Media Portrayal of Women and Its Effects

The most popular body types were thin, boyish type bodies (Mazur 287). Their legs were thin; they had round calves and narrow ankles, with long, flat torsos. The looks became popular when photographs began to make their way to fashion magazines, allowing women to realize that they can use fashion as a way to express themselves. The short “bob” hairstyle also was in style in this decade.

Many of the things that we see in the media whether it’s seen in a song, a television commercial, a magazines, or a print advertisement we see that women are always portrayed in a negative stereotypical way. In almost everything that we see there is more women than men. Women are seen as sex objects that are only useful to serve and cater to men. We are also viewed as victims who are not supposed to protect ourselves and our duties are to play a female role such as cooking and cleaning. Now when men are seen in the media, they are viewed as being independent, strong, and aggressive they are taught to not have emotional attachments.

The Body Project: An Intimate History of Girls by Joan Jacobs Brumberg chronicles the change in attitudes towards the female body throughout American history. From the Victorian Era’s focus on internal beauty standards to the 1920’s flapper beauty ideal, Brumberg explores the shifting focus which may or may not have helped girls in the long run.

With America's contribution in World War II came wartime ordering of design materials, for example, silk, nylon, and garments color. Females' clothing in this manner inclined toward practicality, with basic blouses and un-elaborate coats becoming prevalent. women even got directions on the best way to tailor the unused suits of men away in battle, revamping them into ordinary women wear. What's more, rather than the incline boyish flapper style, women now aspired to become more curvaceous and emphasize their feminine figure. Specifically, ads now told ladies how they could stay away from an a too-skinny

Women’s physical appearance change with their roles in society. From homemakers with feminine, hourglass figures, women eventually filled positions in offices and went to work. It was in 1941 to 1951 that one of the surges in the clerical work was “accompanied by a clear feminization trend” (A History of Women and Work 10). Later, the number of single mothers increased. Women learned to take on responsibilities that are usually shared with another parent. As Sullivan quoted Hewitt, “the acute awareness of feeling alive induced by pain” replaces their psychological issues with a “euphoric feeling of mastery” (544). Undergoing strenuous activities to stay fit to the extent of getting underweight gives a feeling that could be similar to that attained from painful body modifications like tattooing. In order for single mothers to be able to fulfill their duties at work and at home, they had to build stronger physiques. This also doubles as a confidence boost to remind them that they are capable of doing well in raising their families. This body requirement could eventually become obsessing.

Women said “Out with the corsets!” and slender was in. As women increasingly started playing sports and becoming more active, the slender figure slowly became the ideal figure. Women joined the Olympics, and Eleanor Roosevelt started teaching calisthenics and dance. After World War I, women increasingly became more active outside of the home. At this time, we started seeing weight as a part of science with the study of calories, ideal weight and body mass index.

Promotion by the media of the extraordinarily thin body types has been linked to the steady rise of eating disorders, especially among adolescents (Ballaro & Wagner, 2017). Experts believe that there are more than ten million females suffering from some sort of eating disorder and that the problems are happening in patients of younger and younger ages. The gap between the average woman’s body and the ideal body is much larger than before (Spitzer, Henderson, & Zivian, 1999). Ninety four percent of characters in the United States media, are thinner than the average woman (Gonzalez-Lavin & Smolak, 1995). The average American woman is only 5’4” tall and weighs approximately 165 pounds (Martin 2010). The media depicts happiness, wealth and success associated to unrealistic body types (Tiggemann, 2002). Not only does the media display this image, it also exhaustively provides information to encourage achievement of it as well. Whether through dieting, exercise or mild to extreme cosmetic surgery for body sculpting, women are feeling the pressure that they need to be thin and often take even the most dangerous methods to obtain this. Considering that these delusional ideals are nearly impossible for most average women, without choosing unhealthy and harmful behaviors, eating disorder theorists have proclaimed that media is supporting these habits (Levine & Smolak, 1998). It is estimated that 10-15% of girls and women between the ages of 9 and 19 are affected by eating disorders. Though the death rates vary from different studies, one thing is for sure; eating disorders can have many health risks, including death. With the unrealistic ability to achieve the super thin body image many women are still turning to these harmful methods in order to try; thus resulting in death of someone every 62 minutes as a result (Eating Disorders Coalition,

The misrepresentation of women in the media has been at its highest. Reality shows such as Love and Hip Hop, have degraded and exploited women where they are only seen as objects who compete over men. They are not able to have a identity that is positive. I wanted to create a platform where you can see the true side of women. Having them tell their stories and accomplishments. Where they are seen past their physical features and given a voice. The issues discussed through the interviews are also expressed through my poetry. As women they are taking their identities back and showing who they really are, regardless of how they are depicted through the media.

In the words of American psychologist Mary Pipher, “When unnatural thinness became attractive, girls did unnatural things to be thin”(“A Quote by Mary Pipher”). There are three main types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. An eating disorder is a mental illness that affects at least 30 million people of all ages and genders in the U.S. every year (“Eating Disorder Statistics”). Of the number of factors that may lead to an eating disorder, the media is an extremely prevalent causative. It portrays an ideal body image that is unrealistic for most people, acts as a trigger for eating disorders in people who may have been prone, and although positive measures are being taken, the overall impact of

This report looks to demonstrate my capability in the area's of understanding personal and social issues in society. The research project deals directly with these capabilities as it begs the thoughts about women in society. It asks what women think about their own body but also, how society sees it. I will demonstrate in all eras how women influenced by media and the relevant ‘pin-up girl’ of the time tried to find their own identity closely linked to these role models. Such linkage being mainly through fashion that enhanced the targeted body shapes

(Heubeck 2006) For many young people, especially girls, the ideal continues to chase them as they grow into young women. Young girls begin to internalize the stereotypes and judge themselves by media’s impossible standards. The power that the media holds in impacting the lives of young girls is detrimental and eventually affects their body image, their satisfaction of their own body, and portrayal of their body as an object.

Our culture has portrayed the “thin ideal” in every avenue of the media such as; magazines, social media, movies, and commercials. In the past 70 years, the number of all eating disorders incidences have dramatically increased. For example, bulimia cases have tripled since 1988 from ages 10 to 39 (Grabe et al 462). Body dissatisfaction and low self- esteem has put

In the 1950s, excessively feminine silhouettes were celebrated thus accentuating curves, full bosoms and narrow waists was a prevailing way for women to dress. Nevertheless, with her sphere of influence on women, Audrey Hepburn introduced an alternative to this limited standard of how women—through various aspects of dressing and behaving—should be (Keogh 1). Some of the popular stars who eventually became sex symbols in the period were Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot and Grace Kelly. Hepburn’s physique however, was totally different from these women. She did not have a big bosom or a bottom. She was not curvy. Unlike Audrey Hepburn’s

Ostensibly, I agree with Cassandra’s implication that media misrepresentations of women, and the mistreatment of female journalists, are matters of fundamental inequality and unfairness. However, I also believe issues are more extensive. North (2012, p.60) argues this viewpoint risks distracting from broader, more sinister concerns, asserting, “…women’s role as fully participating and informed citizens is at stake.” Thus, dishearteningly, media representations of women primarily conform to male-dominated hegemonic structures, which marginalise female opinions, effectively excluding women from significant public sphere debate (North 2012, p.60).

Language is a system of communication which consists of a set of sounds and written symbols which are used by the people of a particular country or region for talking or writing. It is considered as an art because when used it able to help a person develop or create a certain picture in the mind. Language being an artifact of culture means that it is an interesting thing that is created by the people. It is an aspect of their way of life of the people. It also helps in development of the people as writers and intellects. As a culture it is a people’s way of life and therefore the impact it has to human beings cannot be under looked.