Media Affects Adolescents Body Image

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Media Affects Adolescents Body Image Ellen Goodman uses an anthropological study to prove her argument in her essay “The Culture of Thin Bites Fiji.” She looks at the culture of Fiji before and after television is introduced into that culture. Before television weighting more was the desired outcome for women symbolizing that they have plenty to eat, after television was introduced to the people of Fiji imitating the thinner, beautiful actresses on television programs became normal for the young women in that society. Ellen Goodman uses a study by Anna Becker, an anthropologist and psychiatrist at the Harvard Eating Disorder Center, to argue that though they do not want to recognize it, the media and media figures have a negative effect on how adolescent girls view themselves, and their body image, and is also contributing to eating disorders not only in Fiji, but all around the world. Drastic changes took place once television was introduced into the Fijians culture. It only took thirty eight months for seventy four percent of teenagers to feel too big or too fat, and sixty two percent started to diet. Teenagers at risk of eating disorders more than doubled in this time period (Goodman 608). Before watching Melrose Place, Beverly Hills, or 90210, big was beautiful, it was something to aspire to. Then after watching television programs that idolize women with smaller waist sizes teenagers beginning feeling as though they need smaller waist sizes to be attractive. These teenagers are associating being thin with getting the great jobs, the beautiful clothing, and the expensive cars that the characters on their favorite television programs seem to acquire with little to no effort. Fiji was once a place where someone telling you that you have gained weight was a compliment. Now that television has been introduced it is a huge insult for the teenager to be

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