The Media's Perception Of Body Image

The term "body image" describes a person's inner sense of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the physical appearance of his or her body. For most of us, our body image reflects reality: whether we gain or lose a few pounds, achieve muscular definition through exercise or develop "love handles," we generally know it. Our body image is a relatively accurate reflection of these constant changes. Body Image is how we see and picture ourselves. It is how we feel that others perceive us and what we believe about your physical appearance. Body image has to do with how we feel being inside of our bodies. It is something that is not static, and changes quite often. It is sensitive to our changes in mood, environment, and our physical experiences.
Recent studies show preschoolers are already exposed to hearing that certain types of foods, especially sugar, might make them "fat." The media sends powerful messages to girls and women about the acceptability (or unacceptability) of their bodies. Young girls are thought to compare themselves to women portrayed as successful in the media, assessing how closely they match up to the "ideal" body form. Unfortunately, the majority of girls and women (96%) do not match up to the models and actresses presented in the media. The average model is 5'10" and weighs 110 pounds, whereas the average women is 5'4" and weighs 142 pounds. This is the largest discrepancy that has ever existed between women and the cultural ideal. This discrepancy leads many women and girls to feel inadequate and negative about their bodies. It is important to realize that only 4% of women genetically have the "ideal" body currently presented in the media, the other 96% of women feel they must go to extreme measures to attempt to reach this unobtainable image. Many of the images presented in the media have been computer enhanced and airbrushed. The models' hips and waists have often been slimmed and their breasts enlarged through computer photo manipulation. Many of the women presented in the media suffer from an eating disorder or have adopted disordered eating behaviors to maintain such low body weights. It is
Every person in the world has at least one thing that they don’t like about them. I feel that this doesn’t mean that we have to change it. The way we look is how we are supposed to. Most of the time society only sees the good stories of plastic surgery, but the bad stories are usually left out when they should be seen. When an individual is receiving plastic surgery the possible side affects typically aren’t a concern, until they are reality. Many people have to have the surgery done numerous times and some of these surgeries result in death. These deaths could have been prevented by these individuals researching the pros and cons of getting plastic surgery. I believe that the cons definitely outweigh the pros. I understand if a someone needs a surgery in order to survive and it will help to improve the quality of their life. But, if the individual only wants it to try and improve their looks and get the so-called, “perfect body” I disagree with it. Today people have a hard time looking at themselves because they are overweight and they have been taking the easy way out by getting surgery, liposuction, and even getting there stomach stapled. All this ties back to how unhealthy America is. Many people eat fast food everyday. Don’t even think about eating anything else but McDonalds, and other fast food restaurants. This is the worst thing that they could do because in the long run they are only