Body Image In The United States
Society puts a great deal of attention on body image and physical attractiveness, youthfulness, sexuality and appearance. This can be experienced by standing in front of a magazine stand. The covers display pictures of men and women alike, whose images are offered as nearly perfect in society’s point of view. Nevermind the fact that these photographs are often additionally enhanced by computers and made to look perfect by airbrushing. Teeth can be made shades whiter, skin can be darkened, lightened, blemishes and moles covered, waists and thighs can be whittled and breasts can be enlarged with technology today. The average man or woman cannot compete with these images. Perhaps the models themselves cannot live up to these expectations either. Eating disorders are not foreign illnesses to the modeling industry. What is so unfortunate about those who strive for the perfect body image is that society’s ideals of what looks best are constantly changing. It guarantees that they will never be able to reach their goals and almost always ensures a sense of failure. In a study that was conducted in 1994 a direct relation between media exposure and eating disorders was found. This effect supports the idea that exposure t
o the media-portrayed thin ideal is related to eating disorders and that the media’s focus on dieting may increase the risk for binge and purge behavior (Stice, Shaw, Stein, 1994). Fatness has traditionally been a greater preoccupation in western societies than in third world countries. Women in third world countries appear much more content, comfortable and accepting of their fuller body shapes. In fact the cultural stereotype of attractiveness within these societies includes a fuller figure. Studies have been done observing women from these societies when they are moved into societies where thin is in. These women will begin adopting the desire for a smaller figure like their peers. Children as young as five years old have expressed concerns about their body image. Children have also been found to have negative opinions about obese people and do not like to play with fat children (Cooper 1995).
Some topics in this essay:
Bulimia Nervosa,
According Costin,
,
Body Guys”,
America’s Playboy,
Calvin Klein,
eating disorders,
Shaw Stein,
Marilyn Monroe,
body image,
eating disorder,
costin 1997,
cooper 1995,
third world countries,
fuller figure,
teen magazines,
western society,
stereotype attractiveness,
weight loss,
develop eating disorders,
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Approximate Word count = 1160
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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