Retouched Body Image

In the article, “Skinny Models In Ads Cause Immediate Anger, Depression In Women” it says, “Led by Dr. Leora Pinhas, researchers asked 118 female university students about their mood, body satisfaction and eating patterns. One week later, the women were asked the same questions immediately after viewing a series of ads, with half of the women being exposed to ads from popular women's magazines while the others looked at images which contained no pictures of people. ‘The experimental group responded immediately with depression and hostility after viewing the "ideal women" shown in these ads,’ says Pinhas, a lecturer in U of T's department of psychiatry. ‘And this was only after viewing 20 pictures..”’ CNN also states, “One study found that one in four people is depressed about their body, another found that almost a third of women say they would sacrifice a year of life to achieve the ideal body weight and shape, and almost half of girls in a recent survey think the pressure to look good is the worst part of being female.” This demonstrates that after an experiment conducted by Dr. Leora Pinhas, researches found out that after women viewed 20 pictures from magazine ads they felt depressed when they saw the “ideal woman” in the ad. One in four people are depressed because of the way they look. This can go to the extremes. Women would do anything they can to look a certain

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 of this study indicated a low effect size for all studies. The participants who were shown pictures in the media of thin models tended to think there was something wrong with their body weight. Other participants who viewed models who were overweight tended to have a positive outlook on their body image. Another study that was conducted by Han, 2003 looked at female Korean college students and the way in which media exposure affected the way they perceive body image. This experiment was conducted by using 42 college female college students who were exposed to images of thin models in magazine ads. After viewing the images for about 5 minutes the women were then asked to fill out a questionnaire. This questionnaire was built to see their indication on body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance based upon the pictures that were shown. Then an upward comparison was used to see whether they agreed or disagreed with the images of the models shown. As these results stated the females that were exposed to the pictures of the thin models showed a higher level of upward comparison then those who were not shown the models. Participants in the experimental group also perceived the thin models to be more practical than those who were participants of the control group. A second part of this experiment used 75 female college

Body image is “emotions regarding the aesthetic value and relative beauty of the person’s body (Airbrushing).”There has always been a standard flaunted by celebrities of the size zero Hollywood Thin. The average model is 5’11 and 110 pounds, while the average woman is 5’4 and 140 pounds (Unhealthy Picture). The perfect body has been shown to been an extremely thin woman with large breasts and small waist. A runway model is made to be like a hanger, with a straight, thin figure and plain face for the designer to put clothes on and make up to their liking. In magazines, the girls should be thin and beautiful. In fact, 80% of women say that women in magazines or on TV make them doubt themselves and make them feel insecure (Just Say Yes). But these

Images in the media are extremely powerful and affect the way women think about themselves and about their body. Hilary Rowland, author of “Media Images Are Unrealistic” states how the images shown everyday cause women to “feel insecure about their own bodies” even if they don't have anything to be ashamed of. It is evident that the media displays unrealistic images of beauty causing girls to feel insecure about their bodies and creates a false perception of how they should look. Due to this, women obsess so much over looking just like the “idealized” woman in the media that they create an obsession of losing weight because of lack of confidence. In the article, “The Media Drives Young Girls to Diet” by Jessica Hendrick, we see how women “diet obsessively” trying to “emulate the popular notion of beauty” that is being shown in the media.

As girls begin to hit puberty, their bodies start to change. Their bodies will gain fat and move away from this ideal thin body image (Kerr 2010). In a study done by Clay, Vignoles and Dittmar they showed three groups of adolescent girls magazine images. Two groups viewed magazine covers with female models who were somewhere between underweight or a little below average weight, while the third group viewed magazine covers with inanimate objects. The researchers found that the first two groups resulted in a less likely report of body satisfaction and self-esteem than the third group (2005). This demonstrates that when adolescent girls are exposed to the media’s thinness they feel like their size and shape is not good enough.

Therefore, the commendation of such look and shape commercializes unhealthy body image and procreates eating disorders. Unfortunately, at present the commercialism of a perfect body is encountered by almost everyone on everyday basis. The public is bombarded daily with images of glamorously thin women in commercials, on billboards, in movies in magazines and etc?According to Melanie Katzman, a consultant psychologist from New York, the media has actively defined the thin ideal as success and treats the body as a commodity. (Rhona MacDonald, 2001) It is evident that the persistent advocating of the media and the society produced a constant pursuit of thinness, which became a new religion. A study conducted by Harvard researchers has revealed the effect of media and magazines on adolescent girls in high schools. The children were exposed to fashion magazines and television commercials, and a while after were given self-rating surveys. The study found that sixty-nine percent of the girls said that magazine pictures

“When close to 2,000 women in the United States were surveyed in the years 2010-2011, only 12.2% were found to be satisfied with their body sizes” (Whyte, Newman, Voss 822). There are many negative effects on women starting at younger and younger ages because of the body image that is portrayed in the media. Being exposed to the media at a young age makes girls more vulnerable to what they see and hear which makes this a long-term problem. Seeing models, women believe these pictures to be “ideal” and compare themselves to that. They can even compare themselves to their peers which could lead to bullying. Some girls do not realize that the models are not portrayed as a real, average women. Their

Modern society portrays good looking men to have broad shoulders, toned arms, six-pack abs, and a small waist while good looking women are viewed to have the characteristics of being slim and fit, having a small waist, lean hips, and perfect skin complexion. As a result, many people are affected by our own society's portrayals of good looking men and women that they feel pressured into doing whatever it takes and going through extreme measures, most of the time, spending countless hours in the gym trying to achieve that perfect body. Body image is evident in the gym, as the men are lifting weights they are frequently looking in the mirror examining every angle of their body making sure no area is lacking muscle. On the other hand, women tend to partake in the same behavior as men, showing a sense of insecurity about their own bodies, frequently making trips to the scale to keep track of their weight making sure to stay slim and fit. Society has a profound effect on many people, making them feel insecure about their own bodies. The mass media's use of such unrealistic images sends an implicit message to men and women that to be considered good looking they must partake in unhealthy diets, extreme exercises and unhealthy body modification enhancers, which in turn can have detrimental effects on one’s health. Such standards of beauty and appearance are almost completely unattainable for most men and women and most of the models displayed on television and in advertisements is

Our eyes collect information and processes it without us even knowing. We use our eyes as the basic collector of everything, and we process it, sometimes done subconsciously. The Ideology of Norms in today's society is the key element that we live by, and we learn these norms through conversation, observation, and media. Media being especially important, especially now. We consume more and more media everyday. This grows as technology does, giving more platforms for advertisements. Therefore, companies have a responsibility of expressing or advertising their elements with sensitivity to general public. Some companies will persuade by using body image. They will set a standard of beauty and all those who don’t relate to it, are not beautiful. In Protein World’s recent advertising for their diet supplement products, you can see a clear Marginalization of women. They do this by using Color, Anchorage, and Problem & Benefit to marginalize and persuade women to purchase their product.

In the book I’ll Take Manhattan, the author states “men’s magazines never say, “Do you weigh 300 pounds and are your thighs flabby?” They know a man would never buy a magazine that made him feel insecure or unattractive. They make men feel like heroes whereas magazines make us feel like failures”(Krantz, 1986). Success in women has been linked to having this perfect look created by society. Harrison and Cantor touch on the association between being thin and successful by saying “The media have capitalized upon and promoted this image (of thinness) and through popular programming have portrayed the successful and beautiful protagonists as thin. Thinness has thus become associated with self-control and success”(1997). Models always look as if

“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.

The idea of an idea woman has been thin for a very long time. According to the society, being thin means being happy, successful and appealing. Most of the models/actors that media portrays as ‘beautiful’ are thin women and not at all like the women we see every day. They represent images of women that most of the society cannot attain. These models are shown as almost close to perfection, with all the styling, make-up and airbrushing techniques to hide any flaws. Woman who are constantly exposed to such messages of beauty, might end up feeling dissatisfied of themselves. According to Berg 2000, girls as young as two are exposed to media that portrays thin women as successful. They see their aunts, mothers and sisters battling to achieve the perfect body, which is thin. This over time has an impression on the minds on the children.

A growing body of research suggests that media portrayal of the thin-ideal has negative effects on body satisfaction, but has this knowledge translated into practical solutions?

Manipulating photographs have been around for years, but it has been increasingly more controversial in recent times. Celebrities and models are retouched in various forms—photographs, online advertisements, magazines, and more. There are more forms of advertisements today than ever before. Technology is becoming more and more advanced. With more advanced technology come more consumers, ranging in all ages. Younger generations are becoming more acquainted with new gadgets today. They are likely to be exposed to retouched photographs from online advertisements. Many models in these photographs are often retouched in such a way that negatively influences consumers, teenagers and young adults today. There should be rules and limitations for