Society’s perception throughout history has put extremely unhealthy looking women in the media spotlight as the ideal image of beauty. “The desire to fit the cultural ideal of thinness drives many women to diet severely. In some vulnerable young women, this leads to bingeing and purging or self-starvation,” says Terence Wilson a psychologist at Rutgers University (Smolack). “The general public seems to have an unhealthy obsession with celebrities. The media is constantly bombarding us with images of celebrities with extremely thin bodies.
Whether we realize it or not we are constantly surrounded by images of sex; in the media, advertising, movies, and even in schools, sex is everywhere. So it is not uncommon for us when we open a magazine and see images of half naked women and barely legal girls posing provocatively in order to sell a product. In Jean Kilbourne’s article, “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt” she explains how much women are objectified and dehumanized in advertisements like this. Constantly in the media there are women who are looked up as sex objects rather then actual women. Kilbourne describes how when you depict men or women as sex objects rather
The many celebrities like Miley Cyrus and magazines who all try to portray their idea of a woman, alter and distort their perception of womanhood. These girls wear overtly sexual and suggestive clothing and opening act promiscuously in their interactions, forced to go through extreme diets, wear large amounts of make-up and even modify their bodies through surgeries all due to the cumulative pressures of friends, family and their developed self-confidence issues to become this counterfeit ideal. These girls wear uncomfortable heels, constricting clothing and skimpy outfits to hyper sexualize themselves. This is what they believe it takes to become fun, sexy and a desirable woman in today’ society. They go out, drink, “grind” and “twerk” (different forms of highly sexual dancing), and hook up with random guys.
“The construction of gender stereotyping of both males and females in the media is based on outdated and unfounded beliefs and therefore has had and continues to have a detrimental impact on society.” (Yes!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUyfD1F7k1I Women are subjected to many stereotypes in today’s society. Movies and television shows suggest that all women are airheads, whose sole purpose in life is to please men and rear children. Magazines and other advertisements push photographs of very slender, over groomed and “sexy women” into our minds. Men’s magazines write articles on how to seduce a girl into sleeping with them.
The article states that over the years, models become thinner and thinner which sends out a message to healthy young females that they think they need to look just like them and be at an unhealthy skinny like them too. The article was successful because the author did a good job explaining diseases that follow up with body image, how this is affecting young girl, and how advertisements on commercials and magazines play a role on why women are so self-conscious. “Do Thin Models Warp Girls’ Body Image” explains that models are changing the bodies of young girls. Models are portraying an image to young females about their body and weight. Advertisements that are shown on television and in magazines of tall, sickly skinny models gives girls the idea that it is okay to be very lean when, in reality, it is not.
She has a slim waist, has round hips, and long legs. She's not necessarily realistic within our world, but she is what you can say, "perfect sized". Her body has become idolized and wanted by women within society. Barbie is a fashion icon, the perfect girl, and purely looked up to by many. She's a representation of how girls should look or want to look within the current time frame.
However, wearing red lipstick meant they were the next best thing to a prostitute. Also, smoking in a public area would have meant that they must have been actresses. The beginning of the Edwardian Era the “hourglass” figure was a very popular figure for a woman. It featured the delicate curves and a woman’s body and defined her spine nicely and evened out the rest of her body. They mostly wore high collars, corsets, trained skirts and huge fashionable hats.
Week 3: Sacred Goddess: Ideas about Femininity China is an appearance driven society where heavy emphasis is placed on a woman’s aesthetics and femininity rather than their talents and achievements. (Chan & Cheng, 2011) Women are constantly under pressure by their peers, family and society to chase the ideal standards of physical beauty. This has caused the beauty economy in China also known as “mei nü jing ji”, to thrive (Zhang, 2012). Many take radical measures to “fix” physical qualities that are deemed flaws. Some characteristics that are associated with femininity and are extremely sought after China include fair skin, big, bright eyes, and a small and delicate soft nose.
Teenagers feel guilty about their bodies due to the media, and how they see themselves. In a short poem, Lang Day, the author, describes how she saw herself, “Flat-chested, ribs protruding, I always felt fat: bottom heavy. Oh, those massive, rippling thighs spreading whitely as bread dough on the car seat! At twelve I thought i'd die if my waist exceeded 21 inches”(9). This young girl had suffered from anorexia for years all because of how the media portrays “beautiful women.”.
The constant bombarding from media can have a wide variety of negative effects on how teenage girls view themselves. Studies have shown that media is linked with eating disorders and depression among teenage girls. Media’s view of the perfect body is nearly impossible to obtain without unhealthy eating habits or excessive exercise. “The average American woman is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 163 pounds, whereas the average female model is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 109 pounds” (Greenberg 201-02). Growing up with images of air brushed, stick thin, beautiful women causes girls to think that is what they are also supposed to look like.