Female Body Obsession through the Media - Assignment Example

Female Body Obsession through the Media Physical appearance is an issue that every person is concerned about. It affects peoples self- esteem, especially teenagers and women. Most people judge others based on their physical appearance, and their patterns of behavior. This may be based on one’s clothing or one’s body size (Frette, par.2). Some features of our physical appearance are beyond our control while others can easily be controlled. For example, one can easily determine how they dress which makes one either appear presentable or not. Other features, for example, our facial appearance and our height, are beyond our control (Melissa, par. 3). However, short ladies wear high- heeled shoes to try and increase their height. Body size is to some extent controllable. For example, we can control our weight through taking balanced diets and doing physical exercises regularly (Nauert, par. 2). Women are the most affected by physical appearance issues, with most of them fighting hard to remain within the society’s held perceptions of beauty. This situation is made worse by the ever changing fashion and beauty understanding all over the world. Women are always on the look out to remain relevant to the current beauty tips. Media plays a great role in defining beauty and setting the prevailing societal perceptions of beauty. In the modern world, the media has created a perception of a high correlation between beauty and being slim (Frette, par.4). The media uses slim models and artist in their advertisement, and this leaves most women convinced beyond doubt that slim is beautiful. Debates in the media that criticize huge models and artists accusing them of being pregnant put more emphasis on the fact that slim women are beautiful. This is discussed in the three articles. This understanding of beauty leaves women under pressure to lose weight and maintain slim bodies in an attempt to remain beautiful. Women have now gone to the extent of dieting so as to maintain the small bodies, which is not healthy (Melissa, par. 6). They have developed negative attitudes towards food, and some end up developing health complications such as anorexia. Women, after pregnancies, work extremely hard to shed off the weight they gained during pregnancy. Those who do not succeed in being slim are taken to be ugly, and this greatly affects their self- esteem as well as their general performance. This has been transmitted even to young girls and this pose a great threat to their health. Must a correction of this understanding to save women and n young girls from developing health complications (Nauert, par. 7). In connection to this, the main of this paper is to analyze three articles that talk about female obsession through the media. Article one: Trying to Reverse Women’s Obsession with Thin by Nauert, R. According to Rick Nauert, media and marketing images with extremely slim women influences women obsession for slender bodies. He argues that the use of more plus size women in media and marketing images would change women’s understanding of slim bodies. The super- slim images changes women is eating attitude in fear of gaining weight. Rick supports his argument using research conducted in Durham University on over 100 women who were impressed by slander body shapes. The women were shown catalogues of standard and plus size models, and this significantly reduced their preference for thin body shapes. The writer argues that the government and health charities should normalize female models in the media. “Increasing the diversity of body shapes and sizes portrayed in the media could rebalance our views about our own bodies in an emotionally healthy way” Susan Ringwood. However, it is not clear whether the result of using standard size and plus size images in media and marketing would have a long term effect on women’s preferences of slenderness. Cautionary images, such as anorexia, have been used. However, women still prefer having small bodies since they see super- slim models in the media who look very healthy. This result is more in the west where thinness is associated with good health and status, and this increases women preferences for thin body shapes. In developing countries, on the contrary, being overweight is associated with good health, wealth and femininity. This increases women’s preferences for significant forms. Article 2: Body Image Backlash: Female Celebrities and The Weight-Obsessed Media by Frette The writer started with flash back of decades ago, before Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan, when celebrities were curvy, and everyone appreciated their unique curvy bodies. Back then, the celebrities were healthy– looking and were not accused of being pregnant, gaining weight or being fat. However, this has changed. The media nowadays celebrates and praises women whose bodies look emaciated and are ultra- thin and this increases women preference for thin body shapes. The ultra- thin women are illuminated to be beautiful by media. Some journalists accuse fat women celebrities of weight gain, pregnancy, or plastic surgery. The writer argues that media sends contradicting messages to the public and creates insecurity among female celebrities. For instance, the case of Hillary Duff, where some tabloids praised a supposed diet and regular work- out routine only to accuse her later of harboring eating disorders. This leaves readers at a contrasting point of which way to follow. Though the media earns huge income from marketing weight loss pills in magazines, it can be defensively argued that media is not responsible or anorexia among women. However, they affect how women and girls view themselves in comparison with the images they use. However, there is a need to get a solution. The media should stop criticizing bodies and start appreciating diversity in the different body shapes and sizes. Journalist and their sponsors should be held accountable for any fictitious claims they make concerning female celebrities and their purported health routines. With great power, comes great responsibility. Media therefore, has a significant responsibility to spread healthy messages concerning body images to the public Article 3: Vowing To Get Fit This Year? Try Giving Body-Obsessed Media a Wide Berth by Melissa Bradshaw According to the writer, Melissa Bradshaw, a glance at the social media, reality TV shows, and women’s weekly magazines make it extremely hard for women to be content with themselves. However, men rarely feature in the above media. Pop stars, TV personalities, actors and sportspeople, are the most scrutinized people on social media and TV shows. However, this scrutiny is meant to instill a message to the audience. The writer identifies two magazines that send contradicting messages to the public, where one features a woman saying she would never get fat again while another features a woman saying show would never get thin again. This leaves the readers at a position where they do not know then way to follow. Female celebrities constantly receive criticism from media that increases their insecurity. Wimbledon champion, Marion Bartoli, and Olympic swimming champion, Rebecca Adlington, are victims of the media criticism. After pregnancy, women undergo much pressure in an attempt to recover their bodies. However, women need to value their bodies and also stand up to the challenge to become the media and its mistaken information to the public on thinness and beauty. Lily Allen tried to turn the media’s mistake message about thinness in her controversial video for Hard out Here. However, we all have a responsibility to take care of our body images and to ensure that we are fit. To attain this, we have to start by appreciating our current body sizes and shapes, so that we can be able to work for the bodies that we want. Conclusion Physical image is important, and it is our responsibility to mind our body images and fitness. As Melissa Bradshaw argues, women should first understand their current body sizes and images so that they can be able to work for then body sizes and images that they want. This starts by not comparing themselves with other women especially the images in media and marketing companies. The three writers have a general take in that the media has a great impact on women’s attitude towards eating and always women’s preferences or thin body shapes. Media has a big responsibility in reversing women’s preference for thinness in that they have to reverse the images they use. Journalists need to stop criticizing female celebrities based on their body images, and this will help reduce their insecurity. The media should understand the diversity female models and celebrities body sizes and shapes. They should also start using average size and plus- sized models for their adverts. Women celebrities need to stand up and challenge the media as well as launch campaigns against the super- slim messages that the media send to the readers. The government and health charities also have a role of regulating the model images used by media and marketing companies. Works cited Frette, Juliette. “Body image backlash: female celebrities and the weight-obsessed media.” April, 14, 2009. Examiner. Web. 09 May, 2014. http://www.examiner.com/article/body-image-backlash-female-celebrities-and-the- weight-obsessed-media Melissa, Bradshaw. “Vowing to get fit this year? Try giving body-obsessed media a wide berth.” January, 2, 2014. Guardian. Web. 09 May, 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/02/get-fit-this-year-body-obsessed- media Nauert, Rick. “Trying to Reverse Women’s Obsession with Thin.” 2012. Web. 09 May, 2014. http://www.dur.ac.ke Read More