC). Retrieved from: http://thinkexist.com
Societal constructs of bodily perfection have a massive influence on both genders and on all ages. If you look at any magazine, you will see women constantly being compared to each other, whether it is in the “who wore it better” section or in the “do’s and don’ts” part of the magazine, comparing body images and overall appearances. All parts of the media that encompasses our daily lives are especially dangerous for young and impressionable teens because they see people being torn down for trying to express themselves, and are thus taught to not only don’t look like “don’ts”, but also look like the “do’s”. This is dangerous in that women in the magazine set very high standards that teens want to emulate, no matter the cost to themselves or their health. Celebrities have the benefit of media to make them appear perfect: Photoshop and makeup artists conceal the imperfections that are often too apparent to the naked eye. Viewing celebrities as exhibiting the ideal look or as idols will, in most cases, only damage the confidence of both young teens, and adults, and warp the reality of what true “beauty” really is. It makes teens never feel truly content with themselves because they will be aiming for an ideal that is physically impossible to attain and one that doesn’t exist in the real
The misconception of what is beautiful can be detrimental to young girls. In a television industry attempt to sell goods, they are depicted as sexy. Creating a need for parents to intervene and present a more realistic and normal view of physical beauty. Today, TV presents sexually based images crafted to appeal to young girls. Unfortunately, they are led to believe that their value is only deep, causing flawed expectations, illusions, and wrong information about the truth of the physical body in the real world.
Media is infamous for having a tremendous effect on teenage girls. The mass media have long been criticized for presenting unrealistic appearance ideals that contribute to the development of negative body image for many women and girls (Harrison & Hefner, 2006). Whether it’s the influence on their choice of friends, school, or their self image, media has played an important role in affecting those decisions. A growing number of experimental studies have demonstrated a causal link between acute exposure to "thin-ideal" images (i.e., images of impossibly thin and attractive female beauty) and increased body dissatisfaction (Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2003). It has recently been brought up that media influences girls in preadolescence, which is highly likely since most young girls idolize Barbie (Rintala & Mustajoki, 1992). “Were Barbie a flesh-and-blood woman, her waist would be 39% smaller than that of anorexic patients, and her body weight would be so low that she would not be able to menstruate” (Rintala & Mustajoki, 1992). Most young girls wish that they could look like Barbie when they grew up, but if they knew the reality of having her measurements their perceptions would probably change. Children frequently fantasize about who they will be, what they will do, and how they will look when they grow into adulthood.
Neumark-Sztainer, D., Faulkner, N., Story, M., Perry, C., Hannan, P.J., & Mulert, S. (2002) Weight, teasing among adolescents: correlations with weight status & disordered early behaviors. International Journal of Obesity:26,123-131.
Mass media has evolved over the years and is heard to have many effects on body image. Does mass media have an effect on body image? To answer this question, I have explored academic articles for different social science disciplines. This particular discipline is Psychology. The discipline of psychology will show how body images affect people and what causes them to be affected. The articles being reviewed are Barlett, Christopher P., Christopher L. Vowels and Donald A. Saucier. “Meta-Analyses of the Effects of Media Images on Men’s Body Image Concerns.” Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology. 27.3 (2008) : 279-310., Hayes, Sharon and Stacey Tantleff-Dunn. “Am I too fat to be a princess? Examining the effects of popular children’s media on
To begin, social media has created unrealistic standards for young people, especially females. Being bombarded by pictures of females wearing bikinis or minimal clothing that exemplifies their “perfect” bodies, squatting an unimaginable amount of weight at a gym while being gawked at by the opposite sex or of supermodels posing with some of life’s most desirable things has created a standard that many young people feel they need to live up to. If this standard isn’t reached, then it is assumed that they themselves are not living up to the norms or the “standards” and then therefore, they are not beautiful. The article Culture, Beauty and Therapeutic Alliance discusses the way in which females are bombarded with media messages star...
It’s difficult to envision a world where idealized representations of females do not exist. However, before the creation of the mass media, our ideas of beauty were restricted to our own communities in which we live. When photography was introduced in 1839, real-life images of faces and bodies were not exposed to society. The likelihood of someone owning a mirror during that time was very rare. Today, however, one is considered odd if they do not own a mirror. Today we look for any excuse to look in the mirror as we have become more obsessed with our appearance than ever before. Given society’s standards, it is only natural to have some concern about appearance, but many people take the concern to far. According to Jane Kilborne, “Every period of history has had its own standards of what is and is not beautiful, and every contemporary society has its own distinctive concept of the ideal physical attributes.’” In the 19th century being beautiful meant wearing a corset – causing breathing and digestive problems.” (Kilborne 2002) Although we resemble our ancestors and other cultures in our concern about appearance, our amount of concern is much greater. Because technology is advancing rapidly, the exposure to the standards set by the media is easily available. What was once a normal concern has escalated into an obsession. Women are continually bombarded with images of the 'ideal' face and figure. Researchers suggest that “constant exposure to idealized images of female beauty on TV, magazines and billboards makes exceptional good looks seem normal and anything short of perfection seem abnormal and ugly.”(Beauty 2009) “It has been estimated that young women now see more images of outstandingly beautiful women in one day than our mot...
In addition to promoting excessively thin models, the media also uses a disproportionate amount of digital photo retouching, especially in recent years. The use of Photoshop and digital retouching has been taken to an extreme, making models impossibly thin, tall, wrinkle and blemish free (Farid and Kee). Airbrush and digital enhancement is used to create the ideal and false female body (Russell-Mayhew and Saraceni, 91). It is quite easy to alter the appearance of a person. Legs, hips, and arms can all be slimmed. The neck can be elongated, making posture seem improved. Eye size can be increased. Skin tone and texture also fall prey to the digital retouching. The skin is smoothed and sharpened with wrinkles, cellulite, blemishes, freckles, and dark circles under the eyes removed. With just a few simple adjustments, models can appear different in an instant, creating a flawless, fake image that culture perceives to be real. Earp and Young state, “…this flawlessness cannot be achieved. It’s a look that’s been created through airbrushing, cosmetics, and computer retouching.” This digital retouching has led to unrealistic expectations for both men and women with body image. It is highly uncommon in today’s culture to view a beautiful woman that has not been photoshopped (Farid and Kee). It has also led to body issues for both men and women mentioned by Henry Farid and Eric Kee, “the ubiquity of these unrealistic and highly idealized images has been linked to eating disorders and body image dissatisfaction in men, women, and children” (Farid and Kee). The media is highly responsible for the body dissatisfaction in society. There is no reason that women should feel upset about themselves because they do not look like an airbrushed ...
“Fat jokes” are common among school aged kids and teasing is seen a lot at this age.
Images of beauty are exposed and represented in everyday lives, such as in sports, magazines issues, movies, book novels and it trickles down to local soap operas and sitcoms. Both men and women must meet the “Hollywood” standards of beauty and good looks if they want to be successful. The media’s purpose to portray the standards of beauty is to sell their products oftentimes using young and beautiful models with good looks to entice the consumer and reinforce these images as beauty, for everyone to emulate. Furthermore, there are campaigns the media utilizes to grasp the attention of the consumer through the method of oversexualization, a tactic usually directed to the adult consumer. However, the youth population has become affected now more than in past decades, as technology has made it more accessible with mobile pads and mobile phone devices. Television also has an influence and young and old alike making them believe that long, thin silky limbs, large breast, small nose, and perfect white straight teeth and supple lips are important characteristics of success. Men have, in some way or another have also been expected to hold a masculine physique that may be unchanged in the last 50 to 60 years, but must still represent an expression of mystery and chiseled jaw and a certain amount of muscles and physical appearance usually represented by younger
The media’s portrayal of celebrities could be seen as a major contributing factor to the body image problems that many teenagers face. Unrealistic images heavily tampered with airbrushing are viewed by millions every day, leading to self-consciousness and low self-esteem. Women in particular are faced with feeling they aren’t pretty or skinny enough and that they therefore cannot be happy. It isn’t surprising that an increasing number of people battle eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.
The media can be very persuasive to many people. It is the opinion of many that the media business is a constant reminder that we are not perfect, but many celebrities are. They give us tips to become the girl portrayed in the glossy pages of magazines, with diets, makeup routines, clothing news, and photo editing advice for the perfect selfie on your next Instagram post. Young girls look up to those tips, and immediately start to think they are not beautiful, just by the opinions based on the biased media. Asking my fellow students around me what they believe to be beautiful portrayed in the media they said a multitude of things, all incredibly similar. Skinny, makeup, straight white smile, perfect hair, flawless skin, and an overall perfect face. Many women in today’s world feel awful about themselves when they see a campaign featuring a model, knowing they will never look like that, believing that is the only beautiful they can be. To conform themselves into such a small box, many girls go to horrible and severe measures. Eating disorders can spur from the self consciousness they begin to feel, such as purging or skipping meals to slim down to a size they believe they should be. Self harm is also a cause of low self esteem, due to the pressure and goal to be the pretty they are being spoonfed by all media outlets. It has been apparent by many different news articles, that the photography for modeling agencies or product are incredibly photoshopped and touched up. Before and After pictures have been shown for photo editing in different articles. The before picture looks like an average girl or boy, with flaws like everyone else. They have a little bit of wrinkles, blemishes, smile lines, scars, and marks. After the steps of photoshop, all of those are erased by the simple tools of a computer. The years of growth it took for the marks to
This gives children, teenagers, and even adults this factor. “In this media-driven age, it seems most people are dissatisfied with their bodies. Recent studies show that kids as early as third grade are concerned about their weight” (Maynard 6). To repeat on what Maynard stated, third graders are worried about their weight. What the media feeds to children gives them the sense of that it is something that they should be. Seeing thin models and looking back at themselves seeing that there is a big difference between the two. At this young of an age, they do not know anything about what the dirty truth is. What the media does to the pictures, photoshopping the flaws and enhancing the shape of face. Rollero conducted an experiment with college students giving them four images that were digitally altered. Results showed that retouching salience can reduce the level of internalization of beauty ideals and thus the negative effects of media images exposure, such as negative mood and decrease in self-esteem (Rollero 199). With this being said Rollero’s experiment shows that the digitally altered photos give the college students a false sense of beauty and a decrease in self-esteem. Giving these false ideals of beauty make men and females feel insecure about their bodies make them feel that there they need to fix the ‘imperfection’. What the media does not realize is not everyone can look the same, with these images
In American culture today, society's view of beauty is controlled by Hollywood, where celebrities are constantly in the lime-light. The media watches Hollywood's every move, and is quick to ridicule “A-listers” whenever they dare to gain a few pounds or to let an uncontrollable pimple show. The media has created a grossly distorted mental image of what should be considered beautiful, and with almost every junior high and high school-age girl reading and viewing this message, the idea has been instilled in them as well. This view of beauty is causing many teenage girls to become obsessed with a highly problematic and unattainable goal of perfection.
The concept of “beauty” is something that everyone feels, thinks, or wants, in order to fit society’s standards. In today’s society, we are often faced with the unrealistic ideals of what beauty is. Due to society’s constant portraying of unrealistic beauty ideals, this reinforces a negative influence upon women’s idea of beauty, resulting in a negative impact in their confidence, and self-esteem, which leads to others, specifically women to be manipulated by society’s corrupted outlook of what beauty is. To add onto this issue, we are constantly surrounded by sources of this negative influence in our everyday lives, including magazines, television, advertisements, and so on. However, women specifically, are more prone to be victims of this negative effect, thus will have more pressure upon themselves to match society’s idea of “beauty,” which includes unrealistic and sometimes unattainable beauty standards. Women especially, can sometimes be so deeply manipulated by society’s unrealistic ideals of what is beautiful, such that it’s possible that they don’t even realize it Furthermore, in order to do so, women often will receive negative impacts rather than positive impacts, such as in their confidence and self-esteem. The negative effects of society’s beauty ideals also lead women to have an overall corrupted idea of what is “beautiful.” Society creates unrealistic ideals of beauty towards women through the media by creating an unrealistic image of what women should look like to be considered beautiful. Men negatively affect women’s idea of beauty by using the unrealistic beauty standards exposed by society which further pressures women to try to fit society’s idea of what is beautiful. Beauty pageants negatively affect women’s ov...