The Influence Of Body Image Of Teenage Girls

Introduction Fashion advertising affects young adolescent girls in the United Kingdom in a various ways. The amount of fashion advertisements has pervaded in some people’s lifestyle. Models and famous people have been put on a pedestal and moreover became ‘role models’ for many young girls. The idea of ‘thin-ideal’ body image affects many young females and their self-esteem. It makes them more violent and not satisfied with the way they look (Hargreaves, 2002, p.287). This literature review explores the different ways in which fashion industries indoctrinate certain ideas into vulnerable adolescent females.

For many years there has been size discrimination amongst the fashion industry. Some companies want to say that women are too big or too skinny. Yet this may be true in some cases, this does not mean that their assumptions should affect who can and cannot model. When fashion industries are picking models, they should consider that not every woman is the same size and their weight, if healthy, should not affect their chances of becoming a model.

“You can’t be what 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

This power has allowed the creation of new standards for women who are expected to be in perfect in every way and do everything to reach the established standards, even if it means putting their life at risk in order to meet the “ideal” body or face. Being exposed to these models flaunting their perfect bodies millions of women suffer from insecurities and low self-esteem. In the article Reconstructing the Ideal Body Image in Teen Fashion Magazines the writers Malachowski and Myers state that “Magazines are particularly influential because they target an audience in which disordered eating is most common, and display models that are thinner than 98% of American women” (2). Studies show that the most affected by these ideals are girls and teenagers, which is sad because they only care about looking like models in orders to be considered beautiful or just to be part of certain group. In the article No model for girls Fiona Bawdon states that “In a study of 3,200 young women carried out in February this year by Girlguiding UK, over half of 16- to 25-year-olds said the media showed in magazines or fashion advertisements made them feel that "being pretty and thin" was the "most important thing". This proves how the media and The Fashion Industry guide and shape the concept that society has about beauty

Body Image in Children and Adolescents What is body image? A two-dimensional model of body image incorporates both perceptual and emotional components. It focuses on both how we feel about the size and shape of our bodies and how accurately we perceive our body size as well. A more recent cognitive approach suggests that body image is a complex set of cognitive schema. A schema is a grouped body of knowledge. Groups of schema are readily available for important tasks such as guiding behavior, circumstantial scripts (or dialogue), and evoking the appropriate emotional, somatic, visual, and auditory responses in certain situations. The cognitive schema for body image is an organized domain of knowledge about oneself and others.

The Effects of the Fashion Industry on Body Image Negative Media, Advertising and Magazines, and Eating Disorders Rhonda Benson Central Carolina Community College Abstract The Fashion Industry is affecting our body image in a huge way. They are the number one contributing factor in how we perceive ourselves and what is normal, especially in young girls. The following research shows some of the negative effects of the Fashion Industry. First, the negative effects of the media on body image and how it give countless an unrealistic views of what is normal. Second, how the Advertising and Magazines can affect our self-image in a negative way by using extremely thin models to promote sales. Eating Disorders will be looked at lastly, to reveal the high number of women and young girls suffering from anorexia and bulimia and how much responsibility falls on the Fashion Industry. The conclusion will end with the review of key factors and how the fashion industry has affected the self-esteem and body image of our society.

Teenage girls are at an impressionable time in their lives. Mass Media is a key idea in one of the factors of socialization that become important to teenagers. Teenagers look to the media for a sense of entertainment. Whether it is movies, magazines, or even some aspects of social media, teenagers get a lot of influence from the media’s message. The problem with this is the media has a specific way of doing things and can be negative to a susceptible teenage girl. Media’s way of portraying a woman can be skewed and unrealistic way from what reality is. Teenage girls then have a desire for this look or way. In this essay the three ways I will describe as to why the media can negatively affect a teenage girls body image is by showing

The fashion industry is a major object of body image issues, as they believe clothes look better on more than average height and svelte women. Established on a survey partaken by 13 to 17-year-old in the United States, 90% felt intimidated by trends and media to be sleek, with more than 60% routinely evaluated themselves to supermodels, whilst 46% will endeavor to

The modeling industry has taken a toll on young girls across the world today. Models, magazines, television even the radio advertise "thin is in." Because of this girls feel pressured that they need to look a certain way in order to look good. People need to start realizing that you can be curvy and still look excellent. Society needs to urge the fashion industry and media to stop portraying the "perfect" skinny, toothpick image because it is causing a huge array of health related problems to woman around the world.

The fashion industry plays a huge role in portraying bad images of ideal beauty, which in turn affects today’s society perception of their own body image. Not only are women affected by what is seen and heard about how the perfect body should appear, children of young ages are now feeling insecure and obsessed with their bodies before they reach teenage years. This ‘ideal image’ the fashion industry continues to enforce only focuses on very thin models who seem to be in shape and are very healthy. Furthermore, many people think of the influence from the fashion industry as being human representations (models). Because of the rising problem with the image of beauty within the fashion industry, it is shown that even mannequins and non-human representations (mannequins, dolls, photoshopping) of bodies play a significant role in women’s body image; which causes problems to the individual. (Anshutz & Engels, 2010). Body image and self-satisfaction, eating disorders and non-human representations all can cause harm to the individual, if prolonged.

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

ENG 150 18 October 2012 The Negative Effects of the Fashion Industry on Eating Disorders While it’s fashion week in London, the size “zero” models start to prepare for the big show by purging to be as thin as possible. Most models starve themselves in order to achieve the “waif”, stick-thin figure; it becomes so addictive, almost like second nature that it further leads to serious eating disorders. From recent studies, today’s model weighs about 23% less than the normal woman. Clearly, most models do not depict the average woman. Men and women all over the world follow the influences that the fashion industry provides. They believe that the fashion industry depicts on what society should be acknowledged as, picture-perfect thin.

Teens who are in college have just as many problems with their body as people in high school. The media affecting people of all ages can consist of anything from people on social media, to celebrities on T.V., to the models who walk on runways. People who struggle with their body image are all over the world and are often closed off to other people. When girls look at magazines they see all of the models posing and then they compare themselves to them because the models are what society says is pretty, and they aren’t. Media is a great way for companies to get their products out there, but when adolescents compare themselves to models, they will start to have body image issues.

The media is one of the leading causes of self esteem and body image issues in not only women but men as well. This is due to the fact that thousands of advertisements contain messages about physical attractiveness and beauty. Examples include: commercials for clothes, cosmetics, weight loss, hair removal, laser surgery and physical fitness. The effects of advertising on body image have been studied by researchers, psychologists, marketing professionals and more. Researchers, Mary Martin and James Gentry found that teen directed advertising negatively impacts self-esteem. The advertising industry is setting unrealistic expectations for teens about their physical appearances by using models with "perfect bodies." The modeling industry today has put many pressures on models, causing them disorders of both mental and physical illness. These disorders then creating the look of the “perfect body” have now lead to unrealistic expectations of body image for society.

The fashion industry Under society’s norms for decades, young women have been put under the pressure and anticipation to have perfect bodies. That is, thin and curved, beautified by applying pounds of the makeup to their face but not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these standards imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model along the cover of Vogue being called flawless, it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the photocopy. 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 pressing issue for young women. Advertisements and posters of skinny female models are all over. Young girls not only could be better but need to be more upright and feel driven to throw the perfect figure. Moreover, girls are evaluated and oppressed by their physical appearances. With supplements and apparel designed to enhance a facial expression; social media, magazines, and marketing campaigns and advertisements add to the burden of perfection. The fashion industry is a prime object of body image issues, as they believe clothes look better on tall and svelte women. Established on a survey participated by 13 to 17-year-old in the U.S., 90% “felt pressured by fashion and media industries to be skinny”, with more than 60% routinely compares themselves to models, while 46%