Body Image- Chapter 1

By: Haley Smith

BeautyMany women have

difficulty accepting their own bodies

So much money is spent every year on “altering” our appearances to look and feel prettier

The cosmetics and beauty products industry makes over $43 billion a year from women wanting to change their appearances

Why we want to changeThe main reason for many women to want to

change their looks is to attract men

It is known that women often feel the need to compete with others for male attention

In many societies, women gain a positive status when they are in relationships with men

Media affects

Media today has exposed what the acceptable way to look in order to be beautiful is

Women shown in the media are often airbrushed to have perfect skin, or plastic surgery to look “perfect”

The media leaves out those who are disabled because they are not a sign of “perfection”

“Researchers have found that ongoing exposure to certain ideas can shape and distort our perception or reality”.

Some people are in complete denial that the media affects them at all. The average American sees about 3,000 ads every day, and most are of fashion and beauty in women

Eating DisordersEating disorders are often started because of body

image

Women who believe they are too fat may begin starving themselves to lose weight

It is difficult for women to realize that they need fat more than men do

Women who are too thin don’t menstruate and are unable to carry a child

Many women lack self-confidence due to the fact they are not happy with their weight because of what they are used to seeing on television and in magazines

Exposed at a young age Adolescents are exposed

to the unhealthy messages from the media at a young age

In teen magazines, there are pictures that would normally be in adult magazines such as Cosmo, therefore automatically giving the adolescent girl the wrong message

During adolescents it is normal to gain weight due to puberty, but many go on diets because they feel fat

How Parents Can HelpParents with teens going through this can help

by making sure they aren’t obsessing over their own weight

Talk to them about the media images making them realize that a lot of the women are all make up and surgery

Let them know that whatever makes them happy is the way they should live their life

Help them focus on being healthy rather than losing weight

Watching your body age

As women get older, some feel the same as they did as an adolescent-they undergo physical and hormonal changes

Many of these changes can cause anxiety because they are in denial they begin to realize that they will never look the way they did when they were younger

Doctors are seeing more and more compulsive exercising and eating disorders in middle aged women because of the changes they are going through

“…aging is seen as a disease that must be cured-and the medical establishment and the beauty industry are only too happy to promote this idea”.

Accepting your bodyIt’s important for women to see that the

body they have, is the same body they will always have-it is extremely difficult for many women to live up to the expectations of the media and the people around them

Every woman is different and doesn’t always look or act the way society expects you too-it’s extremely difficult to learn to love who you are with advertisements getting in the way of that

Quote“We’re rated pretty, ugly, plain-or just plain average. No one has ever asked us

if we want to compete in this lifelong beauty contest. Being born female

automatically makes us contestants, whether we like it or not.”

Discussion Question

Do you feel that the media impacts who you are and who you want to become?

ReferenceBrigham and Women’s Hospital. Our Bodies,

Ourselves. 35th Anniversary Edition. Simon and Schuster: New York. 2005.