The Effects Of Media On Women 's Body Image

Over time, the perfect body image has changed in many ways. This is very evident in the female sex, especially through media. “Americans spend about 68 hours per week exposed to various forms of media” (US Census Bureau 2009). This media exposure through outlets such as t.v., radio, music videos, movies, and the internet, all influence the way people think about gender. The media influence is very evident in the way people view women and think about women in different cultures. Media influence on women creates negative viewpoints with how women view themselves and even how men view themselves, in turn making it hard to break certain beliefs and stereotypes instilled on society.

In todays society media has many different represtionations of womens body ideals and they are portrayed in many different ways. The majority of body images are female and represented with negative connotations. Women are plasteted on billboards magazine covers and play an very important role in the way young women are viewed and how they feel they should look. Through out this essay I will look how media has such a massive impact on our lives and the power it has to control the ideals of young women and how the industries with in the use of media are exploting women of today and how they are benifitting from it to make multibillion companys with out the a second thought to the explotation and harm it is causing to our socity and health with in the new generorations. I will also explore how some organistions are fighting against this ideal and how this is creating a more healthy view of women and challenging what we have had drummed into since an early age.

Chronic dieting, low self-esteem, depression and, high levels of body dissatisfaction were among the major issues women face when addressing their body image (Gingras, Fitzpatrick, & McCargar, 2004). The severity of body image dissatisfaction have increased to such a dangerous state that it was added to the DSM-IV as a disorder now called body dysmorphic disorder (Suissa, 2008). One of the main reasons for the prevalence of these conditions in women was due to contemporary Western media, which serve as one of the major agent in enforcing an ultra-thin figure as the ideal for female beauty (Saraceni & Russell-Mayhew, 2007). These images and models presented by the media have become the epitome of beauty, pushing women who internalized these images to dangerous extent to attain these norms. According to evidence from previous studies, contemporary Western cultures have influenced women to an acquired normative state of discontent with their bodies, which have become the source of maladaptive eating practices, negative psychological outcomes, and, chronic health conditions associated with eating disorders (Snapp, Hensley-Choate, & Ryu, 2012). The seriousness of these body image conditions among youths and women have also led to congressional actions.

The female body image is highly influenced by the mass media and the media’s portrayal of women, ‘70% of college women say they feel worse about their own looks after reading women’s magazines’ (University of Massachusetts & Stanford University, 2006), the portrayal of women in the media has an unrealistic approach and brings out body dissatisfactions and this results in eating problems and disorders.

Today I’m going to talk about the Media and a women’s body image, and how the media could be harming you and your children. Have you ever read a magazine or watched TV and say wow I wish I look like her? The media sets out tons of images and videos of a way an average woman should look like when in reality what the media is showing is unrealistic goal to achieve. Whit the media showing off only one body image or what they would say “perfect,” body image they can cause serious problems mentally and physically in a women’s mind and body.

Mass media is designed to reach large audiences through the use of technology. Its purpose is meant to give information we need to function as a society. Mass media is everywhere; there is no escaping from it. From the moment you wake until you fall asleep you are confronted with media. Almost every home in America has at least one television, access to the internet, and cell phones. Someone cannot drive down the highway without seeing billboard signs. Checking out at the grocery store can be tricky if trying to avoid magazines. The media portrays what is considered to be normal for how a female acts and looks, and therefore affects what women in society feel they should look and act like. The media's

Most of the population of women in the world suffers with being unhappy with their body shape. They tend to see themselves as fat and overweight, all due to the women being publicized by infamous magazines and advertisements shown on the television. The media tends to use thin models, and Photoshop or airbrush their images to make them look flawless so their magazines sell in stores. All of the editing makes the women look as if they have absolutely no fat on their body, nor any wrinkles on their face. When women see these images, their ideal image is what is being portrayed in the media, and not what they look like or the people around us may look like. Airbrushing and Photoshop has impacted the women in our culture, in the wrong ways, and

What is body image? Body image is the way someone perceives their selves and imagines how they look. Having a positive body image means that most of the time a person views their selves accurately, feels comfortable in their own body, and feels good about the way they look. However, many people ranging from all ages have a negative or distorted body image, some more severe than others. People can develop a warped body image from media influences, or viewing people around them who have different body types. Having a distorted body image can lead too many different dangerous mental or physical health conditions that are difficult to overcome. The way beauty and or body image is portrayed in the media affects the way people interpret how they should look physically.

Ask a group of women how they feel about their body. The majority of women will be quick to identify some aspect of their body they feel is flawed. They will point out that their legs are too skinny or too fat, their skin is splotchy or rough, or that their hair is too curly, too straight, or even the wrong color. So, why are most women dissatisfied with their appearance? According to Allan Johnson's "Why Do We Make So Much of Gender?" and Elline Lipkin's "Girls' Bodies, Girls' Selves: Body Image, Identity, and Sexuality", women's view of their body is influenced by media images, consumer commercialism, and patriarchal ideas.

Society and the media play a big influence on body image and self esteem, which are two big reasons why people look to cosmetic surgery. Women make up for a really big majority of all cosmetic procedures. Of the 7.2 million cosmetic procedures in 2008, women make up 87 percent of those procedures. (Driscoll and Griswold). Why is this statistic so high? The reason is that the media and society pressure women to look a certain way, and if they do not look that way, the women look to cosmetic procedures to conform to society's expectations. Doctors and surgeons will even use societal influences to rack up patients. Doctors use advertising that connected cosmetic surgery to improving self-image, and that attracted people who had aesthetic insecurities.

Through my research I have discovered also that teen’s social groups play a role on influencing body image.

Women and adolescent girls are exposed, daily, to the media's portrayal of perfect beauty. Being bombarded with images of beautiful women with perfect figures and porcelain skin has had an effect on the way women and young girls portray their own bodies. This, in return, causes a drive for thinness which, ultimately, can ignite feelings of dissatisfaction which can cause eating disorders and poor health decisions. This epidemic has captivated many women and adolescents as they go to tremendous lengths to achieve what the media has defined as beautiful. Consequently, the media, and the distorted images they parade, is causing women and adolescents to become dissatisfied with their bodies. Women and adolescents girls are spending endless

Mental illnesses are unfortunately common in children and youth. According to the Canadian mental health association, about one in seven or 14% of young people in BC will experience a mental illness at some point in their life. Many mental illness often show up before the age of 18 which has a huge impact on a child’s development. It can affect how well a child does in school and in forming relationships throughout life.

Through all forms of media, you can find petit images of the “ideal” woman's body. These images are seen on billboards, magazines, in commercials and in ads. There has been anl interest in women’s body image throughout the years. Women’s self-esteem, eating patterns and how these two concepts are affected by what a women sees in the media have been researched. This line of research is important through discovering the link between poor body image and the media’s portrayal of how women should look. If more advocates spoke more about society's unrealistic standards of what beauty is, there could potentially fewer cases of anorexia and bulimia in teens and young adults looking to change their image. It could lead to increased self-esteem and a more positive body image amongst women. The purpose of this research paper is to advocate for more realistic images. Use everyday women. Often times, there is a correlation between the way individuals view themselves, after seeing the media images of women. Women begin to feel less physically attractive.

In America’s society today it is proven that Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape which is portrayed by Americans in the media. Negative self-perception of women is an exceptionally interesting issue nowadays. It has been brought to many individuals attention that the body size of women portrayed in the mass media has increasingly gotten smaller and smaller over the past years. Most of the time advertisers will do anything they can to promote their product so it will sell and make a profit, and when something is found attractive or appealing to society's sense of beauty it will sell much faster. There is an obvious connection between body weight and the media because the fashion models, celebrities and many other famous icons portrayed are often seen as role models by many women, especially younger females. They seem to exhibit what it is to be popular and successful. Their body weight, appearance and beauty are often associated with their popularity and wealth. Many women become obsessed with these popular standards of beauty and will do whatever they can to achieve this promoted lifestyle they view everyday in different media sources. Due to these influences it develops a negative body image for the majority of the women’s population, resulting in diets, low self-esteem, low self-confidence and never feeling that one’s body is adequate. The