Media's Ideal Body Image

Body image encompasses how we perceive our bodies, how we feel about our physical experience as well as how we think and talk about our bodies, our sense of how other people view our bodies, our sense of our bodies in physical space, and our level of connectedness to our bodies. Over the past three decades, while America has gotten heavier, the "ideal woman" presented in the media has become thinner. Teenagers are the heaviest users of mass media, and American women are taught at a young age to take desperate measures in the form of extreme dieting to control their

According to recent research, the tremendous exposure to the media has a negative impact in the consumers and their health, as well as their body image. The ideal body image that is seen by today’s society is tall, thin, muscular, and fit. It is constantly advertised in various forms of media including, such as televisions, magazines, internet, and smartphone devices, which make others feel insecure about appearance and health. The constant reinforcement of the ideal body image throughout the media negatively impacts society through self-esteem, rise of self-enhancements, and health. There are many different factors that play a role in obtaining the ideal body image that meets the society’s norm.

There are no questions to whether the media has influenced the self-consciousness people have on their body or not. Whether it is the front of a magazine cover or in a film or television show, the selection of models or actors are primarily thin or fit leading readers and viewers to worry or want to change the way their body looks. Body image is the way one sees oneself and imagine how one looks. Having a positive body image means that most of the time someone sees themselves accurately, and feels comfortable in their body; negative body image, what the media exemplifies for the majority of the time, is just the opposite. The media uses unrealistic standards of beauty and bodily perfection to drive ordinary people to be dissatisfied with their body image which can result in the search to obtain these unreachable goals.

Mental health is a big part of obesity many children are suffering from disorders like depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and even suicide attempts. With the way media portrays body image today it is hard for a child to not get discouraged. Women in magizes are photo shopped and air brushed to look as skinny as possible, men are photo shopped and air brushed to look toned and fit. Young men, women and children look at these photos and see an unrealistic person. With that they set unrealistic goals and end up harming themselves in the end. By forming eating disorders and mental disorders, eating disorders by trying to archive a body type that is not real and mental disorders by looking at the results of not having that body type. Children

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.,

The results make things perfectly clear: the media needs to stop promoting unrealistic body images. A newsletter writer named McGiffert, conducted an interview and found that many people say “they may not see themselves as they really are." They often feel self-conscious, awkward or shameful. A negative body image can cause depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, shame, trouble concentrating, taking risks with sexual health, anti-social behaviors, and mental health problems such as anorexia, bulimia.” (Lockwood). Furthermore, the ideal image can affect the way people think, their emotions and the way they perceive themselves in their daily lives. The impact of images that the media uses just blur the boundaries between an ideal image and reality. Therefore, the ‘ideal’ images that are represented in the media are not only unreal, but also very misleading to our

The author attempts to establish credibility. The 3 major contributors to this article are San Francisco State University psychologist Deborah Schooler, Monique Ward of the University of Michigan, and University of North Dakota psychologist Ric Ferraro. Each bringing with them insight as to how the media has warped and mangled the way men see their bodies.

Tonight, Captain America: The First Avenger was airing on public television, so I decided to re-watch this fantastic Marvel movie. The main character, Steve Rogers, is a big-hearted, anemic-bodied American in the middle of World War 2. His grocery list of health issues and lacking physique resulted in several rejections from the enlistment officers. However thanks to his friendly German doctor, he eventually found himself injected with a serum that made him the perfect specimen of an American soldier (“Captain America: The First Avenger). Rogers went on to become one of the most iconic superheros ever to grace the comic book and media outlets, in his world and ours. There is no question as to why: Rogers is tall, blonde with an incredible

As young women go through puberty, they begin to mature both physically and emotionally. Particularly, women begin to gain weight when they undergo puberty. Throughout their adolescence, women are exposed to harsh opinions others have on their bodies and how they should carry themselves. Most importantly, women are exposed to society’s values through the use of media. Women begin to value their body image and force themselves to conform to society’s idea of the “perfect body”. Personally, I think of body image as a trouble of mine because I struggle to come to terms with not having a flawless figure. Each day, I see women on social media with unrealistically perfect bodies. After being so exposed to the media’s opinion of a good physique,

Recently, there has a been a controversial issue about the media portraying body image and how it influences society. From my point of view, I believe the media promotes a body image that gives society the idea as to feel they need to live up to the standards that’s shown in magazines, T.V. shows, movies, etc. which results to the media providing a negative influence on body image. Since the media’s influence is very high towards adolescents and children, education should be provided to help adolescents understand the many risk factors it comes with and how to avoid getting easily-influenced.

Most girls and women have looked into the mirror and said to themselves, “I wish I could be thinner,” or something along that line. The saying may be clique, but it is true that females of all ages have said to be disapproved of their body. The majority of women living in the United States have negative feelings about the way they look (Gallivan, 2014). The media is usually blamed for having negative effects on females’ identity and body image (Spurr, Berry, Walker 2013, p. 31). After all, the media is always in people’s faces in some way. It seems like the perfect body type is here to stay. The ideal body image is displayed on television, in magazines, social media, altered images, making females disapprove their own bodies.

Over the years a debate over who is to blame over the decline in how girls perceive themselves has arisen. With Photoshop being the societal norm concerning the media, it has become difficult for many to understand where the line between real and near impossible standards lies. Youths see an image edited to “perfection” and strive to reach the standards that they imagine due to the images displayed on magazines, television and social media. From Disney to magazines like Vogue the mass media bombards audiences with fake beauty that they, as normal people, will never be able to achieve. The mass media is responsible for causing the rise in the number of people with a poor body image, eating disorders, and cosmetic surgeries.

discrimination, and condemnation. The thin ideal has been constructed by the society and by the media. But women are affected that kind of construction.

Media today puts a strong emphasis on body image in today’s society. Many people from teenagers to middle aged adults want to be up- to-date on the latest trends, and follow what hottest celebrities are doing. Two big trending topics in today’s media are body image and living a healthy lifestyle. At the start of a New Year, people make “New Year’s resolutions” to try and better themselves by live a healthier lifestyle. Media today focuses so much on body image and healthy lifestyles that it is such an easy outlet for people to obtain.

American society pushes a fantasy of the idealized body through magazines, television, advertising, and social networks. The delusional principles centered on the “perfect body” have caused women to become insecure and feel less attractive. From a very young age, women are given the message that in order to be happy and pretty, they must look like a Barbie doll. Women need to become aware that society’s ideal body image is not feasible. Your body is merely a vessel that contains the beautiful mind and soul that makes who you are. Women need to focus on being attractive from what’s on the inside, rather than the outside. Everyone has flaws, so why not flaunt them? The poems that appealed to me emphasized that our society has created unattainable standards of perfection in body image. Over time, I have learned the most important aspect in life: perfection does not exist.