Case Study: The Circumstance Abuse

Social media is categorized under corporate media in which websites are used to advertise new trends through social networking sites that have many insecure teenagers. By looking at these images of other people, women often compare themselves to them. Girls love to look at pictures on Instagram, Tumblr and even Facebook of their friends and often compare themselves with them. Social media does not always impact one to change their self-image alone, however, the need to belong relates to the people whom women hang out with because those are the people who they feel accept them for who they are. Friends and social groups of these women look into social media for the ‘ideal woman’ they want to be and of course these women do not want to be the odd one out so they change themselves to be like their friends. To feel accepted, you compare your body image, looks, likes, hobbies, eating habits and so on to those that your friends feel are at the “moment trend.” Friends who constantly know what is in or

The objectifications of a woman have been known to be centered around the actions of a man. Cat-calling, slut shaming, and men being in a superior position while women are inferior or counted as their ‘objects’ are all parts of the dehumanizing nature of objectification. This indicates that women are centered around their appearance and feminine demeanor, and nothing else needs to be accounted for. However, there are other influences that have contributed to the vicious cycle society has on degrading women. Women objectify other women over similar matters as men, but not similar relevance in sociocultural context. Another contributor to women objectification is women’s self-objectification, in which they internally reflect on their appearance and demeanor to seek the approval of the observer. The last and most dominant factor that has been deemed the main culprit of turning women into objects is the culture of advertisement. Advertising has sexually objectified women for years, and is the backbone of the degradation of women in the real world. It also depicts unrealistic images of the female body and attitude that no female human being can actually live up to. The media has introduced the actions of sexual discrimination and harassment, and has influenced the ideas of how women should be treated. The combination of these three components are continuing the cycle of the objectification of women.

In today’s world social media, television programs, and the Internet in general seems to define and set a model for how people should act, dress, and unfortunately in the end is a large defining factor in how young adults believe their bodies should look. This social setting is exactly what Susan Bordo is discussing in this particular writing. However, this social

Females have been constantly shamed for generations if one does not act, dress or look a certain way. The media has been a major influence on women from a young age on how one is perceived in society. The media has created an impossible goal for women to achieve. The media will take multiple different parts of women that are seen as perfect and Photoshop them and put them on billboards (Kilbourne, 2010). This makes young girls lead a life where one will inevitably fail to what she has always been shown as the ideal women. This causes eating disorders, depression and low self-esteem in women, which leads to mass amounts of unnecessary cosmetic reconstruction surgeries (Kilbourne, 2010). This is just one negative issue with the way societal norms degrades women. Women are constantly portrayed as objects and to be viewed as lesser than a male. The way men are shown of needing a masculine side and cannot show femininity

Over the past 10 years, mass media and the access to social networks has evolved substantially causing the effects of negative self-image and what is considered beautiful. Body image expectations for both African-American male and female share the battles of society’s expectations, yet African American women body images come with a stricter and more unhealthy stigma; growth of social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter brings these expectations of self-image into our homes and our children minds. “The Internet is easily the most pervasive form of mediated communication that we encounter in our lives. Even

Many people have a habit of asking others on the internet for opinions on what they look like. This creates body image anxieties. At the same time, women were being more objectified in media, with an extreme emphasis placed on their bodies (Klein). Some people believe that the answer to body anxiety is to give a bigger range of body examples in the media. Dr. Phillipa Diedrichs, University of West of England’s Centre for Appearance Research, said,“The more time spent on Facebook, the more likely people are self-objectify.” Media is everywhere, so telling them to ignore it is not going to work. Steps could be taken to help girls to not compare themselves to the unrealistic

As this generation has easy access to social media, culminating to 95.9% of girls having access to the internet, it is no wonder that these girls have easy access to view these “ideal” images. There is a cause and effect, which can be seen through sites like Facebook and Instagram, as users are more prone to body obsession than non-users. Second, no one is immune to these beauty ideals, even the women who started it all. The women who post these photos, have internal problems as well, such as eating disorders and unhealthy fitness habits. These “role models” are achieving these beauty ideals in unhealthy ways, which is not a positive message to send to viewers. Third, we have massive studies and data to show the damages of social media, but it is the individual stories that people can

Women in society feel they are being objectified, and feel as if they are not getting the same respect as men. Through many examples it is shown that not just women, but men are also being objectified. After the realization of men being objectified as well, there is a combination of objectification towards women, and men throughout all forms of media, for the reason of publicity.

In a country where freedom of speech is at the foundation, one would think that women are free to express themselves in whatever manner they see fit, including online. In contrary to this belief, sexism has been evident in many social media platforms online. It seems impossible to live in a world where sexism does not exist. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram are home to sexist remarks and arguments between strangers, celebrities, friends, and acquaintances. In the article, “Cybersexism” by Laurie Penny, she claims that the Internet was made to be a gender free environment but that over the years the Internet has not become a safe place for women. While Penny makes a few valid points, like the Internet sexualizing

The media must have some sort of effect on people and the portrayal of other women always resonated with me. I know that there are many people who claim that unrealistic appearances in things like magazines cause an increase in eating disorders and low self esteem. The constant strive for perfection has been evolving due to digital enhancements with programs such as Photoshop or others that assist with photo editing. It is really easy to make things appear completely changed from their natural looks. A lot of places are requiring acknowledgement of alterations via disclaimers on advertisements. This prompts a debate for who has to concede between what is considered artistic freedom and dangerous content. Technology also contributes to the amount of media exposure people have now through the Internet and social media. These are considered staples in the lives of many impressionable young people, so it could add pressure to accept a new normal.

Women are being objectified in just about every part of life. In the workforce, in the schools, on the television screens, in the words of famous people whether it is in their music or any particular craft that they are able to produce and have broadcasted to the world. I don’t know if this problem will ever be erased however there are things that can be done to make this issue known ( in the eyes of the victims and the prosecutors), faced for what it is, and intervened. One way that this intervention could take place is with a huge shift in the ideals of beauty. Recognizing that people come in all shapes and sizes and that is what is so beautiful can provide major comfort and confidence not only to those who are victims of this but also, those individuals who understand this message but can’t find a way to breakthrough to others. Something that can be done is taking this idea to ALL sources of media. With the spread of trends nowadays and many different videos and post going viral, I don’t see how this can be stopped from spreading. With just one story and initiation of a chain of stories from individuals’ alike who have been through being shamed for their bodies, or not fitting up to the standards. Beautiful like you – a slogan that can carry this message around different media sources not just identifying one individual as beautiful but all

In today’s society, girls are constantly comparing themselves to one another and are always in constant competition with who’s prettier, skinnier, more attractive, etc. Social media glorifies those who choose to present themselves in such a manner. When you post a picture, you can choose the lighting, editing, angles, anything to make yourself feel confident enough to post it, only followed by being consistently anxious to feel the need to be approved from those who “like” your post. This is something that leaves girls feeling extremely vulnerable and cuts down on their self-esteem. “We forget that relational aggression comes from insecurity and feeling awful about yourself, and wanting to put other

81) These standards are clearly represented in social media. From accounts on Instagram that encourage things such as thigh gaps, unhealthy fitness standards and sexual encounters, it’s engrained in the brains of young people that they must look like this in order to be successful and desired. This article also discusses the way negative standards are represented through things such as Barbie Dolls, which surrounds young females with unrealistic expectations and creates and idealized standard that is in fact, not ideal. (Carniero, 2013, p. 82) From the standards that are created through today’s social media, it has created it a new subculture and for some people, a new way of life.

On all platforms of media, women and even young girls are oversexualized; thus leading to men viewing women as no more than breasts, vaginas, legs, or any other body part they prefer. Even in current television shows, movies, comic books, and advertisements, women are still depicted as sexual objects, which can damage a woman’s confidence. The oversexualization of women 's bodies can degrade a young woman’s confidence, and when girls try to boost confidence by dressing or acting like the women they see in the media, they are reprimanded for it. Girls cannot be blamed for their sexualization; they are just emulating what they see in the media.

Women lurk on a man’s page seeking for their materialistic items such as cars, money, and the way a man dresses. Instances such as these causes low self-esteem of individuals who do not portray these specific items or lifestyles on social media. USA Today asked 23 Chicago college students about social media and 20 out of 23 students believed social media caused anxiety or added stress to an individual’s life. One female college student believed that social media adds a lot of pressure to be the perfect person, because that’s how individuals can make themselves look online. A lot of women on social media with low self-esteem issues show their skin and wear revealing outfits to feel “better” about their own body by taking into account how many likes on Instagram or Facebook they receive. The college students have realized it was easy to portray a different version of them on the internet. Individuals believe the number of likes on Facebook/Instagram or retweets on Twitter is used as a tool for verification for acceptance within their group of peers. This can cause a domino effect of problems on an individual’s self-esteem. An individual will post photos that are outside their character just to seek approval through the likes from their peers. This may boost an individual’s self-esteem temporarily, but once he or she logs off social media their self-esteem really hasn’t improved. Valkenbur, P. M., Peter, J., & Shouted, A. P. (2006). Friend