Critical Review Model

The media group that retouches images skews the “normal” body image of people through many of its outlets, including models in advertising and magazines, and actors in TV and movie productions. “The average model portrayed in the media is approximately 5’11” and 120 pounds. By contrast, the average American woman is 5’4” and 140 pounds” (Holmstrom, 2004). This statistic shows how the media manipulates consumers into believing that because they are not what the average model looks like, they are not living up to a certain standard which implies that they need to look like that to be beautiful. Another research fact that shows a similar concept is that, “In the United States, 94% of female characters in television programs are thinner than the average American woman, with whom the media frequently associate happiness, desirability, and success in life” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This association of female thinness and happiness, desirability and success makes consumers believe they must achieve this unrealistic thinness to achieve more ultimate goals and fulfillment in life. “The media also explicitly instruct how to attain thin bodies by dieting, exercising, and body-contouring surgery, encouraging female consumers to believe that they can and should be thin” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This idealization of thinness in the media is seen so much, and is extremely harmful to women’s self confidence and is often associated with body image dissatisfaction, which can be a precursor to social anxiety, depression, eating disturbances, and poor self-esteem (Yamamiya et al.,

In the article “The Internet and Adolescent Girls’ Weight Satisfaction and Drive for Thinness,” authors Marika Tiggemann and Jessica Miller conducted a study to determine if there is a correlation between various forms of media such as, magazine, television, the internet and a desire for a smaller body weight size, specifically in regards to teenage girls. The authors hypothesize that, “Internet appearance exposure will be correlated with lower weight satisfaction and greater drive for thinness.” The experiment asked the girls to rate how often they read specific magazines, watched specific television shows and browsed specific websites on the internet. They were then given a questionnaire to measure their internalization, appearance comparison,

In a cross–sectional survey, “Exposure to the mass media and weight concern among girls,” participants reported how often they need fashion magazines; it was proven that those who read fashion magazines were twice as likely to diet and three times as likely to try to lose weight, than infrequent readers. The evidence suggests that exposure to unrealistic and unhealthy body images can influence young children’s perceptions of their body and therefore cause body dissatisfaction and low self esteem. In a meta– analysis of 25 studies, “The effect of experimental presentation of thin media images on body dissatisfaction,” revealed that viewers were more negative after watching thin media images than after watching average sized or plus sized models. The authors were trying to explain to the reader that viewers are heavily affected by what they watch on television. A study by Katzmarzyk and Davis, “Thinness and body shape of playboy centerfolds from 1997 to 1998,” show that there was a massive decrease in models’ body weights and measurements, with 70% of women being underweight and greater than 75% of the women being 85% of their ideal body weight. This statistical evidence is presented in order to persuade the audience that the same women who are idolized by young children

Because idealistic standards of beauty are raised, kids may grow up thinking that they have to look a certain way to be accepted. In their article, “Concurrent And Prospective Analyses Of Peer, Television And Social Media Influences On Body Dissatisfaction, Eating Disorder Symptoms And Life Satisfaction In Adolescent Girls,” Christopher Ferguson et al. mention that “increased incidence of eating disorders across the early and mid-twentieth century seem to coincide with trends in the media toward emphasizing thinness in women,” (2). Additionally, children are constantly exposed to unrealistic body ideals on television, film, and magazines. In fact, “the extent of exposure to magazines that feature and glamorize the thin ideal is positively correlated with disordered eating, even when controlling for the young woman’s level of personal interest in fitness and dieting,” (Levine and Murnen 17). If kids are always being exposed to unhealthy behaviors and ideas, it can make them feel pressured to look like the people they see in mass

Various studies have demonstrated that when women are shown both photographs or TV commercials with extremely slender models they indicate an increase in dissatisfaction with their body (Crouch & Degelman, 1998). A study regarding social media specifically, was conducted by researchers at the University of Haifa on 248 girls ages 12 to 19; they found that the more time girls spent looking at pictures on Facebook, the more they suffered from eating disorders such as Anorexia, as well as other conditions including a heightened urge to diet and lose weight (University of Haifa, 2011). Media access is

Have you ever been looking at a magazine and notice you are not “what a guy wants”? Or have you ever sat and watched television and then proceeded to look into the mirror and feel so badly about your appearance that you felt depressed? Many women in today’s world experience these same feelings each time they come in contact with some type of media. The media has always used women as a way to sell products or used them as propaganda, but how far is too far? The media is a large source of entertainment for women of today. Women spend the majority of their time looking at magazines for latest fashions or trends. These media sources all share one subject: negative images of women. These places all share one thing; negative images of women.

Many studies have been based on the concerning effects of media portrayals of beauty and body images on women. Yamammiya et al. (2005) write that research on media images show around 94% of the female characters shown on television are thinner than the average American woman. Moreover, these characteristics of

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

Social media plays an immense role in the way that stereotypes about attractiveness is conveyed in regards to body image. As Gerbner and Gross wrote in 1976, the cultivation theory states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real and valid. The subjection to social media can cause an idealistic view amongst young girls and women alike. Among the mechanisms of human agency none is more central or pervasive than beliefs of personal efficacy (Bandura, 1997). This belief that these body types are achievable can lead to females being dissatisfied within their own skin. The result of the discontent can potentially lead to eating disorders. Body dissatisfaction occurs when views of the body are negative and involves a perceived discrepancy between a person 's assessment of their actual and ideal body (Cash and Szymanski, 1995 and Grogan, 2008). It is estimated that approximately 50% of adolescent girls report being unhappy with their bodies (Bearman, Presnell, & Martinez, 2006). Surveys have revealed that the exposure to social media can cause body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms’ and the concept that thin is “beautiful” amongst young girls and women (Botta 1999; Harrison and Hefner 2006; and Stice et al. 1994). With media influence, the question is the strength of the effect, studies indicate the effects are small in scale; they are likely to operate in accordance with particular differences in

“Women use media’s portrayals to inform their sense of identity and self-worth.” ("Abstract." Multi-faceted Me:

According to Health Weekly Digest it is asserted that young women voluntarily expose themselves to thin media and the media just gets blamed for spreading the message that women must be thin. Casey believes that the media is a world of fantasy that has no direct relation to life, and all who view it need to keep that in mind. He goes on to compare the media to art. Henderson-King & Henderson-King also allude to this by examining other factors that moderate the effects of media images on a young women?s body esteem.

The first study consisted of 217 individuals contacted from the research team’s network via email for participation. The average age of participants was 36.07 years old and 52.30% were female. The participants were from multiple career areas: 12.3% were from health services, 10.5% were from IT, 8.6% from engineering and architecture, 8.2% from human resources, and 7.7% from education. In the first study, participants were given a questionnaire via email at Time 1 and told they would be contacted in one year to complete another survey which would be known as Time 2. The questions measured locus of control, which was measured using 8 items from the Work Locus of Control Scale developed by Spector (1998) and perceived sacrifice and few alternatives

Body image dissatisfaction is increasingly being recognized as an important target for public health action (Paxton, 2000). Research evidence links body dissatisfaction to physical and mental health concerns, especially, but not exclusively, in women.

Are different media types associated with thinner characters or increased character identification than others?” (Bell, Dittmar. 2011.p.481) 2.) “Can body and appearance dissatisfaction be predicted by time spent engaging with a certain media type, or with the subtypes associated with that or is it the adolescents’ level of identification with the media models in different types of media that is most important?” (Bell, Dittmar. 2011.p.481) 3.) Do adolescents who strongly identify with the media models contained within one media type, also identify with thin models contained in other media types?” (Bell, Dittmar. 2011.p.481). The survey given to the girls contained questions about media use and measure of body image. The survey was divided into five sections: Internet, TV, music video, magazine and computer games. The girls were then asked to record the amount of time they spent with each various type of

In the article “Does Media Type Matter? The Role of Identification in Adolescent Girls’ Media Consumption and the Impact of Different Thin-Ideal Media on Body Image”, Bell and Dittmar argue that it is not the type of exposure that affects body image, but the extent of identification with the media models (Bell & Dittmar, 2011, p. 489). The authors’ first study aims to determine actual media consumption, identification with thin models, and different impacts of different media consumption on body dissatisfaction. In this study, 199 adolescent females completed a questionnaire outlining the number of hours spent consuming different media forms. Participants rated the thinness of models and desire to look like models portrayed on their favourite websites. The Physical Appearance State and Trait Anxiety Scale (PASTAS) measured participants weight-related body dissatisfaction and the Body Image State Scale (BISS) measured their appearance dissatisfaction. Results indicate that some media genres were more popular than others; however, body dissatisfaction was predicted by identification with the media models, rather than the amount of time spent consuming the media type (Bell & Dittmar, 2011, p. 480-484). The authors’ second study questions whether presentation of the beauty ideal affects body image. Participants viewed either two music videos, still images of the music