Body Dissatisfaction within Men and Females - Essay Example

 Body Dissatisfaction within Men and Females Is body dissatisfaction more likely to be found amongst women than men? It is widely known that women suffer from body dissatisfaction in today’s society as a consequence of several factors such as media and family influence. As the standard of an ideal body today, in many cases, is impossible to achieve, many women turn to drastic measures in order to achieve that body. Some writers claim that body dissatisfaction only affects women, but studies have shown that men too suffer from body dissatisfaction, although this issue has not been getting as much attention as it has amongst women. The consequences of body dissatisfaction appear to be different between men and women, but they both suffer from it. Media has played a significant role in adding to this confusion about one’s body image through their portraying of ideal bodies, leading women and men to misperceive their bodies. In order to achieve this ideal body figure, both men and women adopt such behaviors that are unhealthy in some cases, which in turn lead to body disorders. Both the genders are dissatisfied and affected from their body shapes but differently. The aim of this essay is analyze whether body dissatisfaction is relatively higher amongst women than men, as it is portrayed by media. It will analyze whether keeping an ideal body shape is the cause behind this different approach of men and females towards their body health and fitness and the cause behind higher concern shown by females for getting a thin body. It will also analyze the causes behind body disorders, such as Anorexia and Bulimia, found in females mostly. Another aim of the essay is to know why females use harmful methods of losing weight than men who take a safer route to fitness, leading to different consequences between females and men. The way media portrays the ideal bodies of today affects men and women in different ways, however, as studies show, women tend to be affected by the media’s message more seriously than men. A big part of the female population in western society feel that media is affecting their body images as the media portrayal is unrealistic of how they are supposed to look like in order to be attractive. The writers, Janet Polivy and C. Peter Herman, and Thomas E. Gettelman and J. Kevin Thompson agree in their two articles that although media affects women and men, women are more often expressing that publicity and advertisement media is a bigger part of the issue of body dissatisfaction than men do. In the article “Sociocultural Idealization of Thin Female Body Shapes” Polivy and Herman find that women grasp the media’s message quite seriously as they found that “many women will internalize the message and strive to be thin” (1). Media is continuously exposing women, putting a pressure on them to look similar to the advertised role models. This is done not only by presenting actresses and models in an ideal body shape, but also presenting only such women through magazines, TV, and movies who have an ideal body shape, which creates a subconscious desire to become as thin as the ideal body is portrayed. On the other hand, there are such writers as Honigman and Castle, and Gina Bottamini and Diane M. Ste-Marie who find that men are affected as well, but to a lesser degree. In the study “Male Voices on Body Image” Bottamini and Ste-Marie seek insights into men’s projected perspectives of the ideal body, inspirations to develop body, and associated attitudes. Their research reveals that men get inspired by media to develop such muscular body that is far from being the agreed standards of an ideal body shape for men. That is how media portrays the ideal male body shape generally. However, it is seen that men are more in acceptance of their body, as it is even if it is not in ideal shape. One participant said that “males are made to be more muscular than I would say 95% of our society, but it doesn’t mean it’s our own objective or an ideal” (117). This quote implies that even though media is portraying an ideal physique, not many men are actively striving for it. This is a common answer among the participants throughout the study. Both men and women observe the popular media and are highly impressed by the ideal body shapes of men and women depicted therein; however, women tend to internalize media’s message in a more serious way. Both men and women are dissatisfied with their body in their desire for ideal body, but their concerns are different. Through studies made by Gettleman and Thompson as well as Grogan, one can find that many women seem to be very much concerned of their bodies than they really should be, which in the strive for the ideal body leads them to follow strict dieting regimen. It is evident from the remarks of Gettleman and Thompson that “women are pressured by Western culture to obtain an ultrathin, glamorous body and appearance. (559)” As the ideal body of a woman is usually pictured as thin, women concern themselves with becoming thin and they follow methods to attain that body, which can end up in unhealthy behaviors. Likewise, similar studies have been made with male participants and they find concerns amongst the participants but not as frequent as with females, and the concerns were often about gaining muscle mass. In Gettleman and Thompson, and Bottamini and Ste-Marie’s studies they both found that the men’s concerns of their appearance were mostly focused on getting a more muscular body rather than getting thin like the women answered. It was found that “the majority of participants desired a more muscular physique. (115)” This quote shows the difference of thought that men have when it comes to concerns, as the ideal body shape for men is usually pictured as muscular and big. Therefore, it comes naturally for men who are affected by body concerns to strive for that kind of body. Men and women both have concerns for their bodies as a consequence of body dissatisfaction, but concerns of women are for getting thin, while men usually want to get more muscular bodies. Body disorders are a severe consequence of body dissatisfaction that both men and women suffer from; however, studies have shown that women and men develop different kinds of disorders. Anorexia and Bulimia are two of the most common eating disorders today amongst women. They affect woman in such a way that they change their eating behavior to the extreme in order to get thin. Anorexia is when a person believes that their body is larger than it is, and in order to get thin they stop eating as much as possible, while Bulimia is also having a misperception of their body. A person with Bulimia eats to get the pleasure of eating, but, after that, throws it up in order to not gain any weight from the food. As Gettelman and Thompson assert that a lot of women tend to go to the extreme in diets, as they strive for the ideal thin body, which can lead to the more severe eating disorders as above mentioned (546). Sarah Grogan also agrees that this behavior within women often leads to eating disorders. In fact, in the study “Actual differences and Stereotypical Perceptions in Body Image and Eating Disturbance” Gettelman and Thompson find that “females constitute 90% of the eating disordered population.” The reason of such a high percentage of women with eating disorders is the presence of a number of cultural and social forces including the popular media that keeps pushing forward the message that women should be thin in order to look attractive, therefore making them strive for thinness (545). Likewise, men do suffer from disorders as a consequence of body dissatisfaction, but the men usually suffer from body dysmorphic disorder as they want to gain muscles. Body dysmorphic disorder is when a person believes that they are smaller than they really are. Just as Philip E. Mosley and Roberto Olivardia discuss in their articles, men with body dissatisfaction usually tend to go the other way than people suffering from Anorexia and Bulimia, as they “expresses a desire to gain greater musculature whilst not gaining fat” (192) rather than striving for the thinness that women usually do. Both men and women suffer from body disorders, although eating disorder is a problem more common amongst women as they are striving to become thin, whilst amongst men body dysmorphic disorder is more commonly found as they strive to become muscular. As a consequence of body dissatisfaction, men and women both use methods to feel better about their bodies. However, women tend to get into more unhealthy methods. Grogan, Gettelman and Thompson write about how women with body dissatisfaction often turn to dieting and exercising. Dieting and exercising itself can be done in a healthy manner, but, as it shows, several women tend to do an extreme version of dieting such as bingeing and purging (60). More harmful are fad diets which is when one want to lose weight fast, and cut down on important nutrients in their diets completely. Fad diets do not provide long-term benefits; rather than practicing cut down and exercise, women indulge in fad diets damaging their health. When it comes to exercise, Grogan found that “weight loss is a more important motivator for women who exercise than for men” (61). This is because of the ideal that women should be thin in order to look attractive. Instead of keeping the health factor in mind while exercising, women often do what it takes to get slim, which could mean an unhealthy amount of exercising. Similarly, men turn to these methods as well, but in general with a healthier approach. The writers Bottamini and Ste-Marie, and Mosley both state that men usually put importance into controlling their diet as well as their exercise as it is found that men usually approach it with the perspective of becoming healthy rather than just losing fat. There were no participants in Bottamini and Ste-Marie’s study that “indicated severe diet restriction, purging, or using laxatives—behaviors more commonly observed in female samples” (121). Different behavioral changes were seen in men; amongst them was the desire to increase their muscle size through healthy diet. In the same study some other behaviors were found amongst men, such as certain clothing avoidance behavior; long pants were preferred to short ones or baggy and dark colored clothes were preferred for gym. Dissatisfaction with the body also led participants to wear shirts while swimming so that they may not feel uneasy in front of other swimmers with better bodies (121-122). The fact that women generally turn into unhealthier behaviors compared to men might be for the reason that they want to achieve thinness fast whilst men want to increase their muscle mass, and in order to do that more efficiently, the men will have to consider the healthy approach. Nevertheless, the research has proved that both men and women suffer from body dissatisfaction, but the consequences show differently between them. Both men and women are suffering from body dissatisfaction as a consequence of media’s exposure of how the ideal bodies should be, but as the media is picturing the ideal women as thin and the ideal male as muscular, they tend to grasp it differently. Woman take the message of media more seriously than men; they want to reduce body weight and look slimmer, and for that they employ some riskier short-term methods, such as bingeing, and fad dieting instead of long term healthy methods. Men are more prone to approach healthier means, because their body preferences are different from women; they want to increase their body muscles and at the same time, want to look in shape too. Therefore, the fact is that they are dissatisfied with their bodies and suffer because of the different ideals that are being portrayed in today’s society (2095). Works Cited Bottamini, Gina, and Diane M. Ste-Marie. "Male Voices on Body Image." Nternational Journal of Men’s Health 5.2 (2006): 109-32. Web. Gettelman, Thomas E., and J. Kevin Thompson. "Actual Differences and Stereotypical Perceptions in Body Image and Eating Disturbance: A Comparison of Male and Female Heterosexual and Homosexual Samples." Sex Roles 29.7-8 (1993): 545-62. Web. Grogan, Sarah. "Women and Body Image." Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women, and Children. London: Routledge, 1999. 41-75. Print. Honigman, Roberta, and David J. Castle. "Men's Body Image." Living With Your Looks. 1st ed. U of Western Australia, 2007. 32-41. Print. Mosley, Philip E. "Bigorexia: Bodybuilding and Muscle Dysmorphia." European Eating Disorders Review 17 (2008): 191-98. Print. Olivardia, Roberto. "Body Image and Muscularity." 211-18. Print. Polivy, Janet, and C. Peter Herman. "Sociocultural Idealization of Thin Female Body Shapes: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Body Image and Eating Disorders." Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 23.1 (2004): 1-6. Web. Read More