The Influence Of Body Image In The Media

It is no secret that today’s society defines beauty as thin, long-legged women with statuesque bodies. Examples are found everywhere just by glancing at the closest magazine ads or by scrolling down the latest fashion article online. Normal, everyday women are being forgotten and tossed aside to make room for the “Top-Model”-like women currently crowding up Hollywood. Media depicts women as an unattainable image. They pressure ladies to buy the products they’re advertising; luring them with false advertisements promising that with it, they too could be perfect. While the media portrays women in a certain way for advertising and marketing benefits, it has caused numerous negatives effects to women’s self-esteems nationwide, it contradicts

Under society’s customs for decades, young women have found themselves immersed in the pressure and anticipation to have exemplary bodies. Nearly every young woman prefers to be slim, have a perfectly shaped body, that is beautified by applying pounds of makeup to their face but does not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these measures imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model on the cover of Vogue being called flawless, naturally it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the that model. These companies produce magazine covers shown with girls’ images daily. As if keeping the perfect body wasn’t hard enough, our culture also forces girls into the forever expanding world of composition, however, body image is a surging subject for young girls. Advertisements and pictures of lean female models are all over. Young women are measured and perplexed by their physical appearances with attire intended to raise their physical structures; social media, magazines, the society, marketing campaigns, advertisements, and the fashion gurus add to a strand of excellence.

In the media, the advertisements play a big factor in the promotion of the ideal body image across the various platforms. Advertisements are usually seen on a daily basis from billboards, flyers, public transportations, and the internet. The advertisers use many different techniques to draw in consumers. The models that are used by advertisers are generally the ones that fit the ideal body image. Additionally, the models are further enhanced using photo shop and other editing tools to perfect their bodies. According to a Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, “Fashion media are one of the strongest transmitters of unrealistic body shape and appearance ideals, and have been consistently linked to widespread body image and weight concerns among women in western society” (Catherine M. and Chandler). The false deception that is created of the ideal body image by the advertisers leads many women to being dissatisfied about their body. Models who qualify to be models are not meeting the standards of the ideal body image. Their images can be altered to make them seem as if they have the ideal body image. People who are dissatisfied with their body are comparing themselves to something that is impossible to achieve. Advertisers are able to promote and sell products successfully since they have thin models that are attractive. Consumer will not buy products

Throughout their lives, women of all ages are constantly being bombarded with advertisements convincing them they must meet an ideal of the perfect body image. This is all thanks to companies that share a common goal to influence the mainstream population into believing they need to purchase certain products in order to compare to the impossible standards set by the beauty industry. In Dave Barry’s “Beauty and the Beast” he displays that it is planted in young girls minds that they need to look, dress, feel, and even act a certain way. However, men aren’t as affected by these capitalistic marketing schemes. In short, the media has affected the way women think of themselves.

When Victoria’s Secret is allowed to have models prance around on screen but Lane Bryant Ads (lingerie for plus size women) is banned then there’s a problem. The media is portraying these models who are thin to the point where it is unhealthy. And the media is feeding society lies. A perfect example is of Gerran Tyler. Tyler was a 12 year old supermodel. She walks the run way for clients like Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, and Betsey Johnson. She’s tall, thin, the perfect model because she hasn’t hit puberty yet. She walked during New York Fashion Week and posed for these designer brands advertisements. This body type is unachievable for almost all adult women (Roberts). Somebody in their twenties or thirties doesn’t have the ability to look like a twelve year old girl, but this is how these designers are telling us to look. Tyler had an amazing career and high expectations but the fame didn’t last long. As she got older and hit puberty she began to develop boobs, hips, and curves. She began getting less and less bookings. Her supermodel career was virtually over. “Eighty percent of 10-year-old American girls say they have been on a diet” and the, “Number one magic wish for young girls 11-17 is to be thinner” (Missrepresentation). This self-esteem problem with young girls is a result of these unobtainable ideas of beauty. Jennifer Siebel, creator of the documentary Missrepresentation, says

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

Artists, editors and photographers plead the fact that they were provided with such great tools, but are constantly criticized for using them. Although there have been some very questionable fails in ads that deal with Photoshop, there have also been some very successful trials with Photoshop. Even though Victoria’s Secret models’ are retouched to have the ideal “beach bod”, they are also and inspiration for most people. According to Holmstrom in 2004, “results of studies done by both Crouch and Degelman (1998) and Biocca (1992) have shown that media increases positive body image, rather than a negative body image, in young women.” The exposure to these models’ beautiful bodies supposedly raises a positive body image amongst young women. Self esteem is raised because they aim to achieve the bodies portrayed to them in the media. Victoria’s Secret is obviously reaping benefits from this as well. Being one of the most famous lingerie stores in the United States and selling their bras from prices anywhere from $20-$258 (for one of their Designer Collection lingerie sets) along with the millions of women and teenage girls shopping at the store for the perfect fit that makes more self-confident, even if they’re the only one that ever sees their

The company's recent campaign slogan, “the perfect body”, has rightfully uprooted much controversy regarding body image. Victoria’s Secret released an advertisement for undergarments with the slogan on an image of several underweight, busty, and tall models. This undoubtedly caused a disturbance among women with different body type’s self esteems. The making of the Victoria’s Secret Angels is an unnecessary and disturbing deploy to sell product; the company has no interest in benefiting society or

Because of the fashion industries portrayal of beauty in advertisements, a value system that focuses on looks and external beauty is built by the men and women that are exposed to them (Sheehan 108). Although the word "fashion" is often used in a positive sense, the Fashion Industry itself may have some significant negative impacts. Many studies connect the exposure to such advertisements and media coverage of thin models to women with a negative self-esteem and issues with body image. The images of women that are presented by the Fashion Industry, especially in magazines, represent an image that is nearly impossible to achieve. As a result, many women and even men turn to eating disorders in hope to become the image of beauty that has been created for them by the Fashion Industry and the media. So, it can be argued that sociologically, the Fashion Industry indeed has a negative impact on the values, self-esteem, and the perception of women and men such as listed below. factor

Many negativities have resulted from what the media is portraying as the idealized body image; the body size of women portrayed in the media is noticeably getting smaller. The media will do everything to sell a product, especially when it tugs on someones insecurities. The term “thin-ideal media” refers to media images, shows, and films that contain very thin female leads (“Body, Of”). The media has made a thin body appear as if that is what the ideal body image should be, even if it is harmful to a person’s health. The average fashion model is typically 4-7 inches taller and 50 pounds lighter than the average American (Insel 292). Many consider that having good looks means you have good health; furthermore, it then makes it difficult for some women to go without thinking

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.

Ultra-thin models are plastered all over the media today, but have these influential sources thought of the negative outcomes that could change society forever? The notions represented by the media silently incline girls to conform to an ideal that is impossible to reach. Due to their malleable brains, adolescent females are subjected to the image of a perfect body through media’s adverse influence of what a quintessential girl is supposed to look like and the permanent impact it has on a girl’s life.

America is obsessed with body image. In today’s world, you can't go through the day without seeing the television, advertisements, magazines, or really any type of media portraying women's bodies. Due to the immense societal pressure that women should have the “perfect body” to be accepted, the nonstop reminders to change what they look like, struggling with body image has now become a major social phenomenon- and it's time for women to challenge that narrative. Women of all ages are facing face increasing scrutinization over their body image through media influence leading to invasive surgeries, increased depression, and eating disorders.

According to recent research, tremendous exposure to media has a negative impact on 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, televisions, magazines, internet, and smartphone devices, which can make some people 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.