The Media 's Influence On Women

There are beauty standards all over the world, but America has one of the most highest and unreachable standard of the all. In the article “Whose Body is This,” the author Katherine Haines reflects the issue on how narrow-minded society, magazine and the rest of media is depicting the perfect body. The ideal body in America is established as skinny, tall, perfect skin, tight body are characteristics that destroyed majority of woman’s self esteem (172). As girls get older and into their teen years, they have been brainwashed to need to look like the unrealistic, and photoshopped models in magazines and advertisements. Girls don’t feel comfortable to be in their own skin, because they were not taught to love themselves for who they are right in the beginning.

I really enjoyed watching the documentary, Miss Representation. It was very informative and eye opening. The film explores the impact that the media has on society and the misrepresentation of women. While the media can be a place to learn and stay up to date, there is also an ugly side to it. Our generation spends a huge amount of our time on our phones, computers, and watching tv so I feel like we are affected by the media the most. The media influences people at a young age impacting their views on themselves and the world around them. Girls especially get the message that their value is on how they look. The way media portrays women in movies and television over sexualizes women and dehumanizes them. This type of media can lead women to

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.

Everywhere you turn society is being presented with images of perfection, beauty, or sexuality. Some of these images represent unrealistic or unreachable expectations and can be truly harmful. It is common to see women exploited in reality TV shows and music videos. Young women are also influenced by the images that they see in commercials, billboards, internet sites, and movies. These images serve to harm a woman’s self confidence and also are affecting their overall health. Today’s mass media messages are having a negative effect on how women perceive themselves. I would like to propose a project which involves analyzing several women, of many different age groups, across their lifespan while testing how much the media affects their

Every day, millions of Americans view the front covers of magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and more. They see them while at grocery stores, on the television, and even in the waiting room at a doctor's office. The media offer advertisements with models that are seemingly slim with perfect skin, hair, and teeth. American propaganda leaves most young, adolescent girls between the ages of 5-18 to consider that the complexity of beauty is strict to be thin and perfect, though it is targeted to young adolescents, it does aim towards older female and male age ranges as well. An article states, “While the media attempt to target every person, the level of exposure is dictated by gender, and the majority of harmful messages is focused more toward women. For instance, in media such as magazines where a person relies on an image to relate a feeling, girls are often made to look inferior” (Chapman). When it comes to the media, specifically in the American culture, the popularity has massively increased over the years, turning to new weekly issues, becoming common to the society and civilization. This causes issues associated with eating disorders, depression and suicide, and self-esteem/confidence young girls.

"Only 5% of women in the United States naturally posses the body type portrayed in the media."( ) Everyday young women and teens are surrounded by media, whether it's magazines, television, radio, or newspapers. The media has a big impact on our every day lives and can take a negative toll. Teens and young women look up to the women that they see and hear about in media. They see different haircuts, outfits, and different body types that influence them, and the people in charge of media know this. The media portrays dangerous and unrealistic ideals of women's bodies that can be life threatening for them. This could ultimately lead to eating disorders, depression, and or unnecessary cosmetic surgery.

The media is our source of constant information, and is presented in many forms such as, daily newscasts, social media like Facebook, and the magazines strategically placed in our doctor’s office. There is no surprise that it is also the dominant influence when it comes to society’s beauty standard either. Unfortunately media isn’t a positive influence all the time, and is the main force behind negative body image epidemic that plagues women, especially the 18-25 age group. In order to fully understand the severity of what some call a “Vanity” issue we must look into the facts of how exactly the media damages women’s perception of their own bodies, and then observe the extent of the damage done to the physical and mental states of these women

The statistics that identify an increase in eating disorders and other mental health issues due to the presentation of women, especially young women, in the media is shockingly significant. Many women aspire to achieve the “perfect” body. Currently research sites that being thin and toned is the most aspired body type. Woman are largely

As you’re walking down a street you may notice a young group of girls or women walking and they see a huge billboard of a beautiful model. They might stop and stare at her and then discuss about her perfect her body is. Not knowing in the next five minutes they’ll be comparing their bodies to the model and feeling bad about themselves wishing that they had her body. Not to mention, that the photo may be photoshopped to make it seem as her body is perfect, or she had plastic surgery to fit the idea of having the perfect body. The fact that the media thinks they’re encouraging young girls and women to embrace their beauty, they’re influencing them that they have to have a perfect body in order to get attention. The media has put a lot of pressure on young girls and women to look perfect and second guess their bodies, when plastic surgery is never the answer to build their self-esteem up.

Media represents males and females by gendering them in different categories. According to a presentation, the author states, “Media perceives women in a very sexual manner whereas men are symbolized as powerful (Khan). Over and over again, the one thing that the media reveals is that women are very sexual beings. They show that they are only good for taking care of the home and the man is very powerful. For example, the author on the presentation shows a ad that a man is in a life guard outfit with him having muscles which portrays him to look like a hero. On the other side there is a picture of a woman who looks stressed with babies all around her crying with both her hands full. One side she is holding a math test with a F on it and the other side is holding a pot full of baby bottles (Khan). This shows that women are “supposed to be the only one taking care of the house” and because of that the women looks stressed. In the article, “Face it”, the author states,

In western culture your image seems to be the most important. From watching models strut down a catwalk to music videos, we are constantly reminded of how we should look. Not only does our appearance matter, but our behavior as well. Women on television are constantly fighting, backstabbing, and being obnoxious in attempts to be recognized in the celebrity world. The media is the leading outlet to the people of the world. It affects everybody whether you want to believe it or not. Body dissatisfaction is defined as “a negative subjective evaluation of the weight and shape of one’s own body”. (Eating Disorders). Body dissatisfaction is very common in women, but more in young girls. The media portrays women as a prize or an object, making our youth feel they have to look a certain way to be accepted or liked. The media today needs to stop objectifying women and start promoting positive self-image.

Media influence causes 69 percent of girls, in one study, to state that magazine models impact their idea of the perfect body shape. This drastic affect on a young person 's life creates a reality that women need to alter the way they look to be ‘perfect.’ Media also portrays women as helpless beings, needing a man by their side to complete easy tasks in which they can do on their own. There is also the aspect of strong women being sexy, and not the intelligent, intellectual women that they are. Throughout many girls lives, growing up, there are self esteem issues that will resonate with them for years to come. Commercials and advertisements feed on the implication that females believe they will never be flawless or beautiful, so they will do anything to get there. These impacts from media have catastrophic results. This is critical today because there are more eating disorders, health issues, and suicides than ever before. Women should be represented as strong, fearless individuals as opposed to the stereotypical ‘damsel in distress’ media pins them as today. Media limits girls and women from discovering possibilities they could have as leaders through objectificatoin and sexualazation.

When people think of the new body image, we automatically think models. Well, yes, models are a major factor in the body image persona, but it’s not just models. The media broadcasts the “thin ideal” in every possible way that we can think of. Researchers have found that the ongoing exposure to the “thin ideal” can shape and distort adolescent female’s perceptions of beauty, particularly in television media. Take the movie Cinderella for example. Cinderella is portrayed as a beautiful, thin, feminine female while her “ugly” stepsisters are shown as short, overweight and masculine. However, it is not just

“ The media needs to take responsibility for the effect it has on our younger generation....why aren’t we regulating things like calling people fat”(Lawrence)? The actress Jennifer Lawrence expressed her opinion on what she believes, that the media is responsible for the damaging body image that has affected the younger generation. Considering this, recently there have been more studies and research on what has formed this ideal body.Also, the research conducted uncovered that the famous doll Barbie is one of the main reasons for the desire to have an unrealistic body. The negative body image in female adolescents has been affected by the influence of impossible body types in the media such as the doll “Barbie” and characters in popular

Every day adolescent women are being influenced and affected by the media. The media includes anything from magazines, television shows, billboards, radio advertisements, commercials, newspapers and more. Through the media, women are being exposed to all forms of advertisements, including images that display misleading figures of women. These advertisements do not feature women with large hips, wide shoulders, lengthy arms or fuller figures. Instead, the women found on the front pages of magazines and advertisements are usually cookie-cutter cropped and photo shopped models with thigh gaps, perfect curves, high cheek bones and all the features of a deceivingly perfect looking woman. The media neglects to show the average woman, who comes