The Body In American Popular Culture - Essay Example

The Body in American Popular Culture Introduction This essay will synthesize together four journal articles on the significance of the body in American popular culture. The relationship between body, self-image, identity, American culture and national identity will be investigated. The four articles to be synthesized are as follows: “Examination of a model of multiple sociocultural influences on adolescent girls’ body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint” by Dunkley et al (2001), “The healthful art of dancing: Luther Halsey Gulick, Gender, the body and the performativity of national identity” by Winter (2000), “Negotiating the male body: men, masculinity and cultural ideals” by Wienke (1998), and “Sociocultural pressures, thin-ideal internalization, self-objectification, and body dissatis- faction: Could feminist beliefs be a moderating factor?” by Myers & Crowther (2007). Discussion Even as early as the beginning of the twentieth century, American culture has been concerned with the concept of the ‘body’, and in the need for physical exercise and fitness for both men and women (Winter, 1999, p.33). The Influence of Cultural Ideals on the Male Body From contemporary research on American culture, it is evident that there is increasing concern among men towards improving their physical appearance by focusing on the body and the concept of masculinity. One of the important reasons for this development is the increased attention given to the male body by popular culture and the media. With the stress on desirable body images, there is increased premium placed on physical attractiveness for men, with the consequent need for men to invest in their appearance. Visual media in the form of advertising, film, magazines, folk tales, and other fields promote men’s increasing awareness of their bodily condition, encouraging them to pursue ideal conceptualizations of physical beauty. Wienke (1998) adds that vulnerability to the allure of the consumer market is also increased. To “enhance both the physical and symbolic value of men’s bodies” states Wienke (1998, p. 256), there is growing availability of a range of exercise equipment, dietary supplements, and other products. Feelings of social weakness resulted from the American defeat in the Vietnam War, and this has led to the need to remasculinize America. There is also an effort to address the reduction of social privileges among men, resulting from political gains made by women in recent decades. The outcome of these efforts to remasculinize America has caused the introduction of the on-screen appearance of the male body with bulging muscles and rock-hard physiques, as seen in Hollywood pictures. However, there is also a shift in contemporary media to emphasize the trim, well-defined and physically agile look. Research evidence reveals that an overwhelming majority of males prefer to be muscular (mesomorphic) rather than skinny (ectomorphic) or fat (endomorphic). Since it is believed that men closest to the ideal are able to acquire certain social and cultural benefits not available to those away from the ideal, “most men feel bodily dissatisfaction in comparison to the ideal type” (Wienke, 1998, p.260). Both men and women who closely resemble cultural standards of beauty have the benefit of advantages and opportunities not readily open to others. The evidence confirms a direct correlation between self-esteem and having a muscular body, with consequently higher levels of life satisfaction, as compared to men with less athletic frames. However, according to Wienke (1998), in the case of both men and women, aging and maturing as well as life opportunities in education, employment and other aspects, significantly help to reconcile body related struggles. American Sociocultural Influences on Women’s Sense of Body Dissatisfaction Sociocultural pressures with inherent promotion of the thin form as the ideal, and an objective view of oneself are contributory factors for body dissatisfaction. At the same time, feminist perspectives that oppose objectification of the female body, help to cancel the effects of the sociocultural pressures to achieve and maintain a thin body. Research was conducted by Myers & Crowther (2007) using a sample of 195 undergraduate volunteers who were required to complete a self-report evaluating sociocultural influences, feminist beliefs, thin-ideal convictions, self-objectification, and body dissatisfaction. The research evidence indicates that feminist beliefs reduce the impact of media awareness on thin-ideal socialized convictions, but they do not influence the effect of social influence on thin-ideal internalization. A possible explanation is that feminism teaches women to be critical of the thin ideal that is projected by the media, but the same critical thinking is not applied to family members’ or peers’ promotion of the thin-ideal. Thus, sociocultural influences are the strongest reason for actively pursuing a thin body outcome by means of self-imposed, severe dietary restrictions (Myers & Crowther, 2007). Dunkley et al (2001) believe that body concerns and dieting behaviors are expressed by most adolescent girls. In some girls body concerns prove to be beneficial, leading to healthy food choices and exercise. However, many girls diet in spite of already being a healthy weight, or report using unhealthy methods of losing weight such as fasting or bulimia (vomiting). Excessive dieting during adolescence is considered as a risk factor for the development of eating disorder symptoms. Sociocultural factors play a major role in most theories of dieting, body image and eating disorders. Moreover, images in the media promote a smaller ideal body size for females, despite increases in the actual body size of young women. The discrepancy between the actual body size and the ideal size gives rise to body dissatisfaction among girls. Not only larger girls, but also normal-weight girls diet and report body dissatisfaction. However, not all adolescent girls who are larger than the ideal size promoted by the media, display unhealthy weight loss behaviors or develop body dissatisfaction. From the research study conducted by Dunkley et al (2001), it was found that to varying degrees, peer, media and parents were seen by the girls to be significant influences on their dieting behaviors and body dissatisfaction. However, media messages form only a general background, without strong impacts. Those messages may be reinforced for some girls due to more immediate sociocultural agents which foster body dissatisfaction and dieting. A broader sociocultural approach would include family and peer group influences. High risk environments such as ballet schools with increase in eating disorder rates, support the perspective that particular groups are more vulnerable to media and other cultural influences (Dunkley et al, 2001). Gender, Body and National Identity According to Winter (1999), notions of gender in connection with national identity was promoted in the early twentieth century through folk dancing among school girls, which started in New York and the program served as a model for other cities in the United States of America. American nationalism was emphasized through these folk dance programs, as evident from the marginalization of ethnic groups who were not of Anglo-Saxon descent. The program’s initiator, Luther Halsey Gulick “connected the production of an American national identity to notions of race” (Winter, 1999. p.33-34) and the “generativity of the female body disciplined through folk-dance instruction”. The folk dance not only renewed past folk traditions, but also reinvigorated an American national identity. This was considered necessary since the multinational origins of the American population had created a decline in fok traditions, resulting in less folk culture of music, dance, lore, games, or festivals as compared to the different nationalities of people who constitute the American nation. The reason was attributed to migration, during which the social inheritances and customs of communities were lost. On the other hand, America’s national identity was considered to be particularly appropriate for dancing, since it provided an outlet for pent-up emotional energy and enthusiasm. Further, the learning of immigrant folk dances was considered useful in adapting useful characteristics of the immigrant cultures. However, the emphasis was on propagating American heritage. Dancing was believed to be ideal for “reinvigorating a sense of social belonging and national identity” (Winter, 1999, p.34). Conclusion This paper has highlighted and synthesized together four journal articles on the significance of the body in American popular culture. It is clear that the effect of American culture on the male, with muscularity serving as a standard to assess the male body, the way a man feels about himself will depend to a large extent on how he measures up to this standard. The media and other aspects of popular culture emphasize the woman’s ideal body as extremely thin, which is perceived by women from a very early age. On the other hand, feminist beliefs opposing the thin-ideal are introduced to women only much later in their development. Among adolescent girls, the evidence supports the belief that those who show the greatest body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint live in a subculture that promotes a thin ideal and encourages dieting. American culture has since more than a century ago supported physical activity and folk dancing. These helped in reinforcing American national identity, particularly for women, who were otherwise relegated to gender-defined domestic roles. Contemporary American culture should emphasize healthier lifestyle choices, including improved diet and increased physical activities for achieviing optimal body, self and national identity. ----------------------------------- References Dunkley, T.L., Paxton, S.J. & Wertheim, E.H. (2001). Examination of a model of multiple sociocultural influences on adolescent girls’ body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint. Adolescence, 36(142): pp.265-276. Myers. T.A. & Crowther, J.H. (2007). Sociocultural pressures, thin-ideal internalization, self-objectification, and body dissatisfaction: Could feminist beliefs be a moderating factor? Body Image, 4: pp.296-308. Wienke, C. (1998). Negotiating the male body: Men, masculinity and cultural ideals. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 6(3): pp.255-266. Winter, T. (1999). The healthful art of dancing: Luther Halsey Gulick, gender, the body, and the performativity of national identity. Journal of American Culture, 22(2): pp.33- 38. Read More