Media: A Strong Influence on Body Image and Disordered Eating Essay

It would be incredibly naive to believe that our American society is non extremely preoccupied with the quest for thinness. Everywhere you go, (i.e. grocery stores, bookstores, fitness centers, theaters) images of both men and women who society has deemed beautiful be deliberately posted in regularize to sell a product, entice an audience, or merely to gain attention. Even in an age where the rates for obesity are increasing at a rapid pace, it seems as though our society still idolizes the chiseled, lean man and the ultra thin woman. Many would argue that Hollywood and media has a definite military posture on creating a standard of lulu for its viewers. Many adolescents and young adults are feeling it very difficult to achieve and fight down this specific body and tilt precedent. It should make one wonder whether or non this emphasis on the external appearance has a played a part in the increasing numbers of men and women who are unhappy with their bodies and who as a resu lt, decide to make extreme changes in their dieting and exercise routines. It has been suggested that mass media whitethorn be partly to blame to the drastic increase in the prevalence of eating disturbances in our nation (Anschutz, Van Strien, & Engels, 2008). Many believe that there is an ever-widening open between what the media portrays as the rarified body size and weight and what womens actual body size is. As a result, after continually viewing images of commonwealth whose size is almost impossible to achieve, both men and women are increasingly feeling bad about their bodies and report dissatisfaction. Thornton and Moore assert, according to the social comparison theory, raft tend to evaluate their own appearance more negatively after viewing highly attractive individuals (as... ...m women who appear on most of todays television media are very rarely is the size of the average American women. Instead, television most often portrays women who have had a number of childre n and yet still are honor a very slim, size two wearing, frame. Certain communication theories state that exposure to various media outlets can lead viewers to begin to accept the media portrayals of watcher as reality. Some researchers believe that this constant exposure creates in women the belief that looking like the seen images is expected and central to attractiveness. Lavine and Harrison (2004) assert, media presentations of womens bodies are so skewed, showcasing an ideal that is out of reach to most, adopting this reality may lead to decreased satisfaction with ones own and to behaviors aimed at meeting this ideal (as cited in Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008). Media A Strong Influence on Body Image and Dis assureed Eating EssayIt would be incredibly naive to believe that our American society is not extremely preoccupied with the quest for thinness. Everywhere you go, (i.e. grocery stores, bookstores, fitness centers, theaters) images of both men and women who society has deemed beautiful are deliberately posted in order to sell a product, entice an audience, or merely to gain attention. Even in an age where the rates for obesity are increasing at a rapid pace, it seems as though our society still idolizes the chiseled, lean man and the ultra thin woman. Many would argue that Hollywood and media has a definite quarter on creating a standard of beauty for its viewers. Many adolescents and young adults are feeling it very difficult to achieve and maintain this specific body and weight ideal. It should make one wonder whether or not this emphasis on the external appearance has a played a part in the increasing numbers of men and women who are unhappy with their bodies and who as a result, decide to make extreme changes in their dieting and exercise routines. It has been suggested that mass media may be partly to blame to the drastic increase in the prevalence of eating disturbances in our nation (Anschutz, Van Strien, & Engels, 2008). Many believe that there is an ever-widening severance between what the media portrays as the ideal body size and weight and what womens actual body size is. As a result, after continually viewing images of race whose size is almost impossible to achieve, both men and women are increasingly feeling bad about their bodies and report dissatisfaction. Thornton and Moore assert, according to the social comparison theory, citizenry tend to evaluate their own appearance more negatively after viewing highly attractive individuals (as... ...m women who appear on most of todays television media are very rarely is the size of the average American women. Instead, television most often portrays women who have had a number of children and yet still are maintain a very slim, size two wearing, frame. Certain communication theories state that exposure to various media outlets can lead viewers to begin to accept the media portrayals of beauty as reality. Some researchers believe that this constant e xposure creates in women the belief that looking like the seen images is expected and central to attractiveness. Lavine and Harrison (2004) assert, media presentations of womens bodies are so skewed, showcasing an ideal that is out of reach to most, adopting this reality may lead to decreased satisfaction with ones own and to behaviors aimed at meeting this ideal (as cited in Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008).