Body Image Research Paper

Unfortunately, it also is highly unattainable and instills unrealistic goals in girls’ minds. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, there are up to 24 million people suffering from eating disorders and 86% of those are under the age of 20 (anad.org). That being said, negative adverse effects are often the results of our world placing the upmost importance on body image. At Radboud University, Doeschka Anschutz and Rutger Engels conducted an experiment designed to test the effects of playing with thin dolls on body image and food intake in 6-10 year old girls. After splitting the girls into three different groups where they either played with a thin doll, an average sized doll or a slightly oversized doll, as seen in figure one, the results yielded that indeed there were significant differences between the girls’ body image and food intake which was completely dependent on which doll they played with (Anschutz, Engels 625). For example, a girl that played with the thinnest doll, the Barbie Doll, consumed the least amount of food following playtime when girls that played with either the average sized doll or even slightly larger doll consumed significantly more food. This experiment explicitly highlights the unknown dangers associated with playing with Barbie Dolls at a young age. Immediately the doll caused young girls to see themselves as ‘too big’ or

A website stated that “58% of girls that are currently attending college stated that they are not satisfied with the size of their body” (qtd. in DoSomething). Throughout the world, little girls are being negatively affected by the assumptions set forth by companies and society that being fat is bad for oneself. The creation of Barbies have set unrealistic and unobtainable goals for little girls, which won’t allow them to reach the good life because they will never reach this “Barbie” body. The central argument being addressed is analyzing how a girl’s image of herself affects her ability to reach the good life. Even though society and companies have engraved into us that the shape and size of our bodies is so important, Prager and Whittal show us that to achieve the good life one must focus on their self image rather than letting society influence them.

1. Body image (how you think you look to other people) is an important part of your self-concept and self-esteem. This is especially true during adolescence. Because of the rapid changes taking place, many adolescents are dissatisfied with their bodies. Think back to high school. How did you feel about your body? How do you think these early adolescent feelings have affected how you feel about yourself now?

The subject of this article are young girls, mainly who are in their teenage years, but also the parents of teenage girls. However, anyone can be impacted and learn from this article. This article questions why society drills the idea of thinness into the minds of people, and every reader can take a different stance and have a different opinion on the issue. Some people may take a stance and say that individuals, themselves, are the only influence on their body image. However, others may take the stance and say that society, as a whole, has a huge influence on an individual and their body image. The author of this article, Erica Goode, includes many quotes from parents of teenage girls, who feel as if they need to go to extreme measures to fit in with society. In this case, the author is creating the stance that society plays a role when it comes to influencing an individual. Goode also provides many

It seems that younger females are more apt to believe that most everything they see in the media is realistic and attainable, and they try to mimic what they see on TV or read in magazines. They also tend to watch TV shows like One Tree Hill, Laguna Beach, and Gilmore Girls. Why do our young females look to these fictional characters for real life answers? Do they see these characters as role models? One has to wonder if they believe that if they mimic how these characters look and act they will belong and then they, too, can have the same outcome the characters do. How many times have you walked down the street and seen an 8- or 9-year-old girl wearing something that might be more appropriate if worn by an adult? Females between the ages of 9-12 read fashion and beauty magazines, and their exposure to these "ideal" images coincides with a period in their lives where self-regard and self-efficacy is in decline. This is the same time period where body image is tied to self-esteem and it becomes quite fragile due to physical changes of puberty. This is also the same time frame where the tendency for social comparison is at its peak. Girls thus find themselves in a subculture of dieting, due to the messages given by the media.

I am a dancer. I develop technique in the studio, learn choreography, push myself to create art from movement, and I feel good doing it. Dancers, especially ballerinas, need an immense amount of athleticism, commitment and passion, but in this day and age success requires something more: a tiny body. This idea that dancers must be thin in order to excel has drastically impacted how I, as well as many other dancers, view ourselves. Because many of us look up to idolized dancers, like Maria Kochetkova or Hayden Hopkins, we get discouraged and insecure when we don't have the same body type. Of course, dancers aren't the only people who struggle with body image. Body image is how you envision yourself in your mind or the way you perceive yourself

Society’s view of the “ideal” female body can decrease self-esteem by making younger females believe that a slim figure is necessary, furthermore make their lives “better.” In the passage, Body Image of Women, it states that “over fifty percent of 9 to 10 years old girls feel better about themselves if they were on a diet, even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that only 18 percent of adolescents are really overweight.” (Farrar 1) These girls are thinking that if they lost weight, they would be happier. This is proving that socio-culture is putting this mentality in young girls minds that being thin is the “best,” therefore causing girls to feel insecure about their bodies. Dieting can be unhealthy which can lead

Zoeii, was having the ultimate perfect day; she even walked into the American Eagle store and noticed the jeans she recently saw a few days ago were now on sale for only $19.99. Immediately she reaches for her size and thinks, this day could not get any better. She goes into the fitting room and tries on the 2 tone tie dye jeans; she squeezes and jumps and wiggles all over, even falling, hitting her head, finally coming to grip she is no longer a size 9. How could this be? When did this pouch belly and thunder thighs come about? This could not be her body she thought as she stared at her reflection in the tall, fitting room mirror.

As stated above one problem that was listed was how advertising promoted a lean figure as societies view of the ideal body. Not only did this ideal cause unrealistic goals for most average females and males but it also caused many health problems. In one study Diedrichs and Lee (2011) found that when women exposed to average-size female models the women were found with lower levels of body

Since 1965, Barbie, and more recently, the Bratz line of dolls, have been the poster children for beauty, despite their grotesquely disproportionate appearance. Barbie and Bratz dolls were meant to represents average girls in their teen years tall, flowing hair and incredibly thin, a body image that is not possible for every girl, though Mattel’s slogan “Barbie can be anything! And so can you!” might suggest otherwise. For the company to insist young girls compare themselves to the piece of plastic that is a Barbie doll, is completely outrageous. Looking at the doll 's physical appearance, it 's clear that a real person could never embody this image. Breaking down the doll’s structure, there are feet readily bent for high heels, long muscular legs and thin arms, not to mention the fact that the head of a Barbie or Bratz doll exceeds the width of it 's waist! To even begin to entertain this image is unrealistic. What are we telling

Over spring break I had the chance to visit Seattle, Portland and the Redwoods I had an incredible time, but this experience surely furthered me. Whilst in Portland we planned to go to a shop called Voodoo Donut, however, this shop was crowded so as the day passed and night came we went to store in Eugene, Oregon instead. When we arrived it was late as we approached the shop there were three people sitting out front as my sister and I approached they started to cat call and ask if we'd like to buy something saying "Hey gorgeous." My dad hadn't left the car yet so it was my mother, sister and I. To say I was scared as their gaze stayed on us while we were in the shop is an understatement, it wasn't until my father arrived that I felt like I wouldn't have to defend myself or carry my phone with 911 previously dialed. I did not mention anything to them as we arrived or left, I let it happen, it let them cat call towards us, for

Over the past several years, our society’s collective body image has declined to an all-time low. Throughout history, there has always been some sort of body dissatisfaction and negative body image, but never before has it reached such devastatingly low levels. In its simplest form, body image can be defined as “our views about our bodies” (Durham University). It’s how we feel living inside these bodies we call home. It is one’s concern with his or her weight and physique (Cuban). We spend every moment from when we enter this world until our presence in this world ceases in these bodies, and so many people these days spend this time hating their temple. A question posed often in

At an early age, as you can see, I began to think about the ideology of beauty; however, I was not alone. Model, Cindy Jackson (CBS News, 2004) stated “I looked at a Barbie doll when I was 6 and said, ‘This is what I want to look like.’ I think a lot of little 6-year-old girls or younger even now are looking at that doll and thinking, ‘I want to be her’”. Researchers, Pedersen & Markee (1991) claim that Barbie is the cultural icon of female beauty that provides a desirable role model for young girls. Therefore, Barbie perpetuates this concept of the beauty myth. The beauty myth, as stated by Ryle (2013) is “the belief

Body image is a subjective experience of appearance. As adults a great majority of women feel body-image anxiety. And it doesn't diminish as we age, often times it increases due to normal body changes, such as childbirth, illness, or simply the lives we lead. As a society we often place our health choices on our outward appearances. Sadly, I myself was thin for 33 years of my life, this experience left me completely unprepared for an extreme weight gain, while I was pregnant. Although, my gain was not entirely my fault due to an undiagnosed illness during my pregnancy, the treatment I received while thin paled in comparison to the treatment I received now that I am obese. It is my firm belief that this is a large part of the imbalance of body image, and health.

1910). According to Coyne et al., “increased exposure to gender stereotyped media is related to more stereotypical behavior” because children usually can identify themselves as the princess in the movie (1921). In fact, because of the term “ideal body” for women is defined as the thin body, larger breasts, and great hair, the society has been injected such definitions into their daily lives. Coyne et al. describe the princesses represent “an unrealistically thin female figure as the most positive and desirable” (1911). In a survey conducted by the National Institute on Media and the Family, by the age thirteen, 53% of American girls are dissatisfied with their bodies; by the time they reached the age seventeen, this rate grows to 78% (“Body Image & Nutrition”). This data implies that the schemas of identity begin to form at a young age, and media plays a predominant role in such formation.