Media Body Image

The body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only five percent of females. Forty seven percent of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures. Sixty nine percent of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape. Females are more than twice as likely as men to be portrayed as sexual objects (which means turning women into objects for sexual pleasure) during prime time commercials. Products for children also reinforce girls’ value on “sexiness,” such as Bratz dolls wearing bikinis and fishnets and thongs for seven-year-olds (yes you read that correctly). 46 percent of all high school age students, and 62 percent of high school seniors, have had sexual intercourse; almost nine million teens have already had sex.. What we market to young girls is the number one issue. Sexualization in media is everywhere. From a young age, boys and girls are told by the media that girls should be more focused on their looks and ultimately their sex appeal. Sex appeal is portrayed as only skin deep in the media. North American’s expectations of beauty are very unrealistic. Media and entertainment is affecting our younger generations standards of morals and self-image.

Media’s image of beauty is unattainable. If we go by marketing standards, beauty is a tall skinny airbrushed half naked girl. The way the media portrays beauty is very discouraging to young woman everywhere. Marketing manipulates young girls into believing these images and they compare their body to the images of the model or celebrity. Comparing themselves to an airbrushed image of very skinny women is not healthy for self-esteem. Although there is no single cause of body dissatisfaction or disordered eating, research is increasingly clear that media does indeed contribute and that exposure to and pressure exerted by media increase body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Eating