Body Image Research Paper

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

The study of body image is a broad topic that touches many subjects including gender. However, the study of body image has been focused mainly on females. This is because the physical shape and image of male bodies have not changed over the history. From the ancient Greek until the modern era, the masculinity is the predominant stereotype for men. Masculine traits include courage, independence and assertiveness (Judith, 2001; Murray, 2000). In contrast to the male body, the female figures have been varied over time and across culture. In the modern era, the thin shaped figure is the ultimate desire of most women because it reflects the beauty and attractiveness of women according to our modern culture (Thompson et al, 1999; Thompson and Stice, 2001). Therefore, failing to meet the societal expectations of being muscular male or thin female may lead to a separation between virtual and actual social identity.

“ Over fifty percent of 9 and 10 year-old girls feel better about themselves if they are on a diet(3), even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that only 18 percent of adolescents are really overweight. About 80 percent of girls in this age group say that they have dieted in an attempt to lose weight.”--Mirror Mirror Eating Disorder Help. Unrealistic body images on social media can lead to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression in adolescents.

Body image has become a topic of conversation, with girls as young as five years old. Their conversations consist of their freckled complexion, the color of their hair, and even worse, their weight compared to others. The fact that at such a young age they are already finding concern and dissatisfaction with looks, can be alarming. With images of unattainably thin and flawless bodies scattered all over the media, there is no wonder that our younger generation is questioning their beauty and image. These images appear all around; on bill boards, in magazines, on television

Body image is defined as a person's opinions, thoughts, and feelings about his or her body and physical appearance. The self-image is what you see or think you see in the mirror and how you picture yourself in your mind. Body image is an important

In the media, women are constantly made to look almost perfect. There are never any blemishes, wrinkles, cellulite, and the women always look extremely thin. No wonder women of all ages might have some type of body image issue, including eating disorders. A study showed that almost half of girls ages six to eight want to be skinnier. These girls are too young to be worrying about if their body and how it looks. When girls this young are already having body image issues, it is obvious that this is getting to be a major problem.

Modern media such as T.V., films, and social medias (mainly Tumblr) frequently advertise a parade of skinny models and actresses. These appearances, more often than not, make teenage girls self conscious about their weight and physical appearance. Anorexia is most common around females, especially women. “47% of girls in the 5th-12th grade reported wanting to see weight loss because of magazine pictures.” Success and worth are often associated with being thin and/or skinny. Peer pressure plays major roles in a teenager’s environment and peer pressure may help fuel the desire to be “perfect”, and to be perfect, you have to be thin.

strive to attain this impossible ideal, why we don’t fight to change the image, and the consequences that can result from this battle to please.

Social media has a big impact on teenagers’ self esteem because of what society dictates as the “perfect” girls and boys looking like.Thus, teenagers have low self esteem because they don't have that perfect body. Teenage girls associate being pretty with being thin because of beauty standards like actresses such as Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham. Girls’ beliefs that they have to be ‘thin” to be pretty causes them to have self esteem issues with their body weight because of these issues,girls go on diets and eventually might develop an eating disorder. There was a study performed on young girls after seeing the extremely skinny fashion model which made her “feel really ugly. I know it's really stupid but I still follow it. It makes me feel really insecure”(Bawdon). The study led to the “Size Zero” culture ,girls are suffering from eating disorders because media shows it okay for celebrities to be that skinny. But, they are suffering from

The value that our society places on being thin sends the wrong messages to young girls. Adolescent girls want to look like the images that they see in magazines, TV, and movies, which are generally misleading. Studies have shown that the average time girls spend on reading fashion magazines is 4.3 hours per week (Spettigue & Henderson, 2004). In many instances, the images depicted in magazines are digitally enhanced and airbrushed giving girls a false sense of reality on body image; the effects from this can be devastating. The danger in placing so much emphasis on being thin leads young girls to believe that in order to be successful they need to be thin (Harrison & Cantor,

The desire to be thin has not only affected women over age twenty, but girls as young as six years old have expressed desires to be thin and are unhappy with their appearance. President and CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association, Lynn Grefe, says that the age of children suffering with eating disorders have gotten younger and younger (Roberts). It has been reported that “forty to sixty percent of six to twelve year olds worry about their weight, and seventy percent would like to slim down” (Roberts). These young girls, who should be focused on having fun and being young, should not feel the need to slim down or change their appearance to fill the standards of society. These young girls who often express what they want to be when they grow up, see these models and have a desire to be just like them. In our society, models and actresses are seen as role models to these young girls. However, celebrities messages to young girls is not something children should be viewing. When a young girl sees a photo of their favorite actress next to an article about losing weight and new diets, they

The media has a strong influence on how girls view themselves and their peers. The media- magazines, television shows, music videos, billboards, etc- sends the message that the only way to look good and be happy is to be skinny (Kirchheimer). Girls who have a healthy weight feel uncomfortable with how they look and feel that they are not skinny enough to be accepted by society’s standards. “…at age thirteen, 53% of American girls are ‘unhappy with their bodies.’ This grows up to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen,” says J.J. Brumberg. (qtd. in National Institute on Media and the Family). This statistic is overwhelming; it is upsetting that young girls can not be comfortable in their own skin. According to D. Hargreaves, many thin models have a weight that is mistaken as the best way to be beautiful and causes young girls to have a low self esteem (qtd. in National Institute on Media and the Family). In order to get to this “perfect” weight, many girls fall to eating disorders to attain their desired weight. Unfortunately, this method of losing weight is unhealthy and extremely dangerous to the human body. These different methods include “fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting” (Media Awareness Network). The fact that girls go to these extremes to get thin is scary and heartbreaking. This is why the media needs to send a more positive message about body image to young girls.

The topic of body image is an issue that we see amongst many adolescents all around the world. This huge issue can be dealt by adults but the main victim of body imaging are adolescents. Everywhere, anyone goes, there is example of what society considers “beautiful.” Even if someone is not completely studying it, their subconscious is still registering all of the images and words to what society thinks is a perfect body. Everyday there are people that walk by magazines in stores, drive by billboards with models, and watch television commercials with the skinny girl or buff guy. It is just something people see in their everyday life and is something that is hard to get away from. With all of the hints here and there, it is hard to not think about your own self-image and lose a little bit of self-esteem. Adolescents are more vulnerable to getting self-conscious because that is when we as humans are starting to figure out our own bodies, so when these young adults see a skinny girl on the cover of a magazine with the words “beautiful” or “hot” next to them, they start to question if they can fit in those categories.

A study published in the Journal Pediatrics found that majority of fifth to twelfth-grade students were unhappy with their body weight and shape. For the older generation, it can be questionable that such young children would be concerned with their looks. But when one takes the time to explore through social media, popular television shows or magazines, it is hard to find elements that encourage healthy body images. As the pressure increases to have the false body image media has advertised for years, teenagers are left to seek for extreme measures such as cosmetic surgery to fit in with their peers. Although some studies show that cosmetic surgery shows temporal improvement in psychological issues such as self-confidence, for young

In today’s society, a child would look at the image of a Barbie and wish that they could look like that. Teenage girls walk around stressing so much about their weight because of what boys think. Trying to change their image so they can be the ideal girl that every boy wants. According to Dosomething.org “75% of people with low self-esteem reported engaging in negative activities like cutting, bullying, smoking, drinking or disordered eating. This compares to 25% of girls with high self-esteem. They also stated that “By age 13, about 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies. By 17, it’s 78%. But