Preview

Starving to Be Skinny

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1454 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Starving to Be Skinny
Starving to be Skinny As much as people rely on the media in society today, it sometimes does more harm than good. Millions of people are unhappy with their bodies and this can lead to eating disorders. The media is one of the main causes of eating disorders, especially among teenage girls. "[It] has a large influence on young people 's body image, placing a great deal of pressure on obtaining the 'ideal ' body shape. This often leads to young girls adopting unhealthy practices. These include smoking, skipping meals, especially breakfast, severely limiting foods perceived as fattening, such as red meat and dairy produce, which are important sources of protein, iron, zinc and calcium, and adopting very low energy, and therefore nutrient, diets" (qtd. in Dutta). The media has many ways of influencing the minds of people. Some ways that it can encourage eating disorders include: television shows and movies associating thinness with success, advertisements and fashion industries using very skinny girls to promote products and fashion lines, and companies modifying already skinny girls with computers to create an unattainable image for teenage girls to pursue. When television shows and movies associate thinness with success, young girls are raised believing that if they want to be successful, they must have the ideal body that society has portrayed. If you watch enough television, you will see that, "A 'perfect ' body is equated with high self-esteem, success (in romance and a career), acceptance, and admiration by others. Television advertising sitcoms, and 'soap operas ' portray the heroines as slim, young, and beautiful. The cinema, women 's magazines, and popular newspapers further encourage the belief that to 'succeed ' and be happy women should be slim." (Abraham and Llewellyn-Jones 15). A woman being put in the mindset that they need to be thinner in order to be prosperous in life is a very dangerous thing. Many studies have been done, and treacherous


Cited: Abraham, Suzanne, and Derek Llewellyn-Jones. Eating Disorders the facts. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print. "Beyond Thin." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 08 Jul 2011: B.6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Sep 2012. Deang, Railey. "Starving to Death." Las Vegas Review-Journal. 11 Mar 2012: J.5. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Sep 2012. Dutta, Kunal. "Girls Under 11 Go Without Food to Gain 'Ideal ' Shape." The Independent on Sunday. 30 Oct 2011: 10. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Sep 2012. Harmon, Dan. Anorexia Nervosa starving for attention. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. Print. Hesse-Biber, Sharlene. Am I Thin Enough Yet? The Cult of Thinness and the Commercialization of Identity. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Print. Maziarz Christmann, Samantha. "Body Language." Buffalo News. 18 Mar 2012: F.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Sep 2012. Penberthy, David. "Websites That Make You Want to Vomit." Sunday Telegraph (Surry Hills). 04 Sep 2011: 44. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Sep 2012. Rodenbough, Libby. "Killer Fashion: An Industry in Denial." In These Times. Apr 2011: 22- 25. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Sep 2012.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Sociology Essay Example: “How Far Would Sociologists Agree That the Media Causes Eating Disorders in Women?
    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Sociology Essay Example: “How Far Would Sociologists Agree That the Media Causes Eating Disorders in Women?

    In this essay I will discuss how far sociologists would agree that the media causes eating disorders in women. Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions characterized by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the damage of an individual's physical and emotional health. Eating disorders include: bulimia, anorexia and obesity.…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    How Does Media Regulate Eating Disorders?
    • 3021 Words
    • 13 Pages

    How Does Media Regulate Eating Disorders?

    To what extent does the media trigger eating disorders? Project Word count: 2,750 Table of Contents I. Introduction …………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… a) How does media manipulate the minds of people? ...................................................................................................................................…

    • 3021 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Persuasion Annotated Bibliography - Body Dissatisfaction
    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Persuasion Annotated Bibliography - Body Dissatisfaction

    In the Psychological report that I read, the authors really accentuated the point that media has made unattainable expectations for girls, adolescent girls, and young women and their bodies. Starting at the age of seven, young girls of all race and body have been thrown into the idea that their bodies aren’t as great as those in media. The media has forced many people to feel body dissatisfaction, causing physical and mental health problems. In this modern day and age, thin women are dominating media, such as movies, magazines and television. Being thin is consistently a more emphasized and rewarded aspect. While being thin is over-represented, overweight characters are underrepresented, and much more frowned upon in media. Most people don’t recognize that modern women in media are thinner than the population, as well as thinner throughout the decades, and because of this, the criteria for anorexia has become thinner as well. Fashion models, cartoons, movie and television actresses, Playboy Bunnies, and Miss America Pageants have all instilled the thought in women that media portrayals are reality. Because of media portrayal, body dissatisfaction has been the core aspect behind consistent eating disorders in women, such as bulimia, as well as low-self esteem, depression and obesity. Modern day media is showcasing bodies that are otherwise out of reach. These bodies are skewed and ingrained in women’s brains to adopt them into reality. Decreased satisfaction in bodies result in some negative eating behaviors such as dieting, bingeing and purging, as well as skipping meals. As mentioned in the report, different test have proven that such constant exposure to thin, or ideal, body images “shapes young women’s…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    What Effect Does The Media's Thin Ideal Have On Society?
    • 2426 Words
    • 10 Pages

    What Effect Does The Media's Thin Ideal Have On Society?

    According to Prah, there is a complicated combination of biological, psychological and social factors that cause eating disorders, and our culture continues to endorse thinness (3). Over time there has been a shift in the way that society views being thin. Starting at the end of the Middle Ages, “women who fasted were thought to possess evil spirits and were accused of being witches bent upon destroying the Catholic Church” (12). Next, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when women were too thin, they were thought of as being “victims of poor health” (12). Then in the 1940s and the 1950s, the full figured woman became the ideal (13). When Twiggy, a famous model who stood 5’9” and weighed 90 pounds, was growing up in the 1950s, she hated her body. She wanted to “look like Brenda Lee, very curvy and round” (Abagond), because that was the optimal body. But today, our society not only approves of being thin, but idealizes it. Before Twiggy, “the average fashion model weighed just 8 percent less than the average American woman, but today fashion models are thinner than 98 percent of American women” (13). The exposure starts at an early age; children are being exposed to the “thin ideal” with dolls such as Barbie, who “would stand 5’9” and weigh a mere 110 pounds” if she were a real person (13). This early introduction makes a big impact because as girls’ bodies develop, they become worried about the places that they are gaining weight where they didn’t have fat before (14). A sickening figure depicts that more than 50 percent of 9 and 10-year-olds say that “they feel better about themselves when they’re dieting” (33), and research found that girls who were as young as 7 years old thought that the thinner women in drawings were more popular and happier (34). These…

    • 2426 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Negative Effects of Advertising on American Youth
    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Negative Effects of Advertising on American Youth

    Harper, Brit and Tiggemann, Marika. “The effect of thin idea media images on women 's self-…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Media's Influence On Young Women
    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Media's Influence On Young Women

    Instead, they argue that the media talks about valuable information on health and people’s well being. They also discuss awareness of eating disorders, through magazines, articles, and television programs. Through the media, they educate people about the danger of abusing food and help them be aware that they are not alone in their journey. The media shows a variety of body shapes and sizes; it influences young people about accepting their weight, provides positive plus size role models. What actually affects the self-esteem of these girls’ stems from many causes that have nothing to do with the media’s influence. For example, internal issues, family pressure, and peer pressure can provoke an eating disorder. Not only do women feel pressure from the media to control their weight but also receive peer pressure from, their boyfriends, husbands, parents, family and from stores that carry clothes that only carry sizes that fit small petite girls. Also, if a girl is already lacks the necessary self-confidence that she needs, it would make it easier for these outside influences to make matters…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Research Paper On America's Obsession With Thinness
    • 1551 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Research Paper On America's Obsession With Thinness

    An average 5 '9 model 's weight is somewhere around 105-115 lbs. Of course, they are really beautiful. But their images are usually the only one we see in media every day, so we think that all women should look like them. We strongly believe that beauty is associated with being successful nowadays. Women compete with each other to be thin. Thus, media plays a strong role in reinforcing the thin ideal for women. Secondly, not only do the media and society tell us how we should look, our families and friends do as well. Women in colleges are very sensitive and easily influenced. Family members, especially parents, may be an early and influential source of pressure to be thin. Females usually receive negative feedback from their parents. Therefore, they feel more criticized, less accepted, less close to their parents and develop eating disorders. It is stated in a study that “Mothers of daughters with eating disorders exhibited more eating disturbances themselves and also wanted their daughters to lose more weight in contrast to mothers of daughters without an eating disorder. This finding suggests that the family 's attitudes towards eating are passed on to the child. Whether intended or not, daughters are aware of the drive for…

    • 1551 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fat Is Ugly
    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Fat Is Ugly

    ‘The true cause is a deliberate wish to be slim’ says Palazzoli. As Carter mentions, there is considerable pressure on girls to be ‘slim’, and as the article was written in 1974, it doesn’t seem that much has changed in the past 37 years – in fact the problem has most likely gotten worse.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Media's Influence On Eating Disorders
    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Media's Influence On Eating Disorders

    While magazines covers, articles, and commercials promote healthy living and exercising, they also use images of thin models, who are obviously anorexic that allows children and young adults to subconsciously view skinny as beautiful and healthy. An HBO documentary, Thin, by Lauren Greenfield and the article Media Influences Affect Teenagers Resulting In Eating Disorders written by Tumblr famous blogger, who goes by the name, LisaMarie Out Loud both show and state how the media can have a detrimental effect on people with body image that leads to eating disorders.…

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Eating Disorders and the Media
    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Eating Disorders and the Media

    It is proven that more than half of a million American teenagers have an eating disorder. Is the media to blame for this large number of eating disorders? These eating disorders have been documented in medical history since the 1800s. The media contributes to what teenagers believe is “thin and beautiful”. Having an eating disorder can cause many negative physical effects to the body. Not only are there many negative physical effects from eating disorders, there are mental and emotional effects too. One opposing argument may be that many people may have is the fact that the media could have a positive affect on eating disorders. Thus, eating disorders can be attributed to the media because the portrayal of thin and beautiful models puts pressure on the average teen.…

    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Influence Of Body Image
    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Influence Of Body Image

    The popular media (television, movies, magazines, etc.) have, since World War II, increasingly held up a thinner and thinner body image as the ideal for women.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Media's Influence On Eating Disorders
    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Media's Influence On Eating Disorders

    The media is a powerful tool with a huge place in today's society. However, in a society filled with young women crazed to look like super models, movie stars, and Barbie dolls, the "thin ideal" is silently advertised through various television shows, movies, and magazine articles, projecting the idea that women need to look a certain way in order to be accepted. With such a strong effect on the lives of people, today's media has had a prominent influence on eating disorders among young women.…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Media and Body Image - Essay
    • 1263 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Media and Body Image - Essay

    How does the media influence our body image? In what forms, does the media influence our perceptions about our body? These were the two questions that I asked myself in order to do the research paper and the panel discussion. In my opinion, I would agree that the media does influence and promote women and men to believe that the culture's standards for body image are ideal. Hence, the phrases, "thin is in" and "the perfect body" are two examples of "eye-catching" headlines that I observed in many women magazines. I learned that the media influences us through television, fashion and health magazines, music videos, film, commercials, and various other advertisements. Sadly, as a result, this repeated exposure, the "thin" ideal, can lead many young girls in triggering eating disorders, depression, low self-esteem, stress, and suicide. After acquiring this relevant information, I decided to focus my research on what type of media influences elementary school children and the adolescent teenager. The three central types of media that I found that did indeed influence body image are: Fashion magazines, famous top-models and actresses, and teenage or young adult women in the music industry.…

    • 1263 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Eating Disorders
    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Eating Disorders

    Attention Getter: There are 8 million Americans with an eating disorder; 7 million of them being woman while 1 million of them are. If you are to look at me now you probably wouldn’t think I fell amongst the 8 million. Growing up I wasn’t the thinnest in my family. In middle school is where I felt the most pressure to lose weight. That’s where I developed bulimia nervosa. Now you may ask yourself what is bulimia nervosa? Better yet, what is an eating disorder? Let me give you an insight into eating disorders.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Male Eating Disorders
    • 2574 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Male Eating Disorders

    Deviant Identities. In D.H. Kelly (Ed.), Deviant Behavior: A Text-Reader in the Sociology of Deviance. (pp. 203-214). New York: Worth Publishers.…

    • 2574 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics