The American definition of beauty is visible in any one of our forms
of popular culture, whether it’s TV, movies, music videos, magazines,
and advertisements, even billboards. “Women’s bodies sell products
that have nothing to do with women, like tires, cars, liquor, and
guns” (Pipher, Reviving Ophelia 42). As if using women’s bodies to
sell completely unrelated products weren’t harmful enough, the women
used to sell these products are a far cry from what most women in
America look like. The average American woman is 5’4” and weighs 140
pounds, whereas the average professional model in this country is
5’9’’ and weighs roughly 110 pounds (Barnhill 49). Consistently, women
are diminished by advertisers to pretty body parts used to sell
products, a practice that perpetuates the glorification of this
unreasonable ideal of beauty.
Women’s bodies have not only become a huge money-maker for
advertisers, businesses have picked up on women’s insecurities about
their bodies and have capilatized on these insecurities. On one hand,
advertisers heavily market weight-reduction programs and present young
anorexic models as the paradigm of ideal beauty; on the other hand,
the media floods the airwaves and magazine pages with ads for junk
food. In 1996, the diet industry (as in diet foods, diet programs,
diet drugs) took in over $40 billion dollars, and that number is still
climbing (Facts and Figures 1).
Young women seem to be especially affected by our culture’s obsession
with weight and beauty. America today is a girl-destroying place where
young women are encouraged to sacrifice their true selves in exchange
for false selves that are more culturally acceptable. “More than any
other group in the population, girls and their bodies have borne the
brunt of twentieth-century social change and we ignore that fact at
our peril.” (Brumberg 21).
There is no doubt that the media, mainly TV, movies, magazines, and
advertising, is an extremely powerful force in shaping who we are as a
culture, and as individuals.
Mass media influence has expanded since its inception during the 19th century. Media has become a direct influence on people today by shaping social identity and giving people a false sense of contentment. Today mass media has become more influential to society because it sets the standards of what a person’s appearance should look like along with what is beautiful – especially in women. Women have become a focal point for the media to target; media have used a female insecurities to promote products and establish a false perception of beauty. Today, mass media have defined beauty for an ideal woman, and established this ideology across the globe. This essay will argue the following (1) false perception of advertisements, (2) shadism, and (3) how females react to advertisements.
In recent years, sociologists, psychologists, and medical experts have gone to great lengths about the growing problem of body image. This literature review examines the sociological impact of media-induced body image on women, specifically women under the age of 18. Although most individuals make light of the ideal body image most will agree that today’s pop-culture is inherently hurting the youth by representing false images and unhealthy habits. The paper compares the media-induced ideal body image with significant role models of today’s youth and the surrounding historical icons of pop-culture while exploring various sociological perspectives surrounding this issue.
The media is a fascinating tool; it can deliver entertainment, self-help, intellectual knowledge, information, and a variety of other positive influences; however, despite its advances for the good of our society is has a particular blemish in its physique that targets young women. This blemish is seen in the unrealistic body images that it presents, and the inconsiderate method of delivery that forces its audience into interest and attendance. Women are bombarded with messages from every media source to change their bodies, buy specific products and redefine their opinion of beauty to the point where it becomes not only a psychological disease, but a physical one as well.
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.
First of all, in The Simpsons, the scene where we get into the actual plot of the story opens with Marge and Lisa walking into a department store that sells dolls. The gender stereotype that girls are only interested in playing with dolls is reinforced here as a huge selection of Malibu Stacy dolls is on display with a throng of screeching, bloodthirsty girls tearing the store apart. Lisa says, “I’m warning you mom, I might get a little crazy.” and immediately knocks down a girl and snatches another in a choke-hold to be the first in line for the new Malibu Stacy doll. In the very next scene we have the whole family in the car with Homer driving. He is baking a cupcake with an easy-bake-oven that he bought from the mall. Marge advises him that he should not be doing that. The stereotype here is that men are more impulsive as demonstrated by Homer and his baking while driving without any concern of his or his family’s safety; and that women like to play it safe and think before acting as demonstrated by Marge. Another noteworthy observation is the fact that Homer completes his gender stereotype as the bread-winner of the family. He works at the Nuclear power plant while Marge plays the role of the proud homemaker who is rarely seen outside the home and who has little friends. Homer on the other hand, is not confined to his domestic role and his frequently shown at Moe’s Tavern with his friends, at work, or doing something that is stupid and dangerous. This enforces the stereotype that women have few friends and stay close to domestic life whereas men have lots of friends, are more independent, and bring home the bacon. Moreover, Bart and Lisa are in accordance with their gender stereotypes as well. For instance, in the backseat, Ba...
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.
Media contributes in a way we see our body such as in an attractive or unattractive way such as Rebecca J.Donatelle in “ Enhancing your Body Image” explains. The way we assume about our physical appearance can lead to health problems and other side effects we can come across throughout our lifestyle. For instance the body image myths that the author states in the paragraph shows some effects on how our society feels today. And the changes one can make to become better to be better therefore changing our life for the better can combat in a lifetime experience.
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.
Mass media is designed to reach large audiences through the use of technology. Its purpose is
“ The media needs to take responsibility for the effect it has on our younger generation....why aren’t we regulating things like calling people fat”(Lawrence). The actress Jennifer Lawrence expressed her opinion in what she believes that the media is responsible for the damaging body image that has affected the younger generation into believing this image is ideal. Considering this quote, recently there have been more .The negative body image in female adolescents has been affected by the influence of impossible body types in the media such as the doll “Barbie” and characters in popular children shows.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In our society today, people would rather see what celebrities are up to than what is going on with our health plan. Watching the news makes us aware of the latest trend, new gadget, who’s in rehab, or who has an eating disorder. In the eyes of society, women like Eva Longoria, Kim Kardashian, and Megan Fox are the epitome of perfection. What girl wouldn’t want to look like them? Unfortunately, this includes most of the girls in the US. Through TV shows, commercials, magazines or any form of advertising, the media enforces a certain body type which women emulate. The media has created a puissant social system where everyone must obtain a thin waist and large breasts. As a society, we are so image obsessed with the approval of being thin and disapproval of being overweight, that it is affecting the health of most women. Women much rather try to fit the social acceptance of being thin by focusing on unrealistic body images which causes them to have lower self esteem and are more likely to fall prey to eating disorders, The media has a dangerous influence on the women’s health in the United States.
We live in a world where the media makes us believe that looking good is important, especially for women. Young women today, are caught up in their body image and some of them turn to eating disorders because they think it will help them get the body that “perfect” in the eye of the public. According to the findings of Reinkin and Alexander (2005), the number of female college athletes from 1971 to 2000 increased by more than 500% (Reinkin & Alexander, 2005). Female athletes are more prone to eating disorders than men because, they are expected to look a certain way and look attractive. In the research of Greenleaf, Petrie, Carter and Reel (2009) it states:
Body image is a mental representation that is socially constructed and impacts a large majority of people. Body image is subject to internal and external distortions (Atkins & Cataldo, 2013). For example, how one visualizes him or herself may conflict with how the world perceives them. Throughout history, individuals have idolized and categorized beauty. Beauty is a socially constructed concept that has different standards depending on the culture and time period. In the 21st century media, celebrities, and fitness fads significantly influence women and men’s attitudes toward their bodies. Body image is absorbed through a series of positive and negative messages that we acquire consciously and unconsciously throughout our lifespan. During the
Kilbourne, Jeane. “Killing Us Softly 4.” Tru Tube. Tru Tube. 2010. Web. 13 May 2014.
Show business promotes commercials, print advertisements, films and shows where unbelievably perfect women are seen as the ‘ideal beauty’ The ‘ideal beauty’ controls the behavior of young girls and manipulates their perception of beauty. The term ‘ideal beauty’ is defined to be a conception of something that is perfect, especially that which one seeks to attain. Many young girls everyday are exposed to fashion and beauty advertisements that feature models who are portrayed as ‘perfect’. Due to this Technological Age, girls are exposed to many advertisements that encourage them to be like the featured models- tall, skinny, and foreign. There is also a survey conducted by Renee Hobbs, EdD, associate professor of communications at Temple University which states that, “The average teenage girl gets about 180 minutes of media exposure daily and only about ten minutes of parental interaction a day.” Moreover, media also promotes and advertises cosmetics, apparel, diet pills and exercise gears in the name of beauty and fitness, convincing girls to buy and ultimately patronize their products. Becoming very addicted with using such products can eventually lead to overdoes and becoming vainer. It may seem obvious to most of us that people prefer to look at beautiful faces. While beauty itself may be only skin deep, studies show our perception of beauty may be hard-wired in our brains (Stossel,