Media Representation: Body Images

Media Representation luggage compartment Im agesImages of female bodies digest be seen e realwhere. Wowork forces bodies argon seen on commercials and billboards cheat oning every abridgeg from food to cars. Popular actresses on television and in movies atomic number 18 becoming younger, taller and cobwebby. We hear m each stories in the news rough actresses fainting on set from lack of food all the time. Gender and consistency realize is portrayed vetoly in many different ways end-to-end the media in todays union.It is estimated that we argon exposed to over 3,000 publicizings every day. This affords advertise manpowerts a very justly educational force in society. It can be seen that advertisements rat to a greater extent than just products. They sell values, computes and concepts, distinguish and sexuality, and popularity and approach patterncy. They ultimately tell us who we ar and what we should strive to be. Men, women, teens, boys, and girls all identify peo ple by how they look, to proboscis size and shape, to clothes, as well as hairstyles. Therefore, the way we view our be and video can confuse a grown impact on the way we thumb around ourselves. For the most people, especially with adolescents, body movie is powerfully influenced by mass media and publicise. When looking into advertising deep down media pattern and self body image one can see how powerful of an outlet advertising can be in our current society (Advertising Its everywhere, 2010).Advertisers emphasize body image and the importance of physical attractiveness in order to sell products. They hope to persuade society that something needs to be added or fixed, beca subroutine what we have is either not enough or correct enough to meet the high demands that society puts on satisfaction. Womens magazines are honorable of articles convincing women that if they can just lose those a little more taket, then they can have the perfect marriage, loving children, grea t sex, and a rewarding career. The pattern of salmon pink that is imposed on women is difficult to come upon and maintain and therefore, the cosmetic and diet product industries are sure to utility and grow off the high beauty standard. It is no surprise that jejuneness is increasingly upholdd, on with thinness, as an essential criterion of beauty in todays society. Aging is looked at in the media as an issue that needs to be dealt with and ultimately stopped all to readyher (Gerber, 2010).Adolescents are the main buns for most media outlets because they are particularly vulnerable and inexperienced consumers. They are even learning their values and roles and developing their self-concepts. Most adolescents are sensitive to mates pressure and find it difficult to resist (Kilbourne, 1999, p.129). This constant exposure to negative body image advertisements may influence individuals to become self-conscious about their bodies and to obsess over their physical fashion.The be auty industriousness is an extremely large industry that profits off the negative self-esteem and body image of many women in todays society. Women who are unsafe about their bodies are more wishly to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth anywhere between 40 to 100 billion dollars a year selling temporary weight damage products (Cummings, 2005). On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of insanitary eating habits in women and girls.The American research separate Anorexia Nervosa Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control, such as fasting, skipping meals, excessive arrange, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting ( content standoff of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 2010) . The Canadian Womens wellness Ne iirk warns that weight control measures are at one time being taken by girls as young as 5 and 6 days old (The Canadian Womens Health Network, 2005). Another necessitate conducted by Marika Tiggemann and Levina Clark in 2006 titled Appearance Culture in Nine- to 12-Year-Old Girls Media and associate Influences on Body Dissatisfaction, notes that nearly half of all p presentolescent girls deficiency to be thinner and as a result, they have engaged in a diet or are aware of the concept of dieting (Clark, 2006). In 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35 pct of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that fifty to seventy part of normal weight girls retrieve they are overweight (Gibbons, 2003).Overall research indicates that ninety pct of women are dissatisfied with their appearance in some way (The Canadian Womens Health Network, 2005). Media active Jean Kilbourne concludes that, Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and th e television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel awkward about our weight (Kilbourne, 1999, p. 47). umteen of the media images of female beauty are undoable a majority of women. The media continues to set unreal standards for what body size and appearance is considered normal. If you look through any magazine or turn on the television, you would see collarbones, hipbones, cheekbones and rib cages as the overall trend in Hollywood. Celebrities like Mary-Kate Olsen and Nicole Richie, both of whom have been reported to have eating disorders, can be seen in designer clothing with designer handbags and gorgeous men along with them. This is the model of success for many adolescent girls. Most of these girls look up to and admire these celebrities and are therefore taught at a young age that Barbie is how a woman is supposed to look tall, blonde, big breasts, and extremely thin. Barbie in reality is so thin that her weight and body proportions are not hardly unachievabl e, but in any case unhealthy (Gerber, 2010).. look forers have generated a ready reckoner model with Barbie-doll proportions and have found that her back would be too wan to support the weight of her upper body, and would be too narrow to harbour more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic play and eventually die from malnutrition. Jill Barad president of Mattel, the manufacturer of Barbie, estimated that ninety nine percent of girls between the ages of 3 to 10 years old own at least one Barbie doll (Greenwald, 1996). Still, the number of real life women and girls who look for a similarly underweight body is epidemic, and they can suffer as devastating health consequences (Gerber, 2010).Researchers report that womens magazines have more ads and articles promoting weight loss than mens magazines do, and over troika-quarters of the covers of womens magazines accept at least one message about how to change a wom ans bodily appearance through either diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery (Gerber, 2010). Television and movies reinforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of a womans worth. Canadian researcher, Gregory Fouts reports that over three-quarters of the female characters in TV situation comedies are underweight, and only one in twenty are above average in size. Heavier actresses tend to receive negative comments from male characters about their bodies and eighty percent of these negative comments are followed by canned audience laughter (Gerber, 2010).Billboards are one of the largest forms of advertisement. Advertisers tend to make these advertisements especially memorable so they dont go unnoticed. Sometimes, they overlook and take it too distant. An example of this was a billboard advertising one of NBCs popular television shows, Friends. The billboard glamorized anorexia by picturing the three female stars of the show and beside them the phrase Cute anorexic chicks. The cap tion was to begin with meant to be looked at as a joke regarding the accusations towards the three women of having eating disorders and unhealthy exercise habits, which all of them denied. Although the billboard was removed immediately, it illustrated a spectrum of ads promoting perverting body ideals (Smith, 1999).What may really make a difference in this unhealthy trend are formations that promote fighting back against the standards that the media presents. An institution that has service of processed do just that is the about turn Organization. turnaround is a San Francisco based media literacy organization that concentrates on the effect of the mass media on the physical, mental, and emotional health of females. About-Face encourages personal activism against the thin body ideal. Since 1995 About-Face has been providing education and resources on this typesetters case through research that indicates a relation between exposure to the consider female in the media and the occurrence of eating disorders (About-Face, 1996). Another organization to promote positive body image is plunge. In 2004, Dove launched the very palmy Campaign for really watcher which features real women, not models, advertising Doves products. The advertisement is composed of six women all with perfect flake off, hair, and teeth. The only thing that is looked at as not perfect is their weight. The women within the Dove advertisement are supposed to portray real women instead of extremely thin models in in hopes to offset the chimericalally thin and unhealthy images associated with modeling and advertisements in an effort to widen the stereotype of beauty and boost sales in the process. The slogan real women have curves as well as the campaigns weave site, which features quotes from each of the Campaign for Real Beauty models, does a great undertaking of capturing the overall message of real beauty (Dove, 2010) .The Campaign for Real Beauty has had a huge impact and respon se throughout the world. The six women in the U.S. ads are featured in national television spots, magazine advertisements, shanghai advertisements and billboards in major urban markets in North America and similar campaign ads are being run throughout the world by Dove as well. The campaign and its influence on body image have been the topic of many newspapers and blogs, receiving mostly p mature, but like any other media outlet, some criticism as well. Some question the genuineness of real beauty messaging through commercial beauty products along with how the ads might affect women who still do not fit in with the portrayal of beauty in the Dove advertisements. Although the women are not stirred up, the models in the series are still smaller than the average American woman at size 14. These women can be paid far little, but they can also break the sameness of advertising (Corbett, 2006). any of this circumspection is what Dove was really striving for in order to get the messag e across. According to a press release, Dove wants to make women feel more beautiful every day by challenging todays uninspired view of beauty and inspiring women to take great care of themselves. The use of women of various ages, shapes and sizes is designed to provoke discussion and debate about todays type beauty images (Prior, 2004). According to a study conducted by Dove, only two percent of women describe themselves as beautiful. Sixty three percent strongly agree that society expects women to enhance their physical attractiveness. Forty five percent of women feel women who are more beautiful have greater opportunities in life. The study also looked at the degree in which mass media has contend in portraying and communicating an unrealistic view of beauty. More than two thirds of women strongly agree that the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women could not ever achieve. Women feel they are surrounded images unrealistic beauty. The majori ty wish female beauty was portrayed in the media as being do up of more than just physical attractiveness. 70 five percent went on to say that they wish the media did a crack job of portraying women of divers(a) physical attractiveness, including age, shape, and size (Dove, 2010).Other advertisers have also been departing from the idealistic body type. In the Just Do It campaign, Nike features muscular, rid thighs and butts, labeled Thunder Thighs and Big Butt. These advertisements are very important to cause the media representation and body image of the direction that society will be heading. It is important to take action with the media and society like represented with the Dove campaign, in order to try and change the trend and get women to love being who they are, no matter what their size, and love the uniqueness of their own body (Corbett, 2006).Another media outlet that should not go unnoticed is the digital media. In todays society this plays a very important role. A great example of this is shown through Doves Evolution video. The video starts off with what appears to be a normal woman and is magically transformed into a beautiful supermodel and placed on a billboard. By using a computer, the womans face is geometrically changed and do to look perfectly proportioned. The video shows people that absolutely perfect faces and bodies are not only rare but nonexistent in many cases (Postrel, 2007).In Madrid, one of the many popular fashion capitals, thin models were illegalize from the runway in 2006. Spain has recently undergone a project with the aim to regularize clothing sizes through using a process in which a laser beam is used to measure real life womens bodies in order to find the most true to life measurement. This project is hoped to help fight the perception that thin equals beautiful. Milan has also jumped on the idea and also banned ultra thin models from fashion week in 2006 in hopes that models will start to become more healthy siz es (Woolls, 2008).Twenty years ago, the average model weighed eight percent less than the average woman. Todays models weigh twenty three percent less. Advertisers are convinced that thin models sell products and that thin is in. When the Australian magazine New Woman recently include a picture of a heavy-set model on its cover, there was an flagrant backlash of grateful readers praising the change. The advertisers were less then pleased however. They complained and the magazine soon returned to featuring bone-thin models. Advertising Age International concluded that the incident made clear the influence wielded by advertisers who remain convinced that only thin models spur the sales of beauty products (Gerber, 2010).Mainstream media representations also plays a role in reinforcing ideas about what it means to be a real man in our society. Most media sources portray male characters as rewarding for self-control and authoritative of others, aggressive and violent, financially indep endent, and physically desirability. Although distorted body images have been cognise to affect women and girls, there is a growing awareness regarding the pressure for men and boys to appear more muscular. Many males are becoming more insecure about their physical appearance due to advertising and other media images that raise the standard and idealize well-built men. Advertising images have been accused of setting unrealistic ideals for males, and men and boys are beginning to risk their health to achieve the well-built media standard (Eating disorders Body image and advertising, 2008).Another issue is the representation of ethnically diverse women in the media. A 2008 study conducted by Juanita Covert and Travis Dixon titled A Changing hear Representation and publications of the Portrayal of Women of Color in Mainstream Womens times found that although there was an increase in the representation of women of intensity, overall face cloth women were overrepresented in mainstr eam womens magazines from 1999 to 2004. An experiment was designed to view the effects of counter conventional portrayals on readers. The research showed that exposure to articles featuring counter stereotypical depictions of women of color tended to gauge the occupational expectations of women of color among gaberdine readers but not people of color (Covert, 2008).In article on African American women and beauty ideals, it is verbalise that Black women are less vulnerable than white women to reacting negatively is they dont check up on the ideals pervading prime-time television shows and magazines, according to studies (Smith, 2004). African American women pay little attention to thin images of white women and have break off body images than white women, though heavier and unhealthier. African American women have disregarded the idea of thin, pretty white woman as unattainable for themselves and as unimportant to others in the blacken community (Smith, 2004). It is also found in research that black women were less likely to exhibit signs of bulimia (Smith, 2004).When you think of sexy black women in the media, many would instantly think of Beyonce, Rihanna, or Tyra Banks. However, some would argue that though they are ethnically black, they are whiteified. Their hair has been dyed blonde, straightened hair, and even pare lightened. This is sending a negative message to the darker skinned African American women that they are not beautiful (How the media destroys black beauty, 2010). Some other examples of media sources excitation the skin of African American celebrities by using Photoshop and special fire techniques is recently shown in Gabourey Sidibes Elle 25th Anniversary Cover. Though the magazine denies the accusations, this is not the first time this has been brought to everyones attention (Everett, 2010). Beyonce Knowles has also been represented several skin shades darker in her LOreal Paris magazine advertisements. Even after the party made a statement claiming this was untrue, many find this hard to suppose (Guardian News Media, 2008). Other celebrities to undergo the supposed Photoshop skin lightening include OJ Simpson, Mariah Carey, and even President Obama.The message that media damps about thinness, dieting and beauty tells medium women that they are always in need of adjustment. The female body is looked at as an object to be perfected (Gerber, 2010). Jean Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming bearing of media images of painfully thin women means that real womens bodies have become covert in the mass media. This statement implies that the constant exposure of images and texts suggests the idea that the thinner a woman is, the better she is. This has a strong influence on women which then contributes to eating disorders and low self esteem issues. Kilbourne concludes that many women internalize these stereotypes and therefore judge themselves by the beauty industrys standards (Kilbourne, 2010).Some may ra p music society for accepting negative representation of media. However, it is going to take the media to make a change through better marketing choices and a better view of body image and self-esteem. We are bombarded with images of perfect women and men everyday, whether it is on our favorite television shows, movies, magazines and music. The majority of the women are tall, thin and beautiful and the men are muscular, tanned and seductive. People who do not fall within this media induced norm are left without models to look up to. Instead, they give in to the cosmetic and diet product industry and try to qualify their bodies to what they have been told is beautiful. Adolescent girls and boys are constantly striving to acquire an unattainable physique. Across the nation, millions of teens struggle with eating disorders and borderline conditions. With the help of Organizations like the About-Face Organization and programs like the Doves Campaign for Real Beauty, body image can soon be embraced by men and women of all ages, sizes, and skin color. conk out CitedAdvertising Its Everywhere. Media Awareness Network. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Body Image and the Media. The Canadian Womens Health Network. 2005. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Clark, L. and Tiggemann, M. (2006), Appearance Culture in Nine- to 12-Year-Old Girls Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction. Social Development, 15 628-643.Cummings, By Laura. BBC NEWS The Diet Business Banking on Failure. BBC News Home. 5 Feb. 2003. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Campaign for Real Beauty. Dove. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Corbett, Rachel. Doves larger Models Spur Sales and Attention. Womens ENews. 29 Jan. 2006. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Covert, J. J., and T. L. Dixon. A Changing View Representation and Effects of the Portrayal of Women of Color in Mainstream Womens Magazines. Communication Research 35.2 (2008) 232-56.Eating Disorders Body Image and Advertising HealthyPlace. HealthyPlace.com. 11 Dec. 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Everett, Crist ina. Elle Magazine Accused of Digitally Lightening Gabourey Sidibes Skin on October Cover. NY Daily News. 17 Sept. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Gerber, Robin. Beauty and Body Image in the Media. Media Awareness Network. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Guadian News Media. LOreal Denies whitening Beyonce Knowles Skin in Cosmetics Ad. Buzzle Web Portal. 8 Aug. 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Gibbons, Sheila. Teen Magazines Send Girls All the Wrong Messages. Womens ENews. 29 Oct. 2003. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Greenwald, John, Valerie Marchant, and Jacqueline Savaiano. BARBIE BOOTS UP TIME. TIME.com. 11 Nov. 1996. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .How The Media Destroys Black Beauty Socyberty. Socyberty Society on the Web. 24 Oct. 2010. 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