Body Image and the Influence of the Media

  

1. In my opinion everywhere you look whether its on a magazine cover, movies/movie posters, television, etc, you always see pretty skinny girls with big breasts or a big butt. You barely see curvy girls, chubby girls or plus size girls in the media. These girls are usually gorgeous and their skin is flawless almost as if they have no blemishes, wrinkles, freckles, and any other unwanted body features. They always seem so perfect and it makes you look at them and wonder why you don't look like that. I think that the media has influenced society's intake on body image and has blown it out of proportion because it shows an unrealistic approach on how girls should look when really its promoting an unhealthy lifestyle and approach to body image. We are all created in different shapes and sizes. We all have our ideal body weight and image but the media plays with our mind on what a real girl should look like. Body features in the media are blown out of proportion because the pictures taken are photo shopped severely by enhancing the pictures with props, lighting, computer techniques that remove certain unwanted features such as lines, blemishes, wrinkles, cellulite, adjusts your facial features, tones your arms, legs, stomach, and anything that makes you look like your perfect. Most of the time the models don't look like that in real life than how they are portrayed in magazines. I feel like the media's message comes across as if you want to look like the models in the media you need to look a certain way by spending money on diet programs, getting plastic surgery (like Heidi Montag) and anything else that would make you look like a model, and that would bring you happiness along with success. 
        The idea of being "thin is in" only shows girls that in order to achieve a place in society you need to be a size zero which causes girls to develop food disorders that can affect their health really badly. Images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls. The media promotes only unhealthy options rather than healthy ones and it doesn't embrace the more curvy plus size female. It's always shown that skinny pretty girls get the guy while the more fuller girl is not even noticed like the show Ugly Betty. I think its especially hard for a girl when there are articles on the best bikini bodies, the media shows pictures of different celebrities with these amazing beach bodies and it shows girls that we need to look like them in order to get noticed but its wrong. Skin and bones is unattractive meanwhile a fuller set girl is more attractive. The presence of media images of really thin women means that real women's bodies are invisible. Many women judge themselves based on the medias beauty standards. By showing these small thin girls it just gives other girls a desire to compete against others on who has the nicer body.

                          

Our perception of beauty is destroyed.

   

  

2.  My self perception has been influenced by external factors because everywhere I look, such as magazines, movies, television, etc, all I see or anyone else see's are skinny tall girls. You rarely see girls with different body types and sizes and when I look at my own weight I feel that I'm much larger than what I see in the media. Sometimes I try to limit my intake of food and also skip meals in order to appear thinner and hopefully lose a pound. Even though I love my curves and my body, I still feel that its not as toned or nice as celebrity bodies. I think I feel most pressure is when summertime comes around and I need to have that nice perfect beach body and whenever I see magazine articles that are titled "lose 10 pounds in 10 days" I buy into it and actually believe that it will work. To lose 10 pounds would be amazing and I would feel happier. Its worse when you see celebrity mothers who lost all the baby weight after they just gave birth and there stick thin. I look at my body and wonder how its possible that there a size zero after having a baby, meanwhile I'm still a size 6, such as Kendra Wilkinson who gave birth to her son and lost the weight after 8 weeks. I would say that I have an average body but the media can mess with my head especially when summer time rolls around.
   I feel that its okay to have blemishes, lines, wrinkles, or cellulite because no one is made to be perfect with perfect skin especially as we grow and develop. Also, seeing Kim Kardashian who has a perfect body with a big bust and a big butt it makes me want to have a body like hers. Her body just seems so flawless and her skin, even though I know that pictures get photo shopped and airbrushed. I just want to look like her period, with the long beautiful dark hair, her curves, and her lips I want it all. I always look at magazines or billboards and I wish I looked like the girl(s) in it, just so I can feel prettier and more confident about myself.  I have tried to go on diets in order to lose the last 10 pounds but its just hard when I don't accomplish my ideal weight it hurts. Sometimes seeing these thin girls it plays into my self esteem and lowers it because I feel like I'm fat or chubby especially when I go to look for clothes and something doesn't fit me or I have to buy the next size up it hurts and makes me feel sad because I just want to have the desirable body that fits into anything and everything. When my friends or family tell me i gained weight that also affects me because it makes me feel discouraged and it makes me lose my appetite for food. Seeing how there thin with nice bodies I feel pressure to shed off the pounds in order to fit in with them. When they tell me I lost weight it makes me happy and brings up my confidence about myself. Also, my self esteem goes a lot higher because I feel like I accomplished something and lost weight that I was trying so hard to lose. Overall I would say that I do get easily influenced by the media, family and friends. 

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_beauty.cfm
http://www.peelregion.ca/health/commhlth/bodyimg/media.htm
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/body_image/body_image.html