Effectiveness of Body Image Portrayal in Different Advertisements

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.,

Advertisements surround us on a daily basis. Constantly bombarding our conscious and subconscious minds with consumer items and suggestive material. But how much of that impacts the mind of young adults? More specifically, how does the constant incursion of beauty advertisements impact young women? Media, any form of mass communication- is one of the biggest factors in this widespread problem. Through the use of the media, ideas, images, expectations of perfection broadcasts throughout the country and on most occasions throughout the world. The portrayal of beauty in the media has contributed to a variety of psychological problems such as: misinterpretation of beauty, early exploration of sexuality and lowered sense of self worth which later leads to eating disorders.

Youthful kids today are so stressed over what they look like and how they dress. Today 42% of young ladies in grades 1-3 need to be more slender, 51% of 9-10 year old young ladies feel better about themselves when they are eating less, 53% of 13 year old young ladies are despondent with their bodies and when they are 17, 78% of them will be. For what reason do you imagine that these young ladies feel along these lines? Promotions of ladies being 'flawless' impact pre-adulthood. When they are 17, these young ladies have seen 250,000 TV ads revealing to them they ought to be an enhancing object, sex question, or a size they can never accomplish. In this promotion it demonstrates how photoshopped this female model is. In the best picture she has

People want to achieve a better looking version of themselves, furthermore the increase of ads for diet foods and products can cause them to feel the need to purchase these products. The article, Eating Disorder and the Role of the media, states that it found a significant increase in advertisements for diet foods and diet products for the years 1973-1996. (Spettigue and Henderson 1) This shows us that the “ideal” body image change over generations also causing products to increase due to newer trends replace older trends. Generations are only momentarily while “ideal” body images change by becoming more skinnier and with higher expectations. This can lead to the increase of diet products. Also in the article, Body Image of Women, it states

To feel body confident, you need to be happy with who you are as a women with or without curves. Many women in this century are facing a lack of confidence by the way they look. Women may lower their self esteem by seeing another women with a beautiful feature and compare their look with someone else. A women’s body image is based on thoughts and feelings regarding the way her body looks. Sometimes, they also believe other people are judging their appearance which can affect their body image. Victoria’s Secret unveiled their campaign slogan the “Perfect Body” with an image of tall and skinny models. However, Curvy Kate, a lingerie brand, recreates an image using models of all shapes and sizes mocking the Victoria’s Secrets slogan. I argue that the Victoria’s Secret slogan, “The Perfect Body” shouldn’t symbolize their tall physique models by aiming for women with a smaller waist size. The advertisement shows its audience that the perfect body is for smaller and slimmer

Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women, and their bodies, sell everything from food to cars. Women's magazines are full of articles urging women to fit a certain mold. While standing in a grocery store line you can see all different magazines promoting fashion, weight loss, and the latest diet. Although the magazines differ, they all seemingly convey the same idea: if you have the perfect body image you can have it all…the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career. The media, whether TV, print, or Internet advertising, seems to play a huge role in influencing women of all ages; from adolescence and teens, to women in their twenties and thirties, as well as

When researchers asked one hundred eighteen female, college-aged students to look at twenty pictures in ads from women's magazines, they felt a sudden change in mood after the pictures were observed. There was notable depression in the women, a depression that has seemed to hit many women after leafing through women's magazines (Key and Lindgren 11). This depression is due to the fact there are so many negative messages being conveyed in advertisements that are published in women's magazines. But who can blame the women for their depression anyway? When the majority of the ads in women's magazines show super-skinny models advertising nice clothes, makeup, jewelry, etc., one might find themselves to be a little down. Skinny models portray their figures to be the cultural norm in Western society today. How often does one find a model in a woman's magazine that is over a size six that is not shown advertising plus size merchandise? The answer is not very often, or sometimes never at all. If women do not see their body type being depicted in

When Victoria’s Secret is allowed to have models prance around on screen but Lane Bryant Ads (lingerie for plus size women) is banned then there’s a problem. The media is portraying these models who are thin to the point where it is unhealthy. And the media is feeding society lies. A perfect example is of Gerran Tyler. Tyler was a 12 year old supermodel. She walks the run way for clients like Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, and Betsey Johnson. She’s tall, thin, the perfect model because she hasn’t hit puberty yet. She walked during New York Fashion Week and posed for these designer brands advertisements. This body type is unachievable for almost all adult women (Roberts). Somebody in their twenties or thirties doesn’t have the ability to look like a twelve year old girl, but this is how these designers are telling us to look. Tyler had an amazing career and high expectations but the fame didn’t last long. As she got older and hit puberty she began to develop boobs, hips, and curves. She began getting less and less bookings. Her supermodel career was virtually over. “Eighty percent of 10-year-old American girls say they have been on a diet” and the, “Number one magic wish for young girls 11-17 is to be thinner” (Missrepresentation). This self-esteem problem with young girls is a result of these unobtainable ideas of beauty. Jennifer Siebel, creator of the documentary Missrepresentation, says

This image is a representation of the embodiment by society of what an ideal female should look like and is reflected into this Victoria’s Secret advertisement campaign. Drawing on Lock and Nguyen’s (2010) discussion on the natural body this advertisement presents a powerful example of how an ideal persists as the body is objectified to conform to a societal ideal in social representations. It also suggests tht the body is a “homogenious space” , women are classified and objectified and placed in a category and this is what the ‘perfect body’ looks like. The advertisement campaign solidifies that ideal with the slogan “The Perfect Body” and does not demonstrate a “truthful depiction of

Under society’s norms for decades, young women have been put under the pressure and anticipation to have perfect bodies. That is, thin and curved, beautified by applying pounds of the makeup to their face but not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these standards imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model along the cover of Vogue being called flawless, it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the photocopy. These companies produce magazine covers shown with girls’ images daily. As if keeping the perfect body wasn’t hard enough our culture also forces girls into the forever expanding world of composition, however, body image is a pressing issue for young women. Advertisements and posters of skinny female models are all over. Young girls not only could be better but need to be more upright and feel driven to throw the perfect figure. Moreover, girls are evaluated and oppressed by their physical appearances. With supplements and apparel designed to enhance a facial expression; social media, magazines, and marketing campaigns and advertisements add to the burden of perfection. The fashion industry is a prime object of body image issues, as they believe clothes look better on tall and svelte women. Established on a survey participated by 13 to 17-year-old in the U.S., 90% “felt pressured by fashion and media industries to be skinny”, with more than 60% routinely compares themselves to models, while 46%

As a marketing ad, Victoria’s Secret 's The Perfect “Body” ad is very effective. The beautiful girls in attractive bra and panty sets exude an unique mix of class and sexiness that it isn 't easy to do. Even if you are not the size pictured or you do not have the same “perfect” body type, you may believe that you can look sexy in their bra and panty sets. There is also a subconscious element that may lead some young women to feel good about their body and make them feel free to show their body off, if it matches the body type shown. The reverse of that is that for some women the ad would make them feel fat and want to keep their bodies covered up.

Life & style magazines feature articles concerning the topic of interest to their subscribers: fashion, dating, fragrance, health and fitness, short stories by popular or renowned writers. The mainstay of such magazines, however, isn’t the news, advice, humor, or fiction but the photographs of beautiful young women wearing little or no clothing. In today’s society, most people are more obsessed with body image and their physical appearance, it has gotten to an extreme of having numerous number of ads on billboards and in magazines to influence an individual to lose weight. The “Make heads turn’’ advertisement is effective at reading its target audience of females who are trying to lose weight through the use of a sexy female model to persuade girls of ages 17 and above to lose weight.

Accompanying unrealistic images of women, the media spends billions of dollars yearly to advertise the various techniques that eliminate body discontents such as dieting pills and exercising machines, and exploits female magazine reader’s insecurities. Whether magazine advertisements aid in the gradual depletion of body image or fail to impact it at all will be the purpose of this investigation, supplemented by a literature review and organized by a theoretical framework, to support a firm analysis.

The media is one of the leading causes of self esteem and body image issues in not only women but men as well. This is due to the fact that thousands of advertisements contain messages about physical attractiveness and beauty. Examples include: commercials for clothes, cosmetics, weight loss, hair removal, laser surgery and physical fitness. The effects of advertising on body image have been studied by researchers, psychologists, marketing professionals and more. Researchers, Mary Martin and James Gentry found that teen directed advertising negatively impacts self-esteem. The advertising industry is setting unrealistic expectations for teens about their physical appearances by using models with "perfect bodies." The modeling industry today has put many pressures on models, causing them disorders of both mental and physical illness. These disorders then creating the look of the “perfect body” have now lead to unrealistic expectations of body image for society.

Fashion shows, media influences, and the modeling industry has shaped our society to aspire to physical features that are considered beautiful. Being a skinny, toned, and confident “it” girl has been advertised extensively as perfect and desirable during our current time period. While this may be considered a healthy fitness goal to achieve, companies publicize this value to an extreme in hopes of raising sales. A business that is well known for the abuse of this ideal body image is Victoria’s Secret. Over the years, Victoria’s Secret has promoted their models, better known as Angels, who appear to be representing a very small portion of the population in terms of body shape. This has become an intense debate amongst fans and critics, resulting in severe issues regarding social media, health, and financial gains.