Anorexia and the Media Newspapers, magazines, television etc all have a good relationship with the media. The media is known everywhere from England to Australia. The majority of the public tend to pay more attention to the media and society rather than self belief. It’s like a ‘tag-a-long’ in a group. The only reason for this is that people seem to behave and act the same way influencing others to do so. This does make sense because the person may feel left out. In other words they feel insecure. I will be discussing if the media does or does not have a large impact on society. Anorexia is believed to be mainly caused by the media and the celebrities who are involved throughout the media. Young teens who have not yet reached the stage to answer their own questions e.g., “why do I look like this?” “Why can’t I look like her?” etc, gradually change their eating behaviour or even go out and buy products that aren’t even promised to reach their target. The reason that people do such things is because the media makes the person feel low and acts like a dictator stating how people should look, acting near enough against natural beauty and destroying people’s lives for money. They effect them mentally as the may get paranoid which gives them no satisfaction as they tend to think negatively leading them to be another systemised person who is easily influential. In this essay I will also conclude my opinions on this matter and also bring out evidence for my reasons. Anorexia occurs because of many things for e.g. bullying, lack of socialisation, low self esteem etc. The media take advantage by making money out of these types of people (... ... middle of paper ... ...s causes frustration, anger and deceit for the females to face. Bribery or bullying by friends or family would fail to change eating behaviour usually. At this stage the family would begin to get concerned and they would become mentally stressed themselves because of this situation. A female of average height will probably be unable to continue school once her weight falls below around 6 stone. Overall I think that the Media has a huge impact on society and on one’s mentality. But I also think anorexia can be caused by the upbringing of a child. This really depends on how strong they are mentally. If they have low self esteem this may lead to many things including anorexia or even bulimia which is an even bigger illness related to anorexia. The Media adores making money and this shows that they are also to blame.
Anorexia Nervosa has been a problematic disease many women suffer from. The article “The Slender Trap” was composed by Trina Rys who is a stay at home mother with a husband and one daughter. Rys writes the main reasons a woman may develop anorexia from. She states that the psychological pressures, expectations of friends and family and influences of the media all are factors when a woman is inflicted with the disease. I strongly agree with Rys persuading argument that anorexia could be caused by an unknown identity and the overall main focus of the ideal image of a woman. Although, I believe Rys requires a stronger argument on whether food restrictions executed by parents are a major step to developing the harmful illness. She seems to put emphasize on mainly women but does not shine any light on men.
The complications that accompany body image have long been an issue in society. Body image is the sense of how an individual views his or her own body as compared to others in society, or what is considered to be the ideal body image. There are many different factors that effect ones body image, but a major influence is the media. The media has long been associated with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where an individual participates in self-starvation, and bulimia is an eating disorder where an individual will eat as much as he or she wishes and then purges the previously eaten food. These are two destructive eating disorders that are associated with a negative body image. This comes to question, does media have an influence on creating a negative body image, which may inherently lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia? Anorexia nervosa and bulimia affect various age groups but is extremely common in adolescence and emerging adulthood. During this stage in an individual’s lifespan there is a lot going on with ones psychological development as well as body. How an adolescent views his or her body image be highly impacted by how the media portrays what the ideal body image is. According to Berger (2015), “as might be expected from a developmental perspective, healthy eating begins with childhood habits and family routines” (p.415). If proper eating habits are not implemented negative body image and eating disorders that are associated with media becomes further predominant in adolescence and emerging adulthood.
Our society today is heavily influenced by the media and the imagery it shows. Though it may be indirect, the media provides unhealthy messages about ideal body sizes, gender attractiveness, and weight control that make women view themselves in a negative way. Magazines, television, and movies influence teenage girls on what they believe their body image should be. The images they show set the standard of what is considered physically attractive in our society. With the use of photoshop, media depicts falsified images of models and actresses to create a perfected look that is unattainable by the average woman. This creates a desire among teenage girls to look like these stars that are often shown. When teenage girls look at these images, they compare themselves to those images, and then judge themselves based on these comparisons. These judgements can potentially lead to eating disorders. In order to prevent the risk of eating disorders among teenage girls, the media should depict a typical image of people, rather than idolizing a specific standard of beauty.
"Exploring the role society and the media play in the development of an Eating Disorder and the Media Influence on Eating Disorders.” Something Fishy: Website on Eating Disorders, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2014.
Media has more of an effect than people realize on how people think about themselves, especially body shape. Social media, television, and magazines all encourage low self esteem regarding body image and eating disorders. The media is a major factor in young boys and girls developing eating disorders; when surrounded by media for hours a day filled with commercials encouraging weight loss and models that are unhealthily skinny, it is inevitable to feel insecure about your body shape and self image and in some cases, results in developing an eating disorder.
Terry Yarber, a single overweight mother of a sixteen year old and two adolescents, wipes away the salty tears from her pale face so that her daughter does not see the fear inside her. Weighing only ninety one pounds, strapped to a hospital bed with a tube down her throat is a girl named Sherie. Sherie thinks the thought of food is repulsive. For instance, she doesn't bother to count calories, carbohydrates, or watch out for bad fat or good fat. Sherie does not bother to eat at all. The most she has had to eat in the last three days are two baby carrots, one slice of low carbohydrate bread, and one leaf of lettuce. While Ms. Yarber sits next to her daughter, she try's to look in to her deep blue crystal eyes but all she sees is a hallow glaze staring back at her. She tells Sherie the news that was just given to her by the doctor. "Unfortunately, she is isn't letting her body get the kind of nutrients it needs. If she does not start eating she will die a painful death. In fact, she is starving herself" said Dr. Roth. Teenage anorexia is a simple diet that has become an obsession. That person concentrates extraordinary energy on the diet, which can become more important, then anyone or anything else in the world. (Sacker 10)
Nowadays everyone seems to be infatuated not only with medicine and health, but also with perfect body images. Susan Bordo presses the issue on how the media has contributed to the increase of eating disorders. When television was first being introduced to homes in the 1950s, the media’s portrayal of “the ideal” body was drastically different than it is today. (Rader) Eating disorders are complex conditions that I do feel media contributes to but they can arise from a variety of potential causes as well. How do we find a common ground? If media outlets aren’t the root or cause of eating disorders, what is and what can we do to prevent them?
What is the perfect body type? Throughout our adolescence ages into the adult hood stage many of young women struggle to answer this question. Our idea of what the perfect body type is ever changing however it is always influenced by the Medias perception of what the perfect body image should look like. We all idolize these images we see on television and in magazines and some of us would do anything to look just like them. This image forces us to have self esteem issues.These advertisements are damaging both our mental and physical state of being Many young girls who take extreme measures to live up to the Medias perception of the perfect body type are more likely to develop one of the many body image disorders. The average age a girl starts to diet is eight ("Media and Eating Disorders" 1). When a girl becomes obsessed with dieting and looking better, they can easily become anorexic or bulimic. 79% of teenage girls who vomit are dedicated readers of woman's magazines ("Media and Eating Disorders" 2). The Medias standard of perfection puts stress and pressure on young girls to become skinner. Eating disorders, excessive exercise, and depression are a result of the Medias influence on their self image. The media have negatively influenced the self image of young girls by forcing their unrealistic perception of what women should look like onto them .
Eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, are very unique and complex mental disorders. They cannot be simplified into a single cause, such as the media’s influence (Goldring). However, many statistics show the media affects girls, especially young ones, significantly.
“The attention-grabbing pictures of various high-flying supermodels and actors on different magazine covers and advertisements go a long way in influencing our choices” (Bagley). The media is highly affective to everyone, although they promote an improper image of living. Research proved says those with low self-esteem are most influenced by media. Media is not the only culprit behind eating disorders. However, that does not mean that they have no part in eating disorders. Media is omnipresent and challenging it can halt the constant pressure on people to be perfect (Bagley). Socio-cultural influences, like the false images of thin women have been researched to distort eating and cause un-satisfaction of an individual’s body. However, it is clear that, although virtually all women are exposed to these socio-cultural influences, only a very small proportion develop clinical eating disorders (Mazzeo and Bulik). Every article believes that socio-culture have an impact on eating disorders. Although, researchers believe that is not the only reason, and the easiest statement to make. Eating disorders are far more complicated than it just being blamed on the media. Bagley, Mazzeo and Bulik all state that media play a role in the development but are not the main reason to developing an eating disorder. In all of the research done thus far media is a part of eating disorders, but not the only culprit.
Eating disorders affect a variety of individuals. This is due, in part, to what we believe beauty is. Mass media has an influence on these eating disorders. Girls believe that they should look like the super models that they see on television or in fashion magazines. This encourages them to take dangerous measures that will make them lose weight in unhealthy ways. This is a huge problem in our society and it needs to be addressed. According to Naomi Wolf, “ In her book The beauty myth” beauty today is not, about makeup. It’s the disempowering, backlash of propaganda that suggests that feminism makes women ugly, or forces women to choose between beauty and liberation.” (Wolf 2)
While I agree that there has been a great deal of attention given to childhood obesity in the media and by the government. This attention has actually done little on a large scale to actually curb the rise of the issue. I don’t feel this issue is a government issue, however I believe it has become one due to the scale the issue has risen to. Even with all that has been studied on this issue little is actually known regarding the true underlying predictors. (Flores 2013) So considering the scale of the issue we face with the childhood obesity issue I feel that not only does the government at all levels need to be involved in some way but that the U.S. adult population as a whole should be involved in order to help better secure this future generations existence.
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.
At first, I agree with Goodman’s argument and I think that due to the impact of media, people's aesthetic standard began to change and more and more people begin to pay more attention to lose weight nowadays. And in my opinion, the most obvious part that women are affected by the impact of media, especially for the actors. For example, as Goodman points out, 15% of high school girls who vomited for weight control increased 5 times. It shows girls were worrying about their weight, and it lead to make them to suffer eating disorders. From my personal experience, I also would like to use media to find what is the most fashion hairstyle or cloth brand every month. And it will make me to decide what stuff I want to buy. Also, I think I am a member of control weight, because every day I would like to keep a good image to others. So as a result of control weight, I have the same problem of eating disorders as well. Besides, the...
Rader, Jonathon. "Does the media cause eating disorders?." healthcarecommunication.com. N.p., 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.