Supermodels and their Influence on the Society - Essay Example

Supermodels and Their Influence on the Society Introduction Fashion provides a framework through which people can emphasize and present their social identities actively. It is possible to use fashion to construct gender identification and sexuality. Gender identity describes the belief of an individual that she or he is a female or male. However, the relationship between clothing and gender identity within the current fashion and the society shows that people define and understand gender in many ways. Besides biological determination by sex, fashion also provides a mechanism that helps to understand and manage identities in the society. It provides the opportunity to display singularity and individuality through experimentation with appearance and dress. Dress codes and decorations enable people to understand the separation between gender, sex, and sexuality. This paper discusses supermodels, particularly Naomi Campbell, Cara Delevingne, and Kendall Jenner and their influence in the society. How the supermodels became famous Naomi Campbell started modeling when she was 15 years old, thus becoming the first black model to feature on the cover of time. She attended London Academy of Performing Arts where she acquired the modeling career. Naomi was the first African woman to emerge on the British Vogue and covers of French, thus enabling her to become famous (Cashmore, 2012, p. 86). She also gained popularity when she appeared on the cover of Time as the first black model. She had a volatile temper that landed her into many legal problems, thus boosting her fame in the fashion industry because her news appeared in global headlines. She also participated in the music career, and his songs sold throughout the world hence increasing his fame. Her works also had a significant impact on the society hence enhancing his popularity in the whole world. Campbell also graced different high-profile campaigns that increased her popularity in the American market and the entire world. Cara’s family was wealthy and held a high social status, which enabled her to rise to her position the contemporary society. Her family’s status and position in the society allowed her to associate with the famous and the rich from an early age. Cara’s participation in the Burberry catwalk show conducted in September 2012 increased her popularity throughout the world. She has a faux goofiness, which enables people to admire her pieces. Her fashion creates a good look among the followers, thus increasing his fame in the fashion industry. Kendall Jenner is a professional model, and she has appeared on many magazine covers hence increasing her popularity. Her sisters’ popularity contributes significantly towards her success in the industry (Chemi, 2014). Many people recognize her sisters hence increasing her fame in the modeling career because she obtains the modeling gigs easily. She has featured in many campaigns that have contributed significantly to enhancing his popularity. Impact of Supermodels on the Society Supermodels cause a significant impact on the society because they influence people’s way of life. It affects eating habits of many people, especially young women hence leading to eating disorders (Gillan, 2000). They look at the models’ body images contained in the fashion magazines, which they emulate. They adopt various practices that enable them to attain skinny bodies, which they perceive as the best. The majority of young women compare their bodies to the ones presented in the fashion magazines. They consider their fat bodies as less important, thus encouraging them to maintain certain diets that can work effectively for them. They develop abnormal feelings about food, which makes them change their eating behaviors and attitudes. The majority of women believe that insufficient food intake is necessary to keep their bodies thinner. Their beliefs about the supermodels affect their health significantly because they develop eating disorders. Supermodels such as Naomi Campbell and Cara Delevingne affect the society because they influence people’s eating behavior (Gillan, 2000). The majority of people change their eating habits because they fear gaining weight. The supermodels create a perception that skinny bodies are the best, thus encouraging many society members to emulate the distorted body images. They get disgusted with the appearance of their bodies, which makes mealtimes and eating to be stressful. Feelings about food, dieting and body consume much of their day, which leaves little time for family, friends, and other activities they preferred most (Gillan, 2000). They develop a relentless pursuit to lose weight and become thinner. This shows the significant impact of the supermodels on the society. They change people attitudes concerning their body images hence affecting their health because they do not consider healthy dieting. Good health does not matter to them because their concern is to become thinner that encourages them to pursue all the possible strategies, particularly poor dieting. The majority of people believe that losing weight is the best way to gain happiness. It is important for the society to emphasize on good eating habits to enable the young women understand the effects of poor dieting and nutrition. People see different shapes and sizes of model women in various types of media, and they tend to focus on the features rather than their health. However, they should understand that health matters more than the shapes of supermodels presented in the fashion magazines and other forms of media. Research shows that many people, especially women maintain a given diet that predisposes them to eating disorders. The media increase self-esteem because they present different body shapes and the strategies that can help both men and women to attain the body images (Gillan, 2000). For instance, a fashion magazine that contains Naomi Campbell influences many consumers to believe that the skinny body is necessary for success. They adopt various eating behaviors to enable them become thin because it is a necessity in life. Surprisingly, they never get contested despite the skinny body they attain. They want to become more skinner, which makes them live a stressful life. How the Supermodels struggles to maintain their status Nowadays, skinny body is a necessity for success in the fashion industry. The supermodels strive to maintain a thinner body to gain a competitive advantage that can enhance their success. They keep certain eating habits that help them to become skinnier, thus making them develop eating disorders (Campos, 2008, p. 28). They tend to eat the same food on a daily basis because they believe that it is the best way of achieving thinner bodies. Their interest is to lose significant weight, rather than maintaining a healthy living. In some cases, they starve for many days because they fear gaining weight that can work against their success in the model career. Naomi Campbell relies on diet low in carbohydrates and proteins to enable her achieve thinner bodies, which is appropriate for a catwalk and a factor for success in the industry. Supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Cara Delevingne, and Kendall Jenner do not eat much food because they have to maintain a slim body (Gillan, 2000). It is not easy for them, but they dedicate their efforts because the skinny body is a success factor that enables them gain a competitive advantage in the industry. Campbell often eats fibrous foods with spices to increase her metabolism rate. She is mindful of what she consumes and in most cases she eats green leafy vegetables and avoids white processed carbs. The supermodels admit that it is difficult maintaining a given diet, but they have an obligation to achieve thinner bodies. How the society views the supermodels The society has different perspectives concerning the supermodels such as Naomi Campbell and Cara Delevingne. Some people believe that they are bad role models because they influence people’s eating habits in a negative way. The majority of women and young girls maintain certain diets because they need to lose weight (Lindh, Pooler, Tamparo, & Dahl, 2009, p. 662). They consume insufficient food because their interest is to gain thinner bodies, rather than maintain a good health. They emulate the body images of supermodels because they believe they are beautiful and socially acceptable. Eating disorders affect people’s health significantly, which confirms that supermodels are bad role models. They influence people’s perceptions concerning beauty, which enable them to develop dangerous eating habits that can harm their lives (Gillan, 2000). However, some people also believe that supermodels such as Naomi Campbell are good role models. They encourage fat women to reduce their weight, which may increase their risks to various health problems. Super- models also make significant contributions towards the societal growth and development by participating in charity activities. Their appearance in the advertisements also influences many people to develop positive attitudes concerning model career that contributes significantly in the fashion industry. Impact of supermodels on young girls Supermodels have an obligation to maintain a given diet to enable them develop skinny bodies. It is a necessity to gain a competitive advantage in the fashion industry, thus increasing a person’s success. Their eating habits influence many young girls and their psychology concerning body image. They contribute significantly towards eating disorders among adolescent girls, who perceive their images as beautiful (Gillan, 2000). The super models create a distorted body image, which gains popularity among many young women. They imitate the skinny bodies, thus forcing them to adopt certain eating habits hence leading to eating disorders. Fashion magazines and televisions show the images of supermodels, which affects young girls’ perception concerning an ideal body shape. The body image of Naomi Campbell attracts many teenagers who wish to acquire a similar feature because they hold positive attitudes about her. Naomi’s body can influence the teenager’s self-esteem, along with their perceptions concerning a healthy body image and what denotes beauty (Lindh et al., 2009, p. 661). They adopt various practices that can enable them attain Naomi’s body image, which they associate with beauty. The majority of advertisers primarily target the teenagers, particularly the young girls. The adolescence stage allows them to develop a sense of self, and their desire to fit increases their vulnerability to marketing techniques, especially when the products feature a supermodel such as Naomi Campbell or Kendall Jenner. Research shows that many young girls use mass media to access various body images, which they perceive as good looking. They have positive beliefs concerning the super models, and this usually affect their self-esteem if they do not feel as perfect as the supermodels (Lindh et al., 2009, p. 660). The supermodels, particularly Naomi Campbell, Cara Delevingne, and Kendall Jenner have thin bodies. Their presence in many advertisement campaigns influences the attitudes of many young girls concerning the super models. They believe that a skinny body is a social norm and socially acceptable. The majority of teenagers may feel dissatisfied with their body images, which encourages them to emulate the super models to look beautiful and attractive (Gillan, 2000). They perceive their bodies as less ideal, which helps them to develop an interest in losing weight to obtain a beautiful body similar to the ones of the supermodels. The super models negatively affect the teenagers’ perceptions concerning beauty. The advertisements present them, ideal women as thin and tall. However, only a few people belong to the category hence encouraging others to implement various practices that could work effectively for them. Teenagers aspire to attain similar body images, and some of them may undergo plastic surgery to satisfy their quest. The supermodels can also affect teenagers’ attitudes and beliefs concerning sexuality. Teenagers who consume much media contents are likely to become sexually active. This shows that supermodels such as Naomi Campbell affect teenagers’ sexual attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs (Lindh et al., 2009, p. 660). It shows that parents should monitor media contents, which their children can access easily in order to prevent them the harmful ones. Conclusion Supermodels used to have healthier body images in the 1980s and 1990s when they looked very athletic. However, their bodies changed with time to very underweight and boney look made popular by designers like Karl Lager. Karl refused to use Adele as a model because he was fat. Kate Moss also increased the popularity of skinny look in the fashion industry. Nowadays, supermodels make efforts to maintain a diet that enable them to become thinner in order to succeed in the industry. They have a significant impact on the society because they influence people’s perception concerning beauty and body image hence forcing them to adopt poor dietary practices. Bibliography Campos, N. 2008, The Six Keys to Optimal Health: Achieving and Maintaining Wellness in the Twenty-first Century, Bloomington: Xlibris Corporation. Cashmore, E. 2012, Beyond Black: Celebrity and Race in Obamas America, London; UK: A&C Black. Chemi, E. 2014, How Kim’s Half-Sister Kylie Became the Most Influential Kardashian, Retrieved May 23, 2015, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-10-14/how-kim-s-half-sister-kylie-became-the-most-influential-kardashian Gillan, A. 2000, Skinny models send unhealthy message, Retrieved May 23, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/may/31/audreygillan Lindh, W., Pooler, M., Tamparo, C., & Dahl, B. 2009, Delmar’s Clinical Medical Assisting (4th Edition), Boston; MA: Cengage Learning. Read More