Media and Body/Self Image

A detailed Summary of Media and Body/Self Image

The Media: It Negatively Affects Self- and Body Image

Don't think for one second that advertisements are as innocent as they appear. More and more people are no longer taking the influence of advertisements for granted. The average American is exposed to over 1,500 ads everyday and will spend the equivalent to a year and a half of his or her life watching commercials. Indeed, advertisements are no joke. Although the individual ads may often appear trivial, they have a serious increasing impact, particularly on self- and body image.

The oppression of the ideal image makes almost all of us feel inferior. I know this for a fact because almost all of the people I know have brought up an instance where something in the media has made them feel bad about the way they look or act. We are taught to hate and antagonize our bodies, thus learning to hate ourselves. This negative body image leads to a negative self-image.

So, you would think that the media would want to use ads that can relate to the general public. Wrong. Television and other media reflect a very small minority of people in the population. The majority of women on television are much thinner than they were in previous decades and most of the men are

Some research shows that many women postpone achievement of their dreams until they first achieve the magical "right weight". The ideal body type today is unattainable by most women, even if they starve themselves. Only 5% of the female population approximate this ideal in the normal weight distribution, which excludes 95% of women.

This mass delusion sells a lot of products. The diet industry has tripled in the last 10 years, increasing from a $10 billion to a $33 billion industry a year. It is expected to become $50 billion industry in the next 5 years.

The magazines and the ads deliberately create and intensify anxiety about weight and body image because it is so profitable. This body manipulation encourages women to follow advertiser's advice. Women then try to transform themselves into walking and talking advertisements in order to make them feel better about themselves.

The media has been force feeding us these images for some time now, and it isn't helping anyone's self- or body image. Their portrayal of what is "perfect" or "ideal" isn't what is true of people today. The media hasn't catered to the public or even tried to show the many different types of people that there are. Many of my friends, myself included, have wanted films and TV and all other types of media to show that there are different kinds of people and that all shapes and sizes should be represented and respected. Now, the media must realize that they have been negatively affecting people's self- and body image.

more mu

Some common words found in the essay are:
Wrong Television, Image Don't, body image, self- body image, self- body, images media, shapes sizes, feel bad act, people friends included, feel bad, people friends, types media, friends included, body features, ideal image,

Approximate Word count = 1021
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous