There is so much pressure on girls today to look a certain way more than ever before. If you ask a girl between the ages of 11 and 17 if she could have one wish, what would it be, her most likely response would be to be thinner (Body Image and Advertising). I remember when I was eleven, and I wished for things like a pony, a million dollars, a pet monkey, or to be a rockstar even though I couldn't sing. Never did I wish to be thinner or prettier at those ages. Being thin should not be a girl's number one wish, it should not be a wish at all. At those ages, girls should wish for things like getting a car, their license, getting into a good college, and things that would help them personally, not what they physically look like. Girls should not wish to be beautiful because they already are. Every girl is beautiful. In a Dove study, 76% of women wish the beauty the media uses to describe women was made up of more than just physical attractiveness (Media Awareness Network).The media wants girls to believe that beautiful has one definition which focuses just on physical features, but that is not true. Beautiful is your personality, who you are on the inside, NOT on the outside.
The fear of getting fat has been instilled in girls as young as five years old (Body Image and Advertising). That is ridiculous to be worrying about weight at that age! This is what the media has done to girls, make them worry about things that should not be a concern at all. Five year olds should be playing with friends, and not worrying about their weight.
Parents need to start talking to young girls about the body image the media portrays. They should make sure that the girls understand what they see in magazines is fake. Girls need some way to understand that things like airbrushing exist, and that it is unhealthy to try to be as thin as the models. Dove has created self-esteem workshops, which helped two million girls to see themselves as beautiful so far. The workshops make the girls promise to see themselves as beautiful. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHX6frPHpQo&feature=related). Dove is helping girls understand, and parents should help as well. By making girls aware of this, hopefully their number one wish will change to focus on their future, achievements, and things that are important in life. That is my number one wish, what is yours?
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Healthy Habits
In my last post, one of my solutions was to take out all weight loss advertisements from magazines for women and girls. As much as this could help women's body image, it might not make that much of a difference. Also these advertisements are good for those who are actually struggling with weight problems. The media has done so much damaged already that by taking out these ads would barely make a difference. Ads are, however, believed to cause as much damage. It is believed that ads purposely use unrealistically thin women and make it seem normal. They create this impossible desire in women, and by doing so they are selling more products and making more money (Body Image and Advertising). The diet industry makes $33 billion in income (Body Image and Advertising). Even though they are part of the problem, ads did not actually start the problem. I believe that the media portraying this image caused women to want to be thinner, therefore the effect of this was the dieting industry.
As much as I wish that by taking the ads out of magazines would make a difference, it really would not do that much. This as solution would not work because there are women who might need these products to be healthy. Another way then is just to promote healthy exercises. By just eating healthy and promoting exercising, women can also feel good about themselves. Women can be in shape by not eating junk food and eating things that are healthy for them such as vegetables, fruits, fish, chicken, etc. Also just getting in some physical activity such as walking, yoga, or any form of exercise would help to be in shape and healthy. Women just need to realize that media is wrong, and that being supermodel skinny is impossible and unhealthy. Looking emaciated is not attractive but the media's influence is so strong that it makes women believe otherwise. Instead of taking these ads out, there should be ads promoting just being healthy, with women at a healthy weight, not skin and bones.
As much as I wish that by taking the ads out of magazines would make a difference, it really would not do that much. This as solution would not work because there are women who might need these products to be healthy. Another way then is just to promote healthy exercises. By just eating healthy and promoting exercising, women can also feel good about themselves. Women can be in shape by not eating junk food and eating things that are healthy for them such as vegetables, fruits, fish, chicken, etc. Also just getting in some physical activity such as walking, yoga, or any form of exercise would help to be in shape and healthy. Women just need to realize that media is wrong, and that being supermodel skinny is impossible and unhealthy. Looking emaciated is not attractive but the media's influence is so strong that it makes women believe otherwise. Instead of taking these ads out, there should be ads promoting just being healthy, with women at a healthy weight, not skin and bones.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
True Beauty
"Our image of beauty is really scary, more today than I think it's ever been. My eight-year old niece has talked about dieting. I don't ever remember thinking about my weight at that age," said by Barb Elliot for the Dove campaign (Media Awareness Network). The media has such a strong influence on how a woman's body should look that even eight year old girls are worried about their weight. Can you believe that, an eight year old? The media has caused some serious problems for girls and women of all ages for what true beauty really is. The media wants us to believe that true beauty is based on physical appearances but it is not. This problem has been going on for years. A study mentioned in an article in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology said that in 1992 there were 10.5 times more weight loss advertisements in women's magazines than men's magazines, which is also the same ratio for eating disorders (Eric Stice, Erika Schupak-Neuberg, Heather Shaw, and Richard Stein). Another study mentioned in the same article said that after being shown pictures of thin, average, and heavy models,women had lower self-esteem after seeing the thin models. They were dissatisfied with their weight (Eric Stice, Erika Schupak-Neuberg, Heather Shaw, and Richard Stein). These problems have been around for a while, and a change needs to happen.
Physical appearances are not what make up true beauty. True beauty is your personality and who you are as a person, not what you look like. One solution to prove this is to take out weight loss and dieting advertisements in magazines for teenage girls and women. By taking away these advertisements, it will take away the constant reminder of the media's flawless body image. Being physically perfect will not be thrown into girls' faces or be the center of attention. Girls and women would then be able to just be themselves.
Another way to prove this to women is for the media to focus not on body image, but on personality and achievements. There should be more articles on women who have done something important, or achieved some great award, not on how some woman lost 30 pounds in a month. Many articles focus on women losing weight and how they did it. But this should not be what girls aspire to do. They should aim to write an award winning novel, become a scientist, an astronaut and walk on the moon, win the Nobel prize, or president!
Physical appearances are not what make up true beauty. True beauty is your personality and who you are as a person, not what you look like. One solution to prove this is to take out weight loss and dieting advertisements in magazines for teenage girls and women. By taking away these advertisements, it will take away the constant reminder of the media's flawless body image. Being physically perfect will not be thrown into girls' faces or be the center of attention. Girls and women would then be able to just be themselves.
Another way to prove this to women is for the media to focus not on body image, but on personality and achievements. There should be more articles on women who have done something important, or achieved some great award, not on how some woman lost 30 pounds in a month. Many articles focus on women losing weight and how they did it. But this should not be what girls aspire to do. They should aim to write an award winning novel, become a scientist, an astronaut and walk on the moon, win the Nobel prize, or president!
Real Women as Models
In a study done in 2004 by Dove for their real beauty campaign, only two percent of women described themselves as beautiful, and 68% of women stated "the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can't ever achieve," (Media Awareness Network). Only two percent of women saw themsevles as beautiful, two percent. The media created such an impossible body image that 98% of women did not feel that they were beautiful. With the help of Dove's campaign women are starting to realize that real beauty is not just physical features. While Dove has shown models that represent real beauty, the majority of the other adverstising companies and the media in general have not. Even though Dove's effort is working, body image problems are still being caused by the media.
I feel that a solution to this would be start using real women who represent the majority of the women and girls in the country. The skin and bones models do not represent anything else other than eating disorders. By using real women as models in more adversiting ads and in fashion shows, women will start to see what real beauty is, which is not just physical appearance. It will also help to show girls that they do not have to compare themselves to the unnaturally thin models that are in most magazines. Lindsey Stokes from the Dove campaign said, "young girls need to see real women like themselves in print ads or on t.v." (Media Awareness Network). A student from from Vancouver, Woo Kim, said, "I think normal models are better than skinny models. It feels more comfortable to see them," (Media Awareness Network). This solution is possible, but it is up to the media to use it. All the media has to do is focus more on women of all looks, not just the tall and skinny.
Girls need to know that they are beautiful just they way are. Beauty is not what the media has instilled in our minds for so long. What do you think, if the media focused more on different types of women, and not just the abnormally skinny, would it help to end the stereotypical body image of women? Would it allow for more women to feel beautiful they way they are?
I feel that a solution to this would be start using real women who represent the majority of the women and girls in the country. The skin and bones models do not represent anything else other than eating disorders. By using real women as models in more adversiting ads and in fashion shows, women will start to see what real beauty is, which is not just physical appearance. It will also help to show girls that they do not have to compare themselves to the unnaturally thin models that are in most magazines. Lindsey Stokes from the Dove campaign said, "young girls need to see real women like themselves in print ads or on t.v." (Media Awareness Network). A student from from Vancouver, Woo Kim, said, "I think normal models are better than skinny models. It feels more comfortable to see them," (Media Awareness Network). This solution is possible, but it is up to the media to use it. All the media has to do is focus more on women of all looks, not just the tall and skinny.
Girls need to know that they are beautiful just they way are. Beauty is not what the media has instilled in our minds for so long. What do you think, if the media focused more on different types of women, and not just the abnormally skinny, would it help to end the stereotypical body image of women? Would it allow for more women to feel beautiful they way they are?
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Thin is in?
The media is constantly influencing girls and women on how they should look, and the result of this is eating disorders. In one study, ten year old girls said that after watching a Britney Spear's music video or a television show clip they were unhappy with their body image. In another survey of nine year old girls, 40% have already tried losing weight. (Body Image and Nutrition) The media also affects celebrities as well. Some celebrities feel the need to keep up with the unrealistic image the media portrays. For example, Portia de Rossi had struggled with eating disorders because of the media. Her eating disorder got so bad that at one time she weighed only 82 pounds. Her eating disorders started when she began a role in a television show, Ally McBeal. She felt that had to become thin in order to play her role. After that she would do whatever she had to in order to stay skinny. She was lucky that she got help in time, or else the disorder would have killed her. (Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi) More than five million Americans are affected by eating disorders, and approximately 1000 women die each year from being anorexic (Body Image and Nutrition). The media needs to put an end to this. Women should not be dying because of what the media believes a woman's body should look like.
A way to end this is to start putting women with a normal or average weight in magazines or television shows. Start showing pictures of healthy women, and focus more on characteristic and personality than on body image. Today's models weigh 23% less than the average woman, causing more and more girls and women to want to lose weight. The media wants everyone to believe that thin is the new fashion trend, but what is more important the keeping girls and women alive and healthy or their body image?
A way to end this is to start putting women with a normal or average weight in magazines or television shows. Start showing pictures of healthy women, and focus more on characteristic and personality than on body image. Today's models weigh 23% less than the average woman, causing more and more girls and women to want to lose weight. The media wants everyone to believe that thin is the new fashion trend, but what is more important the keeping girls and women alive and healthy or their body image?
Thursday, December 2, 2010
let's chew the fat...
"DROP TWO SIZES!" "HOT BODY FAST!""BEACH BODY NOW!" "Slim Body, Fat Wallet"
These are just some of the articles found in Women's Health magazine. The focus is on body image, and Women's Health magazine isn't the only one who does that. People magazine writes an article on the 50 most amazing bodies of celebrities, showing pictures of unrealistically skinny women in bathing suits. Why is the media obsessed with portraying women as being tall and skinny? None of the models used for advertisements are of a normal or average weight. The media provides an image of what a woman's body should look like, in one word, perfect. An image that is out of reach. Most of the time the pictures of women have been airbrushed or edited on a computer. However, this image makes many women and girls feel the need to look like the these women. Look at Barbie, even she has a perfect, but near impossible body. The culture of today has created an out of reach perception of body image which leads to eating disorders in women. This pressure of body image forces women and girls to obsess over their looks. Every where you look there is an article for how to lose weight or flat abs in 15 minute. Women compare themselves to what the media depicts as "normal" , and because of this 75% of women at a healthy weight believe they are overweight (Body Image and Advertising). Why is there such a focus on what women look like?
These are just some of the articles found in Women's Health magazine. The focus is on body image, and Women's Health magazine isn't the only one who does that. People magazine writes an article on the 50 most amazing bodies of celebrities, showing pictures of unrealistically skinny women in bathing suits. Why is the media obsessed with portraying women as being tall and skinny? None of the models used for advertisements are of a normal or average weight. The media provides an image of what a woman's body should look like, in one word, perfect. An image that is out of reach. Most of the time the pictures of women have been airbrushed or edited on a computer. However, this image makes many women and girls feel the need to look like the these women. Look at Barbie, even she has a perfect, but near impossible body. The culture of today has created an out of reach perception of body image which leads to eating disorders in women. This pressure of body image forces women and girls to obsess over their looks. Every where you look there is an article for how to lose weight or flat abs in 15 minute. Women compare themselves to what the media depicts as "normal" , and because of this 75% of women at a healthy weight believe they are overweight (Body Image and Advertising). Why is there such a focus on what women look like?
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