Write an essay on the topic:How the Media Influences Body Image?
The Media is a “Mean Girl”: How the Media Influences Body Image Low self-esteem and negative body image play a major part in the lives of millions of people. A major foundation of these feelings of discontent is brought by the images and ideals expressed in the media. The images in the media have a profound effect on how individuals see themselves, and the constant exposure to these images can spur negative feelings in the viewers. These negative feelings can lead to risky behaviors and conditions like poor eating habits and poor body image. More than five percent of all Americans suffer from body image issues like negative body image and eating disorders (Arnold 2). Through numerous studies, researchers have been able to find a link between media and negative consequences including poor body image, depression, and eating disorders. Negative body image, or body dissatisfaction, which is connected to the onset of depression and eating disorders, is largely influenced by media. Media is all forms of transmission of information in society. It has been described as “[consisting] of things like television, movies, newspapers, magazines, art, books, radio and the Internet” (Libal 28). The media plays a crucial role in expressing American’s view on how men and women should look. Often men are portrayed as toned, muscular and tall, while women are illustrated as excessively thin and beautiful (Ballaro and Wagner 1). The media practices different types of expressing media, the most harmful being thin-ideal media. As Van Vonderen and Kinnally have noted, “The phrase ‘thin-ideal media’ refers to media that contain noticeably Commented [SL1]: This two-part title separated by a colon is a good way to get the reader’s attention as well as to inform the reader about what the paper will argue Commented [SL2]: Even though a direct quote was not used, a specific claim was made here. This requires that you include a citation saying where you got that information Commented [SL3]: These square brackets indicate that this word was changed from the original quote. In this case, the original quote read, “The media consists of things like television . . .” The writer changed the tense of this word to flow with this paper. Thus, she included square brackets. Gallagher 2 thin female characters, such as fitness and fashion magazines and television programs” (42-43). In the media, thin is expressed as “socially desirable” while being overweight is criticized and derided (42). These ideals are created from viewing any type of media. While thin may be considered desirable and masculinity can be defined by muscles, the images of these individuals are often unattainable. The constant exposure to these “highly unattainable” bodies by the media leads to numbers of cases of poor body image, effecting both men and women (Ballaro and Wagner 1). According to Arnold, “In June 2011 the American Medical Association released a statement that urged advertisers to stop the use of digitally altered photographs after researchers found links among exposure to mass media, negative body image, and distorted eating” (2). There are many cases of poor body image found through studies of groups of people exposed to media. Most of these studies follow the impacts of media on women, for whom the media is thin-ideal. However, even young children are exposed to thinideal media. Examples such as Barbie dolls can expose young girls to these standards. Young girls have reported lower body satisfaction and more of a desire to be thin after playing with Barbie dolls (Dittmar 2). Although there are cases of young children being affected by media, most cases of distorted body image are found in younger adults and teenagers. These people are affected more because the media is geared toward these age groups. Most media provide content that relate to older individuals rather than children. In media meant specifically for viewers between the ages of 18 – 35, the average size of dress shown is a size zero with a Body Mass Index of below 16, which falls in the range of individuals affected by Anorexia Nervosa (2). However, these images and individuals are accepted as normal. Accepting these images creates inner turmoil in men and women consisting of the desire to look like the image regardless of the sacrifice. Commented [SL4]: Since the authors’ names were mentioned in the signal phrase, you do not have to repeat the names here. You will, however, need the page numbers Gallagher 3 Body image is not just how people see themselves, but how they believe their body performs and how they feel about their body (Libal 20). According to the National Eating Disorders Association, four out of five women are dissatisfied with their bodies (12-13). This dissatisfaction is given the name “body dissatisfaction” or “negative body image” and can even worsen to conditions of Body Dysmorphia, an extreme case of poor body image. Negative body image varies from “mild worries” such as a poor reading of an appearance in clothes to a “delusional misinterpretation” of the body’s shape and size (Arnold 2-3). Many psychologists link the exposure to the images in the media of extremely thin and beautiful people, to which viewers can compare their own figure, to poor body image (2). Many women today feel unhappy with their bodies because in society, media images portray the “perfect body type” (Hamilton 1). Exposure to “thin-ideal” images and this “perfect body type” awakens an individual’s longing to look the same. This brings attention to the individual’s “actual bodily self,” creating feelings of dissatisfaction and negative body image (Dittmar 6). Multiple studies using different body image scales show results linking body dissatisfaction to media exposure (Cohen 61). Body image scales are surveys conducted to evaluate a person’s satisfaction with their body that are usually carried out before and after a specific variable, in this case different types of media, has been introduced. These surveys are used to monitor the change of the individual’s body satisfaction or dissatisfaction based on the factor introduced (60-61). Some neuroscientists implemented studies on the awareness of women to their bodies and their environment, and they found that women with lower self-esteem were less likely to react to changes in their body’s environment. When healthy women are exposed to pictures of themselves, their brain activity increases. On the other hand, when individuals with negative body image or body dysmorphic disorders see pictures of themselves, the brain activity Gallagher 4 does not increase. Neuroscientist Manos Tsarkiris believes this phenomenon of less body awareness is caused by exposure to images of these women in the media (Arnold 4). So women with negative body image issues do not only feel poorly about themselves, they also carry risks of becoming less aware of their environment. Studies have been conducted to test the newest form of media, the Internet, and its effects on lower body satisfaction (Tiggerman and Miller 79). On the Internet, the main source found to relate to low self-esteem and negative body image is social media networking sites. Social media networks can create pressure on women to compare themselves to a particular image or person found on the particular site. Since these sites are created to connect friends online, many people try to portray an ideal image of themselves. On social media sites, men try to represent themselves as strong and muscular, like common male stereotypes (81). In another study, exposure to social networking sites relates to the “thin-ideal” principle, therefore, the girls in the study were driven to have a negative body image and higher dissatisfaction with their bodies. In a study outlining the use of social networking and body dissatisfaction, Facebook users were more likely to be dissatisfied with their weight and have higher drives to be thin (86). In an article expressing the effects the social media site Facebook has on users, Stephanie Hanes explains the data from a recent study of the site: The report, which was based on an online survey of 600 Facebook users and was conducted by The Center of Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt in Baltimore, also found that 32 percent feel they need to change specific parts of their body when comparing their photos to others’, and the 44 percent wish they had the same body or weight as a friend when looking at the photos. Even doctors at the mental health institution were surprised by the intensity of the survey’s findings. (1)