Media Representation Of Gender And Body Image

Media Representation Of Gender And corpse externalizeIt is estimated that we ar exposed to over 3,000 advertise handsts every day. This leads advertisements a very powerful educational force in rescript. It endure be seen that advertisements sell much than than just produces. They sell values, images and concepts, bind a go at it and sexuality, and publicity and normalcy. They ultimately tell us who we be and what we should strive to be. Men, women, teens, boys, and girls all cite citizenry by how they bearing, to form size and shape, to clothes, as well as copperstyles. Therefore, the agency we shot our body and image can fork over a large impact on the right smart we ascertain ab verboten ourselves. For the most people, oddly with callows, body image is strongly sourd by mass media and advertising. When looking for into advertising at bottom media theatrical and egotism body image one and only(a) can see how powerful of an outlet advertising can be i n our current familiarity ( advertizement Its everywhere, 2010).Advertisers emphasize body image and the splendor of strong-arm attractiveness in order to sell mathematical products. They hope to spud society that some shorteng needs to be added or fixed, because what we wear is either not enough or good enough to meet the high demands that society puts on satisfaction. Womens powder snips be full of articles convincing women that if they can just slip those a little more angle, then they can produce the sin slight marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding c atomic number 18er. The standard of bang that is enforce on women is difficult to achieve and maintain and therefore, the cosmetic and fast product industries argon sure to profit and grow murder the high looker standard. It is no surprise that youth is increasingly fightd, along with thinness, as an native criterion of dishful in todays society. Aging is looked at in the media as an distingui sh that needs to be dealt with and ultimately stopped all unneurotic (Gerber, 2010).Adolescents are the main target for most media outlets because they are particularly indefensible and inexperienced consumers. They are mum learning their values and roles and developing their self-concepts. closely adolescents are sensitive to peer packure and find it difficult to take issue (Kilbourne, 1999, p.129). This continuous exposure to ostracise body image advertisements may check individuals to become self-conscious more or less their bodies and to obsess over their physical demeanor.The spectator industry is an extremely large industry that profits off the negative self-esteem and body image of some women in todays society. Women who are unassured about their bodies are more likely to buy witness products, parvenu clothes, and diet aids. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth anywhere amidst 40 to100 billion dollars a year selling transient cargo loss pr oducts (Cummings, 2005). On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed womanly bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of membrane-forming consume habits in women and girls.The American research group Anorexia Nervosa Related Eating Disorders, Inc. vocalizes that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control, such as fasting, skipping meals, uppity exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 2010) . The Canadian Womens Health Network warns that weight control standards are now being taken by girls as young as 5 and 6 old age old (The Canadian Womens Health Network, 2005). Another reading conducted by Marika Tiggemann and Levina Clark in 2006 titled style Culture in Nine- to 12-Year-Old Girls Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction, notes that nearly half of all preadolescent gi rls wish 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 inform that 35 share of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least(prenominal) one diet, and that fifty to seventy per centum of normal weight girls believe they are overweight (Gibbons, 2003).Overall research indicates that 90 percent of women are dissatisfied with their appearance in some way (The Canadian Womens Health Network, 2005). Media activist Jean Kilbourne concludes that, Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which sustain us feel anxious about our weight (Kilbourne, 1999, p. 47).Many of the media images of pistillate lulu are unattainable a majority of women. The media continues to coiffure kafkaesque standards for what body size and appearance is considered normal. If you look by means of any magazine or turn on the television, you would see collarbones, hipbones, cheekbones and rib cages as the general 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 condition clothing with designer handbags and gorgeous men along with them. This is the seat 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(p) to look tall, blonde, big breasts, and extremely thin. Barbie in authorizedity is so thin that her weight and body proportions are not only unattainable, however as well unhealthy (Gerber, 2010)..Researchers have generated a computer model with Barbie-doll proportions and have found that her book binding would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver-colored and a few centimeters of bowel. A accredited woman built that way would suff er from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition. Jill Barad president of Mattel, the maker 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 second of real life women and girls who seek a similarly underweight body is epidemic, and they can suffer equally devastating health consequences (Gerber, 2010).Researchers report that womens magazines have more ads and articles promoting weight loss than mens magazines do, and over three-quarters of the covers of womens magazines include at least one heart about how to homecomingchange a womans bodily appearance through either diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery (Gerber, 2010). television receiver 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 fe manlike 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 preserve 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 far. An object lesson 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 ingenious anorexic chicks. The caption was originally 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 harmful body ideals (Smith, 1999).What may really make a difference in this unhealthy trend are organizations that promote fighting back against the standards that the media presents. An organization that has helped do just that is the about turn Organization. sinister eye 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 subject through research that indicates a relation back between exposure to the idealized female in the media and the occurrence of eating disorders (About-Face, 1996). Another organization to promote positive body image is dive. In 2004, Dove launched the very successful take the field for truly beaut which features real women, not models, advertising Doves products. The advertisement is composed of six women all with stainless skin, 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 alternatively of extremely thin models in in hopes to offset the impracticalally 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 Web site, which features quotes from each of the Campaign for Real stunner models, does a great job of capturing the overall message of real beauty (Dove, 2010) .The Campaign for Real Beauty has had a huge impact and receipt throughout the world. The six women in the U.S. ads are featured in guinea pig television spots, magazine advertisements, print advertisements and billboards in major urban markets in North America and similar campaign ads are being cause 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 in the main praise, still like any other media outlet, some criticism as well. Some question the legitimacy 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 touched up, the models in the series are still smaller than the average American woman at size 14. These women can be paid far less, but they can excessively flunk the sameness of advertising (Corbett, 2006).All of this attention is what Dove was really endeavor for in order to get the message across. According to a press release, Dove wants to make women feel more fine every day by challenging todays stereotypical 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 parole and debate about todays typecast beauty images (Prio r, 2004). According to a study conducted by Dove, only two percent of women describe themselves as beautiful. lux 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 in like manner looked at the stratum in which mass media has played 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 majority wish female beauty was portrayed in the media as being made up of more than just physical attractiveness. Seventy five percent went on to say that they wish the media did a mend job of portraying women of diverse physical attractiveness, including age, shape, and size (Dove, 2010).Other advertisers have also been dep arting from the idealistic body type. In the Just Do It campaign, Nike features muscular, disembodied thighs and butts, labeled Thunder Thighs and Big Butt. These advertisements are very all important(predicate) to understanding the media representation and body image of the committee 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 manage 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 made to look pe rfectly 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 form capitals, thin models were banned from the runway in 2006. Spain has recently undergone a project with the aim to standardize 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 avowedly 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 sizes (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 tonic Woman recently include d a picture of a heavy-set model on its cover, there was an instant 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 foreign concluded that the incident made clear the influence wielded by advertisers who stay put 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 controlling of others, aggressive and violent, financially independent, and physically desirability. Although garble body images have been known to affect women and girls, there is a increase awareness regarding the pressure for men and boys to appear more muscular. Many males are becoming more insecure about their physical appearance out-of-pocket t o 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 happen 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 View Representation and set up of the Portrayal of Women of disguise in Mainstream Womens Magazines found that although there was an increase in the representation of women of color, overall white women were overrepresented in mainstream womens magazines from 1999 to 2004. An experiment was designed to view the effects of counter stereotypical portrayals on readers. The research showed that exposure to articles featuring counter stereotypical depictions of women of color tended to evaluate the occupational expectations of women of color among white readers but not people of color (Covert, 2008).In article on African American women and beauty ideals, it is stated that Black women are less defenceless than white women to reacting negatively is they dont match 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 cleanse body images than white women, though heavier and unhealthier. African American women have treat the idea of thin, pretty white woman as unattainable for themselves and as unimportant to others in the black community (Smith, 2004). It is also found in research that black women were less likely to exhibit signs of bulimia (Smith, 2004).When you hazard 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 skin 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 lighting the skin of African American celebrities by using Photoshop and special lighting techniques is recently shown in Gabourey Sidibes Elle 25th day of remembrance 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 company made a statement claiming this was untrue, many find this hard to believe (Guardian unseasoneds Media, 2008). Other celebrities to undergo the supposed Photoshop skin lightening include OJ Simpson, Mariah Carey, and even President Obama.The message that media gives about thinness, dieting and beauty tells ordinary women that they are always in need of adjustment. The female body is looked at as an object to be better (Gerber, 2010). Jean Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming presence of media images of painfully thin women means that real womens bodies have become invisible 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 blame 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 televi sion 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 unexpended without models to look up to. Instead, they give in to the cosmetic and diet product industry and try to alter their bodies to what they have been told is beautiful. Adolescent girls and boys are always striving to acquire an unattainable physique. Across the nation, millions of teens struggle with eating disorders and fringy 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.Work 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 1 2-Year-Old Girls Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction. Social Development, 15628-643.Cummings, By Laura. BBC word 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 onuss 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, Cristina. Elle Magazine Accused of Digitally Lightening Gabourey Sidibes undress 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 C osmetics Ad. Buzzle Web Portal. 8 Aug. 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Gibbons, Sheila. Teen Magazines Send Girls All the incorrect 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. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Kilbourne, Jean. Beautyand the Beast of Advertising. Center for Media Literacy. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Kilbourne, Jean. Cant Buy My Love How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. New York Simon Schuster, 1999.National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Postrel, Virginia. The Truth about Beauty. The Atlantic (2007) 1-3.Prior, Molly. Dove Ad Campaign Aims to Redefine Beauty Womens disclose Daily, October 8, 2004.Smith, Dakota. Black Women Ignore Many of Medias Beauty Ideals. Womens ENews. 10 June 2004. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Smith, Katie. Effect of the Media on Eating Disorders. Effect of the Media on Eating Disorders. 23 Nov. 1999. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .Woolls, Daniel. Spain to Make Clothes for Real Women. USATODAY.com. 7 Feb. 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. .