Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Media and Self Image

 

            "Without social identity, there is in fact, no society- " Richard Jenkins.
             statement holds true to everything in our everyday lives. From the time we can sit up our .
             parents plant us in front of the television to keep us out of their way. Commercials and .
             media shape our outlook, our self-image, and our stereotypes. Every commercial has a .
             message in it; we're to fat, to stupid, not driving the right car, we are all supposed to be .
             beautiful . The list is endless, and by this we are socialized- into our identities. .
             I am not going to take a look at any one commercial in particular but I am going .
             to look at few of the market dominators, self-image and dieting, and where they come .
             from. From catalogs, stores, commercials and magazines, it is not surprising that eating .
             disorders are on the increase due to the value society places on being thin. In modern .
             Western culture, women are given the message at a very young age that in order to be .
             happy and successful, they must be thin. Every time you walk into a store you are .
             surrounded by the images of withered models that appear on the front cover of fashion .
             magazines. Women are constantly bombarded with advertisements catering to what is .
             considered desirable.
             Thousands of women and girls are starving themselves to attain what the fashion .
             industry considers to be the ideal frail figure. The average model weighs 23% less than .
             the average woman. Maintaining a weight that is 15% below your expected body weight .
             fits the criteria for anorexia, so most models, according to medical standards, fit into the .
             category of being anorexic (Brumberg 205). Women must realize that society's ideal .
             body image may in fact be achievable, but at a detrimental price to one's body. The .
             photos we see in magazines are not a clear image of reality. Adolescents and women .
             striving to attain society's unattainable ideal more often than not, increase their feelings .


Essays Related to Media and Self Image