How the Media Has a Negative Influence on Body Image - Essay Example

How the media has a negative influence on Body Image Body image refers to the representation of a person’s appearance in relation to both the perceptual and physical aspects of the body. Body image has an impact on the self-concept and self-esteem of persons. The dissatisfaction of humans emanates from low self-esteem and poor image of the body. Over the years, the media has been involved in the representation of body image. The media provokes the minds of adolescents as it exposes them to bodies of females who have undesirable body shapes. This paper will discuss the relationship between body image and the media. Moreover, the paper will focus on the representation of women in both print and mass media. The paper will also outline the negative impact that the media has on body image. Based on the media portrayal of body image, there is the tendency to emphasize on the ideal of “thin.” This emanates from the argument that most advertisements in the print and electronic media portray women as thin and this has over time been seen as the desirable body size for women. This has been the case in the representation of fictional characters in movies, as well as television shows that are aired by most TV stations. Women of huge body size are represented as ugly since they are overweight while women who are thin are portrayed as beautiful. This has an impact on young girls, as well as boys, who grow up harboring the belief that being thin can be equated to being beautiful while a fat woman appears ugly (Attwood et al 5). The negative influence of the media on image contributes to the development of eating disorders. As a result of the media, there has developed websites whose aim is to urge people to engage in eating habits that will make them remain thin. This has contributed to the development of eating disorders such as anorexia, which is harmful to the health of persons engaging in it. People who visit such websites have a tendency to become depressed and develop negative self-esteem, especially if they perceive themselves as fat. Those who frequent websites that encourage anorexic behaviors develop the desire to become thinner and do away with their bodies that may be big (Tiggemann & Mcgill 26). The negative effect of the media on body image is also perpetuated by the fact most celebrities tend to suffer from eating disorders. Women celebrities have been presented as thin in films. When such celebs become role models for young girls, there is an increased tendency for people to engage in behaviors that can be termed as dangerous to a person’s health. In this case, the thin body is represented as an ideal one while other body sizes are not given any attention. Studies have shown that if the media focuses on role models who have an average size, then people would not engage in behaviors that can contribute to eating disorders like anorexia. Therefore, it can be argued that eating disorders are in most instances caused by the representation of the celebs by the media (Bale 8). The media also negatively affects body image since it leads to the comparison between women. There is a tendency for most women to compare themselves to women who are represented in magazines and televisions. This always contributes to negative views of one’s body image. In most cases, girls do not feel pretty or attractive and this erodes their confidence. This emanates from the fact that the perception of women with regard to perfect appearance relates to resemblance with role models and celebrities. This is to a great extent perpetrated by how the media represents women (Lin & Kulik 117). Fashion adverts can be regarded as one of the factors that influence the perception of women on body image. In these adverts, beautiful women are used to advertise beauty products such as perfumes. Most of these women are attractive and their body shapes are also appealing. With such imaged being portrayed, some women are likely to result to methods that will make them look attractive (Stephen 30). For example, some women have gone for hip implants and plastic surgeries so as to appear attractive. In the end, these methods may lead to more harm than good because of the harmful consequences on the health of the persons who have these processes done on their bodies. Some women have lost their limbs and acquired undesirable body shapes in the name of looking attractive (Dittmar & Howard 478). The media also affects the body image negatively as it contributes to massive attempts by the youths (both men and women) to lose weight. This has particularly been the case among teenage boys and girls who engage in rigorous exercises with the ultimate aim of achieving a small body size. Boys as well as girls who are as young as 10 years of age are in most cases dissatisfied with their body sizes after watching music videos. Since most adolescents spend much of their time watching movies, soap operas, as well as music videos, they have a high tendency to desire thin bodies that do not appear oversize. In the United States, as girls reach teenage, they tend to be unhappy and dissatisfied with the way they appear. The desire to grow thinner continues to grow as girls get older. By seventeen years of age, most American girls have a desire to grow thin and they adopt lifestyles that will lead to small body sizes (Jamieson and Daniel 14). The negative effect of the media on body image has contributed to the development of social norms and stereotypes regarding body image. Women and men who are overweight are stereotyped and viewed negatively by the society as compared to women and men who are thin. The media has inculcated a culture that has made people view fat men and women negatively while thin men and women are viewed positively (Keren and Tali 134). There is a lot of humor associated with fat men and women in the media. For example, the media may use fat people to advertise food products and this makes them feel depressed and perceive their bodies negatively. Most societies associate having a huge body with eating disorders such as bulimia and obesity. This is because of the effect that the mass media has on body image (Wykes and Barrie 22). Women magazines also encourage weight loss than male magazines. This can be considered one of the negative effects that the media has on body image. In television shows, women who are slender are given positive comments by men than their counterparts who are big-sized. The media also perpetrates the negative representation of body image since it portrays light skin as more desirable and attractive than dark skin. This has made women bleach their faces in order to appear more attractive by being light skinned (Guenther 12). In conclusion, the media has a negative impact on the body image and how the appearance of both men and women is perceived. Through adverts and television shows, the ideal of thinness has been perpetrated whereby thin persons are viewed as more attractive than fat people. In most music videos and movies, celebs and models are represented as thin persons and this contributes to the notion that thin is perfect. Women who are fat may develop the tendency to have negative self-images and low self-esteem. This may contribute to depression as most of them strive to acquire bodies that are thin and attractive to men. Negative portrayal of the body image by the media leads to eating disorders such as anorexia. Works Cited Attwood, Feona, Vincent Campbell, I Q. Hunter, and Sharon Lockyer. Controversial Images: Media Representations on the Edge. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print. Bale, Karen. Media Representations of Female Body Images in Womens Magazines: A Content Analysis of Media Trends. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2008. Print. Dittmar, Helga & Howard, Sarah. “Professional hazards? The impact of models body size on advertising effectiveness and womens body-focused anxiety in professions that do and do not emphasize the cultural ideal of thinness.” British Journal of Social Psychology, 43.4 (2010): 477-497. Print. Guenther, Wendy. Medias Influence on Female College Students Body Image and Dieting Patterns. New York: Wiley, 2007. Print. Jamieson, Patrick E, and Daniel Romer. The Changing Portrayal of Adolescents in the Media Since 1950. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print. 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