20 Oct 2012. . This article it discusses the tragic numbers of people have eating disorders, and how the media’s promotion of an ideal body promotes it. An estimated 8 million Americans currently suffer from eating disorders. The media has glamorized extremely thin women resulting in many young girls feeling inferior. A study published in the Journal of Communication found that high school girls as young as thirteen are affected by the media’s portrayal of ultra-thin models and celebrities.
The slender, “beautiful” women are regarded as influential, successful, and erotic. This being said, it is very much so based on facts and reason, also known as logos, in the aspect that real life is often viewed this way. Throughout Elementary school up to High school, no one wanted to be best friends with “the fat kid”. As the world already knows, girls and women in general seem to stress over their physical appearance and have been especially concerned about weight for many years now. The emotional effect media has on a woman’s mindset, or ethos, could very well send her overboard into what is commonly known as an eating disorder.
It is my strong opinion that being fifty-nine pounds underweight, having someone’s ribs photoshopped out of a photo, and modeling an unhealthy and unrealistic body image is far from a positive influence and intention. Works Cited SoYouWanna be a Model? HealthDiscovery, A WeightWatcher Support Network, 2010, Robertson, Ella, “Models, minimum weight; Arugments,” June 19, 2010, Mirason, INC., 2011 The Something Fishy Website, On Eating Disorders, “Exploring the role society and the media play in the development of an Eating Disorder and the Media Influence on Eating Disorders,” 2007, Samsa, Ashley Lauren, “Warning: Models In this Image May Not Be as Thin as They Appear,” July 5 2011, Abend, Lisa, et al, “Models get the Skinny on Weight Limit, September 16 2006, Ramirez, Ximena, “The Women on Page 198: Glamour Continues Dialogue on Body Image,” November 2
Task 1: Feature Article Study By C.J Ellis Obesity ranks second among preventable causes of death. Tobacco is number one. “The Big Issue” discusses the increase in overweight teenagers and the devastating consequences. The main ideas the article promotes is that obesity and weight has the potential to nullify a teenage girls self-esteem and confidence, in doing so creating heinous repercussions. The teenagers health is at risk, therefore there is an increased chance that the teenager will face medical issues short or/and long term.
(Hamilton and Beck 2005) stated National Collegiate Athletic Association study of eating disorders in athletes revealed 1.1% of female athletes met the criteria for bulimia, but not for anorexia. This research explained problems in weight control behaviors which cause female athletes to feel negative about their appearance. Weight control behaviors are a major challenge when dealing with eating disorder. It makes women feel as though they have to be thin in order to compete at the highest level in their sport which is not even n important factor
Some kids get bullied for only being able to afford a used uniform. Because teenagers grow so much, it’s a yearly hassle for families and a big price tag every year that they shouldn’t have to worry about. Because uniforms cause financial stress annually, they should not be mandatory. Secondly, teenagers are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd especially during the high school years. Forcing and limiting them to wear a uniform can limit their ways to stand out from a crowd.
This increasing trend of cosmetic surgeries in America attribute to media and famous public figures who promote cosmetic surgery as corrective surgery. Teenagers believe that their appearance has to be flawless, similar with celebrities as a result about 326,000 teenagers had plastic surgery in 2004. The author suggests that it’s the parent’s responsibility to teach their children about the damages of cosmetic surgery, also parents should not support their children by paying the bills for unnecessary plastic surgery. Teenagers are not well informed about the damages of cosmetic surgeries consequently they put their lives are at high risk. Teenagers only focus on the cosmetic aspect of the procedures they desire, and forget that it is actually a surgery.
A year ago, the government estimated 4.1 million Americans were using marijuana. Imagine that number doubling or even tripling. Legalization of the drug will throw our country into a state of turmoil because if no law exists to keep one from using a drug, then more and more of the drug will be used. Making pot readily available to the public for recreational use will greatly affect the future of America for we are poisoning the fresh minds of our youth. Children will begin using at a younger age; therefore, the physical and mental effects will be significantly increased.
Before the age of twenty one the brain is still developing and shouldn’t be destroyed with alcohol beverages. Early drinking can lead to early deaths; but some people become drinkers at an early age because of their social culture, not knowing it increase health and government laws. Lowering the national drinking age to eighteen is not a good idea. It’s too many bad side effects, such as lower percent of high school graduates. Therefore there will be more unsuccessful people in the world.
Businesses spend thousands of dollars on creating commercials that appeal to the consumers; it can create different images on the consumers’ minds which can be negative or positive. In this paper I will prove how the media has influenced different people in different ways, how it has shaped their life into two ways; negative and positive. Media’s Portrayal of Women Pressure to Be Thin Women are distracted by their appearance, particularly women are highly conscious about their weight and bodies. Research has shown that nearly half of the girls aged between 12 and 17 have been on a diet (Patton, et al; 1997), more and more young women show the signs of anorexia (Kilborne, 1997). In a survey conducted by the Glamour Magazine showed that when asked women if they could achieve one goal what it would be, they all said they would lose weight (Wooley and Wooley, 1984).