Get The Perfect Body Magazine Analysis

Introduction
At beginning of the 19th century, women were excluded from certain sports and physical activities. (Vertinsky, 1994) Sport culture was traditionally established to train and socialize the entire male ruling class to prepare them for elitist ruling; therefore, women were not included in this. However, women were encouraged to participate in passive sports like tennis, golf, archery, swimming, and gymnastics, which didn’t require too much strain on the body or physical contact with other players because it was believed that women bodies could not withstand too much physical exertion. (Vertinsky, 1994). Thus, women were discouraged from exercise because their bodies were viewed as being weak, fragile and incapable. It was considered masculine for a female to take on certain roles that were outside her gender role. (Vertinsky, 1994)
However, after Title IX was established more women started to participate in sport and physical activity. Women were encouraged by institutions like government, health practitioners and mass media to exercise to stay fit and healthy. At the beginning of the 21st century women are encouraged by magazines to follow strict exercise and diet regimes in order to
The perfect body in this magazine is portrayed as being completely flawless which is firm, tight and sexy. There are messages like “tone those flabby areas and become a healthier and happier person.” These magazines emphasize the fact that women need to exercise to tone their bodies to stay healthy, fit and happy. However, they focus their attention on indicating to women that they must tone specific parts of their bodies like their chest, gluteus, and thighs to attain the “perfect body” to stay healthy and