By: Starr
During class, I realized how the media can create a negative impact on our society. The most obvious is by painting a perfect picture of what a woman’s face and body should look like. What I was moved by the most was the video we watched in class of the model, not only was she altered with styled hair and make-up, but also with computer software. I am totally aware that they use software in the business to alter the fairness of skin and adjust sizing of the body a bit, but never did I imagine them going to the extreme of extending the length of the neck or even the eyelids. This irritated me so much because how do we even know what is real!? The most terrible consequence I find out of this is the pressure that is created towards models to be thinner, which then influences the rest of our population.
One of my good friends in high school suffered from anorexia. Sadly, even after completing therapy she still claimed to be proud and happy of the decision that she made. She stated that if she hadn’t been anorexic she would still be fat and not have the gorgeous body she has today. Truth is she was never fat! Yes, as mentioned in Susan Bordos, Never just pictures, clinicians link anorexia to psychological issues, but maybe if the media did not have an influence there would not be so much pressure to fit into this perfect category. Maybe the thought of being perfect and extremely skinny would not have crossed her mind. Today, I am happy to see Dove creating a movement and being honest with sharing reality that not all women are skinny and use everyday women in their advertisements. Have you or anyone you know been severely affected by fitting into a “perfect” mold? This youtube clip is a great visual for the medias affects on body image. Check it out.
Hi Starr,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. The media (television shows, films, music videos, magazines, video games, etc.) indeed has created a negative impact on our society. Even though we are all affected by the media and its' "ideal beauty image," I believe that the ones who are most affected by it are teens. Being a teen was probably the hardest phase of my life. I was already self conscious about my body image while growing up so when my body started changing, I was even more self conscious, which affected my self esteem as a teen. I think that the media not only makes us more conscious of out self image but it affects us both physically and mentally, especially when you're a teen and all you care about is your appearance.
Hi Starr,
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry to hear about your friend. Hopefully she is doing well!
I am naturally thin and I love my body but not because I am thin but because I have learned to respect it. There was a time in my life that I hated being so thin. I was often asked if I was anorexic. My pale skin color did not help much. There were many times that I felt like crying because people actually thought that I was starving myself to death. During summer vacations, my goal would be to gain 10 pounds!!! But I never did. I realized that I was NATURALLY thin. The media definetly played an important role in what I thought was the “ideal” body. I wanted to be curvy!!!
I am tired of the media and their body norms. There is no perfect body!!!!