Preview

Body size and shape

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
599 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Body size and shape
WGSS

1- Body size and shape is a controversy subject in all cultures. Large-size is acceptable in some places around the world but the others would prefer the small size. We all have that idea “fat” means ugly, health issues and wrong habits of eating but that’s defiantly not true according to the chapter 4 some societies consider large women attractive and see their fat as an evidence of prosperity (The Beauty Ideal, 189). Also in the website Health At Every Size that there is myth about fat kills and I quote “ On average, “overweight” people live longer than “ normal” weight people”. So fat is not that big issue that society sees it, it’s more about beauty and health. Another thing the chapter mentioned that both men and women had to go through cosmetic surgeries to change their body shape, women to be more appealing and men to be more competitive in market place. On the other hand, Health at Every Size encourages accepting the real shape of our bodies and respecting the nature way it is. In my own perspective people who have plastic surgeries to change the way they look, they have problem in their self-esteem they change them selves to get more attention, but the real beauty comes from the inner soul. Sizeism is an individual, institutional, and social/cultural oppression, Obese people often get labeled lazy, unintelligent, unprofessional, and much more just because of their size. They suffer from their size almost everyday. But we shouldn’t connect intelligence to body size, but to the ability of our brains.

Clifford, D., Keeler, L. A., Gray, K., Steingrube, A. and Morris, M. N. (2010), Weight attitudes predict eating competence among college students. Family and consumer sciences research journal, 39: 184–193. doi: 10.1111/j.1552-3934.2010.02056.x

2- The mass media affect a lot of young women about their bodies. The search that conducted by Dara N. Greenwood and Sonya Dal Cin those white/thin beauty norms that derived from non-media sources like

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the article Distorted Images: Western Cultures are Exporting Their Dangerous Obsession with Thinness, author Susan McClelland addresses the negative effect that western culture, especially western media, has had upon women in other parts of the world and how it relates to body image, thinness, racial features and even skin color. She interviewed several women who felt pressure to change their appearance to fit into the portrayed standards of Americanized beauty; white and thin. Experts say “cultures that used to regard bulk as a sign of wealth and success are now succumbing to a narrow western standard of beauty” (pg. 431) There is an increase of eating disorders in areas that have never had that problem until recently.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Thus, negative stereotypes and stigmas are placed upon the obese, further strengthening their label of deviancy. In a recent study conducted by Yale University, the perceived social consensus on attitudes toward obese people was tested. Three experiments were created towards educating the participants on the issue of obesity in hope of reducing the bias stereotypes and stigmas our society has successfully created towards the obese. (Puhl, Shwartz, Brownell, 2005). The study describes how the consensus attitude towards obesity prevents the reduction of stigmatizing and excluding the obese from mainstream society as people in general feel a sense of ‘security’ and ‘approval’ in following the beliefs of the majority. Thus, if we as a society take greater acknowledgment in the causes of obesity and perhaps even empathize towards those labeled as obese; the idea of obesity as being a form of deviance could potentially shift throughout the long term. The ways in which the ‘obese’ are acknowledged through the…

    • 1299 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Reaching the Slender Body” Susan Bordo deeply analyzes the cultural, psychological, and gender factors that influence body image in the modern era, including the underlying manifestation of power over the self and changing cultural attitudes. There is no denying that humans prefer ascetic beauty just as bees are attracted to vibrant flowers which is why some people believe a warped version of the good life is to achieve societal standards of beauty which in turn is subliminally achieving virtues. The cost is often times one’s physical and mental health as well as an obsessive condemnation of everything that is “imperfect” of a person. In reality, gender norms and societal perceptions change what is “the idea body type” therefore achieving it is like chasing the wind. In today’s culture “slimness” is translated by some as being the tangible…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The author's purpose for creating this article was to inform everybody of the effect that the media has on women body image. The author wanted women to love the skin that they are in, that wearing tight corset to have a tiny waist and voluptuous chest and to be skinny is not what makes you beautiful. There's even celebrity that gets name calling for their body like Tyra Banks, there was a picture of her in a bathing suit, the media described her body as fat. That is why Tyra Banks wants to promote positive self image for women around the world. In the article the author states that "In many cases, it seems that actresses have begun their careers with what appear to be normal body types, but following exposure to Hollywood's obsession with thinness,…

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethos Pathos Logos

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the article “Distorted Images: Western Cultures are Exporting Their Dangerous Obsession with Thinness,” author Susan McClelland’s mainly focuses on how many young women idolize the women they see on T.V. The media is making many women feel as if they need to look a certain way to fit in with the world. Also the fact the western culture is spreading to other countries is a big issue because sicknesses, like bulimia, were not an issue before. Many women in other countries are starting to look at the women in the United States and want to be just like them. In this article, the author says that television, magazines, and media show young women that they need to be tall, skinny, and white to be successful in finding a job or even a love life. Throughout the essay, the author showed professional knowledge on the topic she was writing about, evidence from other sources, and the use of emotion; this article was strong and persuasive toward McClelland’s argument.…

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Another type of media is a magazine. What seems to be the most popular and influential thing about magazines in today’s society is who is on the cover. The most common type of person that is seen on the cover of a magazine today is a young, skinny, white woman. With the amount of diversity that is in the United States, when a young girl sees a woman on the cover of a magazine that does not look like her, she is made to feel as though she needs to look like her in order to be considered beautiful. This causes a lot of insecurities with skin color, gender, and body size. This is also what plays a role in what influences young girls to develop eating disorders. They feel as though even if they cannot change their skin color, or gender, they can…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    My topic for this paper is body image and African American women. I have chosen this topic because I am an African American girl who has struggled with my body image all of my life so I feel that I can easily connect to this topic. When I was younger, I mostly played with white Barbies because they had better accessories and clothes than the black Barbies. This reinforced in my head that white was better than black and this mind set took years for me to reverse. The subject of the people affected by this issue is African American girls of all ages, but more heavily from early childhood to young adulthood, especially if they are surrounded by media.…

    • 1511 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    What is sizeism? The Oxford (US English) Dictionaries (2012) defines sizeism as “prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s size: requiring large passengers to buy two…

    • 1835 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In addition to risking physical health, obesity can impair psychological health. Being perceived as fat can be the source of ridicule, ostracism, and sometimes discrimination from others; it can…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since media has spreaded their has been a broad situation on how it’s impacting people in their life. Media is the print and electronic vehicle for the mass dissemination of information or entertainment. Media includes magazines ,newspaper,and book publishing. Such as film, radio , television and recording industries. It's driving the public's perception of ideal body image has been influential since the early twentieth century,although the ideals themselves have evolved overtime.It gave rise to a boyishly,narrow hipped,and flat chested ideal feminine body image (Geraldine). Due to body image and media it’s been a widespread of people changing their body image in many factors. Some felt that being slim and narrow hipped was a style but it’s really just as everyone is walking around looking alike. According to critics of that trend is that "glamorization of gaunt" has led many girls and women to unhealthy and unrealistic body perseverance. Now in society many teenage girls of this current generation wants to be barbie dolls wearing weave different hair color finest outfits etc. Researchers have found out that many people suffer from starving themselves to have the…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Obesity Discourse

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Obesity has clear health consequences for children and adolescents as evidenced by increased rates of Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes and cardiovascular disease within this population (Liese, Ma, Maahs, & Trilk, 2012)—see Brownell, Schwartz, Puhl, Henderson, & Harris (2009) for a thorough public health perspective on preventing adolescent obesity. Weight stigma also has consequences related to school bullying, identity development, self-esteem, body image, and romantic relationships (Boyes & Latner, 2007; Hong & Espelage, 2012; Puhl & Heuer,…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    It is true that they are not lacking a sharpness of mental strength; however, people suffering from obesity have many issues as stated above in the paper, which in turn disable them to convert their mental strength to the actual implementation. And it is a serious disorder, since people can even lose their lives, if proper medical steps are not taken in proper time, which is not found commonly in any normal and healthy…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Better Essays

    We are conditioned at a young age to believe the only way to be normal is to be…

    • 1392 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mass media is designed to reach large audiences through the use of technology. Its purpose is meant to give information we need to function as a society. Mass media is everywhere; there is no escaping from it. From the moment you wake until you fall asleep you are confronted with media. Almost every home in America has at least one television, access to the internet, and cell phones. Someone cannot drive down the highway without seeing billboard signs. Checking out at the grocery store can be tricky if trying to avoid magazines. The media portrays what is considered to be normal for how a female acts and looks, and therefore affects what women in society feel they should look and act like. The media's portrayal of body image affects women negatively through using stereotypes, encouraging thinness, and promoting unnecessary products. Of course there are extremely thin people, but it’s usually unhealthy and not terribly normal.…

    • 1924 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays