Media Body Image and Eating Disorders Essay

The issue I was trying to display was in today's Western society the use of advertisement and photoshop is destroying many women’s self-image of themselves. It is important for women and all the people around them to learn to treat and love their bodies with respect. To understand there is no need to compare themselves to unattainable standards set by the media. The women who are most impacted by this issue are mainly young and impressionable teens, young girls, and women entering high school or college. All of which may or may not be insecure about how they look or portray themselves. I believe many women would be in agreement with changing the media’s outlook on beauty. To not have such unachievable and unhealthy advertisements being displayed to the public eye.

I believe these young women are doing and enacting change to this media and advertising crisis rapidly. By speaking back to those companies who make and profit off these horrible advertisements and products they display. Doing so not only online, but addressing to the companies themselves through protests. Overall, I can inquire if every woman has a moderate understanding of this topic. Each woman has faced some sort of insecurity based on her self-image at some point in her life. This leads to the main purpose of this essay: to spread the message of how unacceptable these big companies' ideas of beauty are, and how they must be changed. To achieve that goal, the essay will have to focus on those exact insecurities that are being deleted in these advertisements. Also, it touches on how seriously these businesses’ photographs are affecting young women all over the world not just in the Western half.

As today’s society progresses, we begin to show ourselves more and more online. Developing “friends” whom we may have never met in real life before. Following strangers all for the purpose of seeing their online persona. Which leads to more and more young women putting themselves out there in this virtual world. Repeatedly, these young women see models and photoshopped images on these platforms. Later they shut off their phones because they felt awful that they didn’t look like those photos. Media and, especially, social media are rapidly deteriorating women's self-image of and their mental health. I will be addressing how human society is using advertising, social media, and self-doubt to slowly make women’s self-image decay. To begin, I want to focus on what is body image, and how does it affect our daily lives? “The concept of body image is based on fundamental epistemological assumptions about the nature of the mind, the body, the individual, and society” (Blood 2). A woman’s own body image is the basis for her self-worth and confidence, which is a part of her day-to-day life. She is always seeing herself and no matter how confident or self-critical she is that is her body.

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Every woman has at some point compared herself to someone else, or in some way wanted to change herself. This concept has been going on for decades. From old-school magazines to billboard images to television advertisements, to sponsored posts by celebrities and social media influencers on Instagram and Facebook. Every day women in civilization have grown accustomed to seeing themselves as imperfect and flawed. Constantly, being told those imperfections are what make you unattractive. If a girl is invariably being told she is overweight, underweight, or her features aren’t shaped properly, her body image will diminish and so will her pride. Most of the time those insults are subliminal. Through our minds subconsciously absorbing imagery. Eventually, it set standards for itself. With advertisements and media use Photoshop in all their images, unless specifically say they do not.

All models and their images are photoshopped, to clear every last imperfection. From their skin tone to the size and height of different body parts to the amount of body hair on their skin. Once, those images are finished being processed the models are usually advertising some sort of product. From diet pills and teas that help women lose weight, to waist trainers, to thousands of different skincare products and makeup. The human brain subconsciously sees these groups of women who look perfect, and then our eyes move to the product. Our brains automatically connect the dots thinking this product, will help us achieve this look. This is known as the thin-ideal media (Farrar). That is why eighty-four percent of women have negative views of their bodies (Runfola). Society is trying to have all women fit into a mold. This mold isn’t for women to feel loved and beautiful, but to make a profit. Yet, society is doing much more than just taking many women's money with all these pills, diets, and products. These giant corporations are leading women to eating disorders. Through normalizing all these absurd goals women set for themselves, based on what they see across all platforms. One in five women develop eating disorders in an attempt to make themselves more beautiful through dieting, vomiting, or extreme exercising.

Western standards of beauty are now affecting many parts of the world, not just the western hemisphere (Low). When people imagine eating disorders they usually think of a frail white girl. That notion of thinking is extremely wrong. Anyone can have an eating disorder. Not only can anyone have them, but it’s a rising number of African and Asian people. African women are stereotyped to always fit the perfect hourglass shape. Starting with large breasts, to a tiny waist, big hips, and a large but toned rear end. Gayle Brooks, an African-American psychologist specializing in eating disorders, said: “ Because medical experts believed that minorities were 'immune' to developing an eating disorder, not much research is done to help minorities” (Iverson). While Asian-Americans are still very much influenced by Asian culture, from their families to the celebrities they watch and listen to. Especially, if the artist is from South Korea.

In South Korea, Korean pop culture shows that only extremely thin people are seen as beautiful, and can become successful. Leading to young and impressionable women going through with whatever their celebrity is doing. Leading to the paths of eating disorders. Since most K-pop, celebrities aren’t allowed to eat much food and are forced to exercise way above their calorie intake. They begin to develop these disorders, along with mental disorders as well. All due to their managers not allowing them to stray from those paths in order to keep them beautiful in the media’s eyes. Whether you are a common person or a celebrity, anyone can develop an eating disorder like anorexia, or bulimia. Overall, these big companies who control the media should stop forcing women into these cookie-cutter shapes for their own gain. In fact who gives these companies the right to dictate what is and isn’t beautiful? We as a human population should stand up for our women. Tell them it's alright to not be perfectly thin or curvy. As long as she feels healthy and isn’t harming herself with how her body is. She should be able to have the right to say what shape she wants her body to be. Along with we all need to learn to love ourselves, and understand people can look different. We shouldn't restrict ourselves on what we eat, wear, or do because it isn’t normal for our body type. Nobody can dictate what is best for you except yourself. It is your body, you must treat it like a castle. Tend to it, keep it running, and most importantly love and appreciate it because it is your home. Body images are a huge part of women and their lives. Even if it is as simple as picking out an outfit for the day, or going out to eat. Women shouldn't have to worry about whether or not she is attractive enough. Every person deserves a positive mental and physical image of themselves, and nobody telling them they are not good enough.

Bibliography

1. Blood, Sylvia K. Body Work the Social Construction of Women’s Body Image. 1st ed., Routledge, 2005.
2. Iverson, Anne. 'Eating Disorders Are a Growing Problem Among African American Women.' Eating Disorders, edited by Roman Espejo, Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010128236/OVIC?u=mnkhophi&sid=OVIC&xid=ecc517d7. Accessed 18 Feb. 2019. Originally published as 'Mind Over Matter: Race, Body Image, and Eating Disorders,' www.womensstudies.ku.edu/senior_seminar/anne_iverson_paper.doc, 10 May 2005.
3. Farrar, Tabitha. “Body Image of Women.” Effects on Physical and Mental Health, 2014, www.mirror-mirror.org/body-image-of-women.htm.
4. Low, Elaine. 'Eating Disorders Are a Growing Problem Among Asian American Women.' Eating Disorders, edited by Roman Espejo, Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010128237/OVIC?u=mnkhophi&sid=OVIC&xid=715c1452. Accessed 18 Feb. 2019. Originally published as 'Diagnosing the Asian American Eating Disorder,' MochiMag.com, 14 Jan. 2010.www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/media%E2%80%99s-dangerous-influence-body-image.
5. Runfola, Cristin D et al. “Body dissatisfaction in women across the lifespan: results of the UNC-SELF and Gender and Body Image (GABI) studies” European eating disorders review: the journal of the Eating Disorders Association vol. 21,1 (2012): 52-9.