Effect of Media on Body Image

Effect of Media on Body Image

Introduction

The term body image refers to how people think and feel about their bodies. It can be healthy or unhealthy and will probably change a few times over the course of one's life. Body image develops as a result of various influences, including personal experience, how individuals physically perceive themelves, and feedback one receives from their environment. Responses from the environment include how people are treated by others as well as socialization from the multiple cultures that influence every person such as family, ethnicity, religion, and social class. General societal influences like the media also impact how people perceive themselves. There have been varying images of the “ideal body” throughout history and across cultures (Grogan, 2008).

A healthy body image is marked by a realistic perception and acceptance of one's size and shape. This type of person is comfortable with what she sees in the mirror, has a sound sense of self-worth, and generally likes herself. This also is a reflection of congruence between how one thinks of their body and socio-cultural expectations about how one should look.

An unhealthy body image typically includes shame and/or anxiety about how one looks. There may be comparison with others, or with the idealized cultural norm regarding how women should look. This person may or may not have a realistic understanding of her body size and shape. Here Media is solely responsible to create such focus on body image.

One of the forms of media includes the mass media which refers to type of communication strategy carrying messages for larger audiences. The functions of media include the provision of entertainment, socialization, opportunities of education and communication and advertisements (Stice et al., 2006).The emphasis that the media places on the ideal body image may be primarily responsible for the ideas individuals' develop regarding beauty and thinness; these ideas may in turn influence a person's body image dissatisfaction and attitudes towards eating (Heinberg, 1996). Many investigators have focused on print media such as magazines and television and have concluded that television and magazines endorse societal standards emphasizing thinness and beauty (Adelman & Taylor, 2006).

Discussion

The documentary “Miss Representation” starts off with a woman who finds out that she is pregnant with a baby girl. She is overwhelmed with the news but then she realizes that if her baby girl would find a healthy and secured life in this modern age where culture has and media has huge influence on women. She sheds the light on her life from childhood that how much struggle she had to in order to maintain and keep up with the society and their expectations from a woman (www.movie2k.to).

It says around 53% of 13 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies and this percentage increases to 78% when these girls reach 17 years of age. Further, it also reports that 65% of women are suffering from eating disorder. Moreover, 17% of teenage girls get engage in self injurious and cutting ...