Jacqueline Daniels
Senior Paper
2012
“Society’s Effect on Women’s Body Image”
In today’s society media has a huge effect on the way women see their body image. For years the media has bombarded girls with the image of super thin models. We grow up seeing these women plastered everywhere. Why wouldn’t we want to look like they do? The average girl gets about 180 minuets of media exposure daily. By the time most girls reach their teens they have consumed years worth of messages about what the female body should look like.
We all know of Barbie. She’s the tall, skinny blonde. In reality she would be 6 feet tall, with a 39” bust, 18” waist and her hips would be 33”. This is Barbie’s full figure. Her manufactures consider full size to be 110 pounds t 6 foot tall. For an average 6-foot tall woman her lowest weight should be 138 pounds. if she were these actual proportions, Barbie would be categorized as anorexic and she would never menstruate. (www.media-awareness.ca)
Is the media totally at fault, though? Girls and women are around men all their lives and what they see on TV is what they perceive they should like, want, and expect all females to look like, according to our culture. Also many females may have parents that constantly remind them of the way they looked and base their image off of that. This also starts to cause problems in girl’s lives and could lead to negative actions. Girls that were once fat and lost weight are often scared to get fat again. Some girls that want to be upper or ultra skinny and never put a pound on their whole life.
There are two main diseases associated with body image; anorexia and bulima. Anorexia effects people who have a fear of weight gain and a distorted view of their body, size, and shape. As a result, they cannot maintain a normal weight. Many teens with anorexia restrict their food intake by dieting, fasting, or excessive exercise. Another well-known disease is bulimia. Bulimia is similar to anorexia. With bulimia someone might binge eat and then try to compensate in extreme ways, such as forced vomiting or excessive exercise to prevent the weight gain. They typically feel powerless to stop the eating until they are too full to eat anymore. Then they vomit or use laxatives. Although anorexia and bulimia are very similar, people with anorexia are usually very thin and under weight, but those with bulimia may be normal weight or even overweight.
We are living in a culture of thinness. Researchers from Health and Beauty report that women’s magazines have ten and a half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than guys do. (www.webmd.com) Also, over three quarters of the covers of woman’s magazines include at least one message explaining how to change an woman’s bodily image. Television and movies re-enforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of woman’s worth.
Twenty years ago, the average model weighed eight percent less than the average woman. Today models weigh 23 percent less. (www.webmd.com) The average weight and height for a model is 5’10” and 110 pounds. The average weight for a 5’4” woman is 145 pounds. The media is portraying unrealistic body figures to the women of those surveys. This all starts at a very young age. The latest surveys from (kidshealth.org) show that very young girls are going on diets because they think they are fat and unattractive. 81% of ten-year-old girls have already dieted at least once. Among woman over 18, 80% are unhappy with what they see. 80% of woman over estimate their size. (waytoliven.com) An increasing number of normal, attractive women, with no weight problems or clinical psychology disorders look at themselves in the mirror and see ugliness and a fat, overweight body. Experiments have shown that people become significantly more dissatisfied with their appearance after being shown TV ads featuring exceptionally thin and beautiful people. It is a fact that sex sells. So attractive beautiful people are posted all over the media. People who see this on a daily basis are more likely to feel less positive about their appearance. Therefore, shows like Bay Watch are likely to induce a sense of dissatisfaction among girls and woman of all ages. We cannot stop thinking about our bodies. We have ads, commercials, shows, magazines and apps pushing weight on us. Some people gain weight, some people lose, some people cannot lose.
There are many causes to weight gain that some people cannot help. Pregnancy is one example. During pregnancy a woman is supposed to eat a recommended extra 300 calories per day. However, the exact amount of calories you should consume does reflect on your weight before pregnancy. Most women are required to gain 25-30 pounds over the 9 months. There is nothing wrong with baby weight. Technically, one does not need to go hog crazy because she is “eating for two.” The percent of malnourished babies rose 9% in the last 10 year. Some woman become very selfconscience and they don’t eat enough, or they get scared they will not lose that extra weight gained during pregnancy. A big factor in this is stretch marks. Not only are stretch marks a part of pregnancy, but also a part of puberty. Stretch marks happen when the skin is pulled by rapid growth or stretching. There are commercials all over TV telling us “How to prevent stretch marks.” They happens to girls and guys, any age, any size. You may have heard of Coca Butter as a remedy to prevent them. Maybe you know of someone with an eating disorder because they do not want stretch marks when they wear a bathing suit. The commercials state, “No one wants those unsightly blemishes.” Girls want that perfect beach body we see on TV. To them, and the rest of the world, stretch marks are not part of the preferred body. So girls go to extreme measures to prevent getting the unsightly scars. The media has woman of all ages constantly worrying about their appearance. Even to the point that they try and prevent things that naturally occur to our bodies.
The media has helped develop a shycological mind set known as Fat Phobia or in other words, obesity. Prejudice against the over weight in our culture is such that obese people tend to have a very poor body image. Not to mention severe anxiety and depression. Studies have shown (kidshealth.org) that the mental well being of obese woman to be worse than that of the chronically ill and disabled. There are other contributing factors, other than the media, such as parents and family members. Girls notice when their mothers exercise obsessively, diet constantly or make derogatory comments about their own appearance. That should not come as a surprise as mothers are girl’s first and are often the most influential role model. Fathers play an equally influential role in shaping their daughters self image. Fathers and brothers make clear their preferences for thinner woman. There are ads, TV shows, books, and magazines showing guys of all ages what the “ideal woman should look like.” This teaches both sexes at a very young age, that is accepted into days society.
Now there is NOTHING wrong with being healthy, exercising and eating healthy. What is wrong is the drastic measures these girls put themselves through to look “the part.” To set yourself up for success, think of planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps, rather than one big drastic change. Instead of being overly concerned about counting calories and watching your portions, think in terms of color, variety, and freshness. You do not have to be perfect and completely eliminate all foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long-term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce risk for disease. Starving yourself or using laxatives, and purging are not healthy nor does it work. There are certain steps you can take to reduce the scare of gaining weight, like when your significant other surprises you with a treat split it, say thank you, but mention to them that you are trying to eat a little healthier. Ask if they want to start with you. Or how about when your friends want to meet up and catch up on the latest gossip? Do not meet at a restaurant and eat everything on the menu. Eat a snack before you meet up, so that you are not tempted to eat an unhealthy meal. Another piece of advice is to sip on a low calorie wine or beer. Sometimes some friends and family will ask you to brunch, but it interferes with your morning run. Be strong and tell your friends you will meet up with them afterward. Or better yet, ask if they would like to join you in a short jog.
If your friends aren’t trying to lose weight they’ll eat whatever they want. Having skinny friends is hard. You see a perfect body eating donuts and drinking soda, but you cannot let that get to you. Be healthy and get healthy. You do not need to become anorexic to be perfect. You do not need to puke up your meal because you ate too much that day. You are a human, you eat. People have different bodies; you do not have to be what you see on TV as long as you are healthy.
For too many girls, being “model thin” is an actual goal for themselves. In an attempt to be these “model thin” girls, they often take drastic measures to emulate the countless media images they see. This is when they start having low self-esteem, they get eating disorders and start proactively trying to change their bodies. This is not in only over- weight girls, Healthy girls also change their eating habits to look like the girls they see online and on TV. Younger girls are dieting and working out before they have even hit puberty. Girls see skinny, tan, blonde, tall, and busty woman all day, everyday almost 365 days a year. At a young age a switch goes off in their head that this is what they need to look like. Not caring that they are about to jeopardize their health. They push themselves to be these unrealistic weights because that is what they think are acceptable. They tan their skin to leather, they wear make up and dress like the females they see plastered in our media. For decades,girls have been subjected to these images. Most girls will admit to thinking they have to have a nice body to get a good-looking guy.
Guys also play a role as well and are possible victims. They see these women everywhere in the media and look for girls like that because that is what all the other men want. They prefer the tanner, taller, and skinner. Men go for what they think is approved or what the outside world accepts. Guys also have to deal with these perfect men on TV, in magazines, apps, and on billboards. They see the six packs, the hard pecks, and the tan skin. Guys push themselves to this and start using hard drugs to get this way. Not all men and woman think this way, but a vast majority of them do.
So yes, I do believe that the media has an effect on people’s body image. We are bombarded with images of the “perfect” body and thinks it is attainable. When in reality only a small portion of people can attain this type of beauty. From ads on TV about weight loss, to bathing suit commercial, to pills, to magazine articles we are constantly being reminded of what our body “should” look like.
Senior Paper
2012
“Society’s Effect on Women’s Body Image”
In today’s society media has a huge effect on the way women see their body image. For years the media has bombarded girls with the image of super thin models. We grow up seeing these women plastered everywhere. Why wouldn’t we want to look like they do? The average girl gets about 180 minuets of media exposure daily. By the time most girls reach their teens they have consumed years worth of messages about what the female body should look like.
We all know of Barbie. She’s the tall, skinny blonde. In reality she would be 6 feet tall, with a 39” bust, 18” waist and her hips would be 33”. This is Barbie’s full figure. Her manufactures consider full size to be 110 pounds t 6 foot tall. For an average 6-foot tall woman her lowest weight should be 138 pounds. if she were these actual proportions, Barbie would be categorized as anorexic and she would never menstruate. (www.media-awareness.ca)
Is the media totally at fault, though? Girls and women are around men all their lives and what they see on TV is what they perceive they should like, want, and expect all females to look like, according to our culture. Also many females may have parents that constantly remind them of the way they looked and base their image off of that. This also starts to cause problems in girl’s lives and could lead to negative actions. Girls that were once fat and lost weight are often scared to get fat again. Some girls that want to be upper or ultra skinny and never put a pound on their whole life.
There are two main diseases associated with body image; anorexia and bulima. Anorexia effects people who have a fear of weight gain and a distorted view of their body, size, and shape. As a result, they cannot maintain a normal weight. Many teens with anorexia restrict their food intake by dieting, fasting, or excessive exercise. Another well-known disease is bulimia. Bulimia is similar to anorexia. With bulimia someone might binge eat and then try to compensate in extreme ways, such as forced vomiting or excessive exercise to prevent the weight gain. They typically feel powerless to stop the eating until they are too full to eat anymore. Then they vomit or use laxatives. Although anorexia and bulimia are very similar, people with anorexia are usually very thin and under weight, but those with bulimia may be normal weight or even overweight.
We are living in a culture of thinness. Researchers from Health and Beauty report that women’s magazines have ten and a half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than guys do. (www.webmd.com) Also, over three quarters of the covers of woman’s magazines include at least one message explaining how to change an woman’s bodily image. Television and movies re-enforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of woman’s worth.
Twenty years ago, the average model weighed eight percent less than the average woman. Today models weigh 23 percent less. (www.webmd.com) The average weight and height for a model is 5’10” and 110 pounds. The average weight for a 5’4” woman is 145 pounds. The media is portraying unrealistic body figures to the women of those surveys. This all starts at a very young age. The latest surveys from (kidshealth.org) show that very young girls are going on diets because they think they are fat and unattractive. 81% of ten-year-old girls have already dieted at least once. Among woman over 18, 80% are unhappy with what they see. 80% of woman over estimate their size. (waytoliven.com) An increasing number of normal, attractive women, with no weight problems or clinical psychology disorders look at themselves in the mirror and see ugliness and a fat, overweight body. Experiments have shown that people become significantly more dissatisfied with their appearance after being shown TV ads featuring exceptionally thin and beautiful people. It is a fact that sex sells. So attractive beautiful people are posted all over the media. People who see this on a daily basis are more likely to feel less positive about their appearance. Therefore, shows like Bay Watch are likely to induce a sense of dissatisfaction among girls and woman of all ages. We cannot stop thinking about our bodies. We have ads, commercials, shows, magazines and apps pushing weight on us. Some people gain weight, some people lose, some people cannot lose.
There are many causes to weight gain that some people cannot help. Pregnancy is one example. During pregnancy a woman is supposed to eat a recommended extra 300 calories per day. However, the exact amount of calories you should consume does reflect on your weight before pregnancy. Most women are required to gain 25-30 pounds over the 9 months. There is nothing wrong with baby weight. Technically, one does not need to go hog crazy because she is “eating for two.” The percent of malnourished babies rose 9% in the last 10 year. Some woman become very selfconscience and they don’t eat enough, or they get scared they will not lose that extra weight gained during pregnancy. A big factor in this is stretch marks. Not only are stretch marks a part of pregnancy, but also a part of puberty. Stretch marks happen when the skin is pulled by rapid growth or stretching. There are commercials all over TV telling us “How to prevent stretch marks.” They happens to girls and guys, any age, any size. You may have heard of Coca Butter as a remedy to prevent them. Maybe you know of someone with an eating disorder because they do not want stretch marks when they wear a bathing suit. The commercials state, “No one wants those unsightly blemishes.” Girls want that perfect beach body we see on TV. To them, and the rest of the world, stretch marks are not part of the preferred body. So girls go to extreme measures to prevent getting the unsightly scars. The media has woman of all ages constantly worrying about their appearance. Even to the point that they try and prevent things that naturally occur to our bodies.
The media has helped develop a shycological mind set known as Fat Phobia or in other words, obesity. Prejudice against the over weight in our culture is such that obese people tend to have a very poor body image. Not to mention severe anxiety and depression. Studies have shown (kidshealth.org) that the mental well being of obese woman to be worse than that of the chronically ill and disabled. There are other contributing factors, other than the media, such as parents and family members. Girls notice when their mothers exercise obsessively, diet constantly or make derogatory comments about their own appearance. That should not come as a surprise as mothers are girl’s first and are often the most influential role model. Fathers play an equally influential role in shaping their daughters self image. Fathers and brothers make clear their preferences for thinner woman. There are ads, TV shows, books, and magazines showing guys of all ages what the “ideal woman should look like.” This teaches both sexes at a very young age, that is accepted into days society.
Now there is NOTHING wrong with being healthy, exercising and eating healthy. What is wrong is the drastic measures these girls put themselves through to look “the part.” To set yourself up for success, think of planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps, rather than one big drastic change. Instead of being overly concerned about counting calories and watching your portions, think in terms of color, variety, and freshness. You do not have to be perfect and completely eliminate all foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long-term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce risk for disease. Starving yourself or using laxatives, and purging are not healthy nor does it work. There are certain steps you can take to reduce the scare of gaining weight, like when your significant other surprises you with a treat split it, say thank you, but mention to them that you are trying to eat a little healthier. Ask if they want to start with you. Or how about when your friends want to meet up and catch up on the latest gossip? Do not meet at a restaurant and eat everything on the menu. Eat a snack before you meet up, so that you are not tempted to eat an unhealthy meal. Another piece of advice is to sip on a low calorie wine or beer. Sometimes some friends and family will ask you to brunch, but it interferes with your morning run. Be strong and tell your friends you will meet up with them afterward. Or better yet, ask if they would like to join you in a short jog.
If your friends aren’t trying to lose weight they’ll eat whatever they want. Having skinny friends is hard. You see a perfect body eating donuts and drinking soda, but you cannot let that get to you. Be healthy and get healthy. You do not need to become anorexic to be perfect. You do not need to puke up your meal because you ate too much that day. You are a human, you eat. People have different bodies; you do not have to be what you see on TV as long as you are healthy.
For too many girls, being “model thin” is an actual goal for themselves. In an attempt to be these “model thin” girls, they often take drastic measures to emulate the countless media images they see. This is when they start having low self-esteem, they get eating disorders and start proactively trying to change their bodies. This is not in only over- weight girls, Healthy girls also change their eating habits to look like the girls they see online and on TV. Younger girls are dieting and working out before they have even hit puberty. Girls see skinny, tan, blonde, tall, and busty woman all day, everyday almost 365 days a year. At a young age a switch goes off in their head that this is what they need to look like. Not caring that they are about to jeopardize their health. They push themselves to be these unrealistic weights because that is what they think are acceptable. They tan their skin to leather, they wear make up and dress like the females they see plastered in our media. For decades,girls have been subjected to these images. Most girls will admit to thinking they have to have a nice body to get a good-looking guy.
Guys also play a role as well and are possible victims. They see these women everywhere in the media and look for girls like that because that is what all the other men want. They prefer the tanner, taller, and skinner. Men go for what they think is approved or what the outside world accepts. Guys also have to deal with these perfect men on TV, in magazines, apps, and on billboards. They see the six packs, the hard pecks, and the tan skin. Guys push themselves to this and start using hard drugs to get this way. Not all men and woman think this way, but a vast majority of them do.
So yes, I do believe that the media has an effect on people’s body image. We are bombarded with images of the “perfect” body and thinks it is attainable. When in reality only a small portion of people can attain this type of beauty. From ads on TV about weight loss, to bathing suit commercial, to pills, to magazine articles we are constantly being reminded of what our body “should” look like.
Bibliography
Health and Beauty: Helping Girls With Body Image. WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/features/helping-girls-with-body-image, Jan. 12, 2012
Teens Health: Stretch Marks. Kidshealth.org.
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/beautiful/stretch_marks.html
Jan. 12, 2012
Relishing ways to Liven up your Life: Health Foods for Woman. Waytoenliven.com.
http://waytoenliven.com/health-and-wellness/health-food/health-foods-women/
Jan. 12, 2012.
Teens Health: Eating Disorders. Kidshealth.org
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/beautiful/stretch_marks.html
Jan. 12, 2012.
Media Awareness Network: Media Stereotyping. media-awareness.ca.
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_beauty.cfm
Jan. 12, 2012.
March of Dimes: Your Pregnant Body. marchofdimes.com.
http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/yourbody_weightgain.html
Jan. 12, 2012.
Health and Beauty: Helping Girls With Body Image. WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/features/helping-girls-with-body-image, Jan. 12, 2012
Teens Health: Stretch Marks. Kidshealth.org.
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/beautiful/stretch_marks.html
Jan. 12, 2012
Relishing ways to Liven up your Life: Health Foods for Woman. Waytoenliven.com.
http://waytoenliven.com/health-and-wellness/health-food/health-foods-women/
Jan. 12, 2012.
Teens Health: Eating Disorders. Kidshealth.org
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/beautiful/stretch_marks.html
Jan. 12, 2012.
Media Awareness Network: Media Stereotyping. media-awareness.ca.
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_beauty.cfm
Jan. 12, 2012.
March of Dimes: Your Pregnant Body. marchofdimes.com.
http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/yourbody_weightgain.html
Jan. 12, 2012.