Media Influence On Women's Body Image
Contrary to what you see in the media, we are not all meant to look the same. Media has an undeniable effect on all people; women are especially vulnerable to the subversive messages often presented. Only 5 percent of women have the “ideal” body that is shown in the majority of advertisements. Girls don't just simply decide to hate their bodies, we teach them to.
The ideal body is a socially constructed concept which can be defined in many ways, all by different people. Regardless of which definition is used, it cannot be quantified and so it cannot be accurately compared. Body image is “the picture of our our own body which we form in our mind that is to say, the way in which the body appears to ourselves.” (Hogg, 752) The media, especially advertisements, have a large influence on women's body image. It’s a lot easier to sell people things when you’re secretly telling them that there’s something wrong with them and your product can fix them. Triggering women’s insecurities by selling them unattainable beauty is the golden rule to effective advertising. Essentially we are trapped in this never ending spiral of being told were not good enough. In result we should buy certain foods, certain clothing, certain brands to achieve this “perfect persona”. “The more you subtract, the more you add.” says an add that ran in several women’s and teen magazines in 1997 (Kilbourne 136). Surprisingly though, it is an ad for clothing, not for a diet product. On the surface it is a statement about minimalism in fashion. However, the fact that the girl in the ad is very young and extremely thin reinforces another message, a message that an adolescent girl constantly gets from advertising and …show more content…
Research is starting to demonstrate that negative attitudes towards physical appearance by parents, older siblings and caregivers have a direct impact on children’s views
Media has an undeniable effect on all people; women are especially vulnerable to the subversive messages often
The ideal body is a socially constructed concept which can be defined in many ways, all by different people. Regardless of which definition is used, it cannot be quantified and so it cannot be accurately compared. Body image is “the picture of our our own body which we form in our mind that is to say, the way in which the body appears to ourselves.” (Hogg, 752) The media, especially advertisements, have a large influence on women's body image. It’s a lot easier to sell people things when you’re secretly telling them that there’s something wrong with them and your product can fix them. Triggering women’s insecurities by selling them unattainable beauty is the golden rule to effective advertising. Essentially we are trapped in this never ending spiral of being told were not good enough. In result we should buy certain foods, certain clothing, certain brands to achieve this “perfect persona”. “The more you subtract, the more you add.” says an add that ran in several women’s and teen magazines in 1997 (Kilbourne 136). Surprisingly though, it is an ad for clothing, not for a diet product. On the surface it is a statement about minimalism in fashion. However, the fact that the girl in the ad is very young and extremely thin reinforces another message, a message that an adolescent girl constantly gets from advertising and …show more content…
Research is starting to demonstrate that negative attitudes towards physical appearance by parents, older siblings and caregivers have a direct impact on children’s views
Media has an undeniable effect on all people; women are especially vulnerable to the subversive messages often