Watching “Dying to be Thin” further solidified a slowly growing understanding of the media’s impact on self-image and its ability to steal a person’s life in a 30-second advertisement. As explained in the video, eating disorders have the highest death rate of any psychiatric illness. The onset of this illness seems to stem from a desire to achieve the unattainable and the subsequent desperation that ensues. “Dying to be Thin” properly explained the role of the media in saturating society with waiflike images that we are to perceive as perfect and worthy of love and adoration. This gives evidence to the idea that members of society have unfortunately become conditioned to feel that if they were not precisely the visual image of what is consistently thought of as desirable, they were then not good enough. On top of the role of ‘seed planter’ the media is also able to take credit for the creation of the mindset that, these body images, although 20% below normal body weight, can be completely attainable by the average person- if they just tried hard enough. Setting unrealistic physical goals tended to motivate individuals to seek unconventional means for physical success. So, with that mindset, extremes such as the binging and purging or starvation of the ballerinas in the video only seemed logical. Physical success for those young women did not just mean visual benefits; it would mean job opportunities. Along with the extreme negative factors being chased, a feeling
In “Never Just Pictures,” Susan Bordo discusses the obsession with body image in the media. She begins with an example of Alicia Silverstone; when she appeared at the Academy Awards with a little added weight, the tabloids viciously slammed her. Not only this, but the media regularly attacks women with constant diet pill and plan ads in magazines, in newspapers, on TV, and even in public areas. These advertisements usually have a woman clad in a bikini on the cover. Magazines always have a new miracle diet advertised on their cover. The media affects young minds beyond what one may believe.
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.,
In the article “Never Just Pictures,” the author, Susan Bordo, addresses the cultural reasons behind the rise in eating disorders. She asserts that modern media and advertising campaigns have played an integral role in this increase. Though unfortunate, the media’s focus is not on the well-being of its viewers, but on the level of cash flow they provide. The advertising moguls use their agencies as double edged swords; they will make ads for McDonalds, then go in the next room and conduct a photo-shoot with a six-foot-two, eighty pound woman. The world of advertising needs to realize their work is being seen by millions of people and is affecting some of those people in extremely negative ways.
In other words, the more an individual is exposed to certain images – even alarmingly unhealthy ones – the more desensitized one becomes; in fact, what may have once been considered “ugly” may actually become desirable, if widely accepted and glamorized by the fashion industry. Furthermore, in the title of Bordo’s article, “Never Just Pictures,” we are given to understand that this prevailing cultural sickness is merely a “symptom” of more systemic issues. For example, Bordo touches on “deep anxieties” stemming from “Western philosophy and religion” which have been linked to eating disorders in America today; in fact, for those who are unfamiliar with her book, Unbearable Weight, a greater elaboration on this aspect would have been desirable. She also reveals other subtle messages underlying fashionable face-value images, many of which create powerful currents surrounding the development of eating disorders. According to Bordo, the endless barrage of images (regarding what the fashion industry deems perfection in appearance) serves to strongly communicate “fantasized solutions” to our challenges in life. It is a false narrative which goes something like this: “achieving the body- and beauty-ideal will magically make everything in my life right with the world; I’ll be beautiful, popular, strong, admired, in control, etc . . . .” Bordo’s point is that these types of fantasies may become potently motivational to the individual striving for “the cultural ideal” through starvation and other extreme
The article Never Just Pictures, written by Susan Bordo, is about how the media’s usage of images of beautiful people with no body fat or imperfections cause the youth to develop eating disorders, and feel insecure about their own image. Susan begins by telling us about how the media targeted the nineteen year old star of Clueless, Alicia Silverstone, when she attended an award show a little bit heavier then the public was used to. She says that we are led to believe that “fat is the devil” and that having any excess fat is bad. She claims commercials and ads staring people with ideal bodies embed the idea that being fat is bad in our minds. One way she proves this is she uses a study that asked ten and eleven
Marya Hornbacher’s memoir, Wasted, describes her lifelong battle with eating disturbances with focuses on anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In modern day society, thinness is associated with “wealth, upward mobility, and success” (Hornbacher, 1998, p. 46). Thinness is “an ideal symbolizing self-discipline, control, sexual liberation, assertiveness, competitiveness, and affiliation with a higher socio-economic class.” (p. 46) Not eating also suggests that one have such a full life that food is not a priority. The media influences children to believe that one must be thin in order to be beautiful. To Marya, a self-proclaimed perfectionist, she must be perfect in order to be successful. She believed she could only be perfect if she had a perfect body, a perfect career, perfect relationships, and perfect control over her life and herself (p. 231-232).
They grace the cover of magazines everywhere we look. Their beautiful tanned skin engulfs a slender “perfect” body. The men and women of Hollywood truly are striking, but also all look very much the same. There is an obvious trend in these magazines and on television that thin is in, and only skinny people are worthy of adorning magazine covers. Does this mean that only the thin are beautiful in today’s society? Whether they mean to or not, the media definitely indicates that this is the case, leaving a very unrealistic image of what is attractive in the minds of young people. Therefore, it really shouldn’t come as any surprise that eating disorders are becoming more and
Demi Lovato once said, “I’m not going to sacrifice my mental health to have the perfect body.” However, today we find that many individuals are doing the completely opposite. In Susan Bordo’s, “Globalization of Eating Disorders” essay, they fall into the media trap, the self-image trap, where they are concerned of what people may think about them. Americans nowadays have pageants, modeling, and media to thank for this absurd notion. Fit women, along with strong men give this motivation to others to want to be like them. Most people should be comfortable with their own bodies. Americans are mesmerized with media and enthralled by one’s body image, and ,as a result, face ramifications like eating disorders and anorexia.
One of the most common issues that society faces today are the mental diseases related to eating. Bordo, in her essay, "The Globalization of Eating Disorder," tackles body-image distortion syndromes, because that is how the media lets people perceive its content, and make us believe that media standards are beautiful. It is important to understand that Bordo's essay contains a powerful message regarding the road we are taking with regards to how we
In the video Dying to be Thin there are many factors, biological (such as brain chemicals) and non-biological (such as modern media), which are mentioned as contributors to why and how people develop eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. In any society there are views, such as the want and need to be thin, which are subtly forced onto the public through media; specifically in the modern society that humans currently live in, the media and advertising which are constantly shown to the public have a profound effect on viewers as the media creates unrealistic expectations of what our bodies are supposed to look like and therefore body dissatisfaction (Smolak & Levine, 1996). Most forms of media also sell idealistic transformation ideas by making the viewer’s believe that they can turn into their role model if they change their eating behaviour by eating less, dieting more, etc. (Ritsko, 2000).
The short film dying to be thin demonstrates a young lady barley eating and over exercising in order to achieve a certain body image. When she looks in the mirror she sees herself as being overweight when in reality she is underweight. About 1 percent of females and 0.3 percent of males suffer from an eating disorder during their adolescent years. The media has a huge effect on the way we think we should look. Actors, actress and models are constantly showing their bodies and being praised for a certain look that does not need to be achieved.
Media has greatly evolved since starting, but has bad evolved with it? Print media, digital media, and now social media surround everybody today. Media surround us when we go to the store and see magazines, when we sit and home and watch TV, and especially when we go online. Over time, media has created its own idea of beauty. Medias influence on body image can’t be overlooked. Media and eating disorders have a cause and effect relationship. In Helens article, “Eating Disorders: A growing problem on college campuses”, she expresses that, “In today’s media-saturated world, young women are bombarded with one message: be thin” (Helen, 2014, Paragraph 9). Today media shows that to beautiful you have to be an unhealthy weight. If media doesn’t change its view of beautiful, then the rate of eating disorders triggered by media will go up. We need to figure out a way to help now.
Mass media plays a very huge role in the way in which young black women and adolescents see themselves. The articles within this paper gives into not only how Black women under the age of 40 are affected by mass media, stereotypes perpetrated on how others see and treat young black women, and also how black women look at themselves. This research paper examines the ethnic media and the ethnic identity determining self-image than mainstream media does for young black women. Its seeks ways in which the black community declines stereotypes of color and beauty by increasing the groups of members and providing standards of what it means to be black and beautiful in this world.
Without even asking many young teens including adults will agree that having a good or a fit body will not only help them fit in society but also will help them be more confident about themselves. There are many ways to achieve this goal but most of the sources are found in media and propagandas which people look into. However, they do not really help them instead they introduce many types of eating disorders. For instance, social media affects people’s mind by having pro-eating disorders websites floating around the internet, American media values more thin women than any other size, TV including social media commercials promote many diet pills and laxatives that have harmful side effects.
“The attention-grabbing pictures of various high-flying supermodels and actors on different magazine covers and advertisements go a long way in influencing our choices” (Bagley). The media is highly affective to everyone, although they promote an improper image of living. Research proved says those with low self-esteem are most influenced by media. Media is not the only culprit behind eating disorders. However, that does not mean that they have no part in eating disorders. Media is omnipresent and challenging it can halt the constant pressure on people to be perfect (Bagley). Socio-cultural influences, like the false images of thin women have been researched to distort eating and cause un-satisfaction of an individual’s body. However, it