How Women Can Lose Weight

Society is obsessed with fitness and weight loss. Ever since I was in sixth grade I have had issues with my weight and self-image. The article “Fat Is a Feminist Issue”, by Susie OrBach focuses on how our society puts this unrealistic image of what women should look like into everyone’s heads. The media and magazines urge women to conform, at any cost, into a constantly changing expectation of what is beautiful. Women are taught to look at themselves from an outside view, to be a sex image for men and fuel the diet and fashion industries. Society thinks if women do not fit within the unrealistic image something is wrong with them. The highly glorified concept of beauty marketed by the media contributes to the concern

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.,

Ever find yourself looking into the mirror at your body and thinking: wow I’m fat or I’m ugly? According to Advocates for Youth, approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape. Unfortunately, only 5% of women naturally possess the body type often portrayed by Americans in the media. The media creates an unrealistic image for women to strive for. Many companies like Victoria's Secret, Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, and so on promote their products using skinny, anorexic looking models. Recently, Victoria's Secret launched the “Perfect ‘Body’ Campaign.” The slogan, which refers to the retailer's "Body" lingerie line, appears with images of Victoria's Secret angels otherwise

Looking good and being in shape is a top priority of today’s adults. According to the American Society of Plastic surgery (ASPA) 14.6 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in the United States in 2012. This is a 5 percent increase since 2011. The constant media advertisement of weight loss, sex appeal, and cosmetically enhanced beauty often leads to unrealistic standards of beauty and dissatisfaction in personal appearance. This overexposure to Hollywood beauty causes women to wonder how come they don’t look like that and often leaves them questioning what they can do to have a picture perfect body and face. According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), the promotion of unhealthy standards of beauty by the media often leads to depression and dissatisfaction in personal appearance (Chittom 3). Media have a negative impact on women’s body image and how women respond to the media’s portrayal of what is beautiful by advertisements emphasizing the importance of physical attractiveness, using Photoshop and airbrushing techniques to alter images people see in advertisements, and disregarding healthy living.

Rae Smith with the Love Yourself Challenge on tumbler.com relays a strong message when she says, “There is nothing wrong with your body, but there is a lot wrong with the messages which try to convince you otherwise.” When it comes to having a positive body image in today’s society it can often be a struggle for anyone. 89% of American women are unhappy with their current weight and body, 84% would like to lose weight. (Schultz, 2015) Speaking for myself, I have struggled with weight and body image since I was about 11. I have done so many harmful things to myself as a teen and into my adulthood trying to achieve the body I thought I could be happy with but it never really occurred to me the damage I was doing until I had a daughter. My

Sharon Capuano, Nurse and Manager of the Health Center at Salve Regina University believes that different cultures perceive the ‘perfect body’ in different ways. Capuano says,” The idea of the perfect body has gone through an evolution.” She adds, “When you look back in history, women were heavier but as time goes on, they become skinnier.“ Magazines are starting to portray women it a negative way and it gives people false perception. Capuano says it makes women think to themselves, “ Oh, I want to look like you because everything is perfect.” False perception gives women unrealistic expectations and they will constantly live in a world where they are striving to be something that they are not. This leaves many women with no other choice but to struggle with insecurities on a daily basis.

Nutritionists wondered “whether a slow metabolism may be to blame”(Reinagel). The media illustrates runway models and famous celebrities that have a “perfect body” image. All women have different ideals of their body. Let’s make this certain that everybody has insecurities, whether it's being fat, skinny or chunky there will always be at least one thing people do not like about their image. A poll was lead “80% of them said they walk around feeling somewhat dissatisfied with their bodies half of the time”(Eden).

“To be happy and successful, you must be thin,” is a message women are given at a very young age (Society and Eating Disorders). In fact, eating disorders are still continuously growing because of the value society places on being thin. There are many influences in society that pressures females to strive for the “ideal” figure. According to Sheldon’s research on, “Pressure to be Perfect: Influences on College Students’ Body Esteem,” the ideal figure of an average female portrayed in the media is 5’11” and 120 pounds. In reality, the average American woman weighs 140 pounds at 5’4”. The societal pressures come from television shows, diet commercials, social media, peers, magazines and models. However, most females do not take into account of the beauty photo-shop and airbrushing. This ongoing issue is to always be a concern because of the increase in eating disorders.

I conceal my face with layers of makeup hoping that half a bottle of BB cream will be enough to make me as flawless as Kylie Jenner look on the cover of Seventeen magazine. I use innumerous acne medications, aspiring to be as unblemished as the girls in the Clean and Clear commercials. I reject bags of M&Ms and fudge brownies thinking that my sacrifices will make me “love my body” as much as the emaciated Victoria Secret models love theirs (see appendix A). I routinely shave my legs and armpits and pluck my eyebrows with fear of becoming the hairy woman the media deems horrendous. I do everything, yet feel like I am nothing. Nothing compared to the beautiful women pictured on television, magazines, and

Recently, model, singer, and actress Zendaya did a photo shoot and upon the pictures being released she made an Instagram post revealing how the photo was retouched with lighting and camera filters to manipulate the image. She made a statement stating, “These are the things that make women self conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have. Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self love.” With that, Zendaya took it upon herself to release the real picture. In response, the magazine took a swift step to pull the magazine and have the images restored to their original, natural state. If models and celebrities are not really as thin and flawless as the images we see of them, how can anyone possibly fulfill the beauty ideal that they represent? In her book The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf criticizes the media for the flawless and unrealistic illusions created by makeup artists and photographers, arguing that such unobtainable perfection invites young women to compare their unimproved reality to physical ideals that do not really exist (CITATION). According to one study, 69% of girls claimed that magazine models influence their concept of the perfect body shape (CITATION 3). The pervasive acceptance of this unrealistic body type creates an impractical standard that is damaging to the body images of

As we all go about in our everyday lives, we are all bombarded with messages concerning what we should look like. However, females are more concerned with body image in fact, 91% percent of women are unhappy with their bodies. So what should we look like, according to media surrounding us in magazines, billboards, tv, even books? The answer is thin. The models depicted are often 13 to 19% below healthy weight! As females across the United States are exposed to this media they are belittling themselves in more ways, only 5% of females naturally poses the body type we see in today’s media. When we can’t reach these unrealistic

Fad dieting today is mainly caused by women trying to meet societies perfect standards. The media flaunts these flawless actors and actresses with flat abs and slim legs and they can’t help but to wish they had the same. (Abrams, Wells, 2005). Moreover, the media pronounces very thin, anorexic like women to be “beautiful” or “sexy”. (Abrams, Wells, 2005). Therefore, that’s the picture in women’s minds on what they should be. But, when these women look in the mirror and don’t see themselves even comparing to the actresses, what do they do? They begin to diet of course, but usually in detrimental ways due to the fact of their unrealistic standards of wanting to look like these very thin actresses. (Abrams, Wells, 2005). Studies show that

Today we live in a society that manipulates the way we view ourselves. Many women struggle with their body image because we are constantly being overwhelmed with the idea of being a size zero. It is not realistic to base your feelings of self-worth and self-image on the models in ads and magazines. Lets face it; it is nearly impossible to find a woman who is confident in her own skin. All women have flaws and learning to love yourself for who you are is difficult when things are being falsely advertised to you about what the “perfect” body image is exactly. Body image by definition is a “subjective picture of one’s own physical appearance established both by self-observation and by noting the reactions of others” (Webster 2016). One well known example of the effect media has on women is through the 2014 Victoria’s Secret: The Perfect Body campaign that caught a lot

How many men do you see ogling over the ultra skinny models on a Vogue magazine? They aren’t, most men are ogling over the centerfold of a Playboy magazine. So why do young girls and women all over the world struggle psychologically and physically to look like those models? And what effect does this have on our society? Should the use of models with a low Body Mass Index (BMI) be banned from fashion, media, and print? I will answer all of these questions and more, to support my view on why there should be changes placed on the limitations of BMI’s on fashion models and how these changes will promote healthier body images in women.

Media has an impact on many of the population’s everyday life. It comes to no surprise that the media is closely related with body imaging. There are thousands of advertisements out in the media that depict images of beauty and physical attractiveness which are unrealistic. The masses see these images and think that they are achievable thus lowering the self-esteem of many. Many of these commercials and advertisements fall under the category of the following: weight loss, clothing, cosmetics and physical fitness. The way beauty is portrayed in the media causes low self-esteem and dissatisfaction in peoples’ outward appearance and sets unachievable goals for many. This is not just a recent issue at hand, “throughout history, the standard of female beauty often has been unrealistic and difficult to attain. People with money and higher socioeconomic status were far more likely to be able to conform to these standards. Women typically were willing to sacrifice comfort and even endure pain to achieve them” (Derenne, Jennifer). Such high standards for beauty, especially in women, are unattainable for most. Many models presented in the media are well below what is considered a healthy body weight, and often photoshopped to fit the “ideal body.” This makes it extremely difficult for anyone to achieve contentment within themselves.