A Rhetorical Analysis on Media’s Influence on the Ideal Body Image Everywhere we look media seems to be portraying body images that lack what used to be known as “sexy curves” and possess more bone than anything else. Whether it be an advertisement in magazines or reality shows such as America’s Next Top Model on television, word has traveled that the thinner you are the better. The roles that obese characters play in movies or on television are negative more often than not. They are viewed as unsuccessful, lacking friends, family, and love. The slender, “beautiful” women are regarded as influential, successful, and erotic.
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. When young females see celebrities or their role models on commercials with really nice bodies, they think they have to be just like them. The author implies that it is not a good message to send out when females become to unnatural and skinny. Model agencies advertise extremely thin models because they just want their money. Nanci Hellmich explains that “Psychologist and eating disorder experts are worried about the same thing.
I know how we always want the next new makeup or hair product that’s going to make s look like the model in the commercial. Women can’t just run to the store in sweat pants because they value their appurtenance too much. Women don’t feel as confident when they don’t look nice, but men don’t really care either way. In the reading, “Do thin Models Warp Girls Body Image?” I agree with Nancy when she says thin models on the runway or on TV can cause very young girls to become anorexic or bulimic. Nancy says, “Girls are being bombarded with the message that they need to be super-skinny to be sexy.” (Hellmich 706) I believe that is very true when she says that but what young girls don’t realize is that you could be beautiful and sexy with any body type that you might have.
Most women these days would do anything to look pretty and attract the opposite sex. This story gives us the importance of body image to women and they get judged about it. Amber the “finger throated sickness one”. She gets teased because of her anorexic appearance. This is a mental illness common to the young woman.
“It is not enough to say that women are being sold a lie by advertising, magazines and cinema” (Page 30-31) This is probably the most painfully obvious reason as to why women in today’s society strive themselves on looing like something that horrifically opposite to them. This contributes greatly on their health and lifestyle. Women go through so much effort to change themselves. For example: Botox, facelifts, pretty much anything that to them, they would think ‘enhances’ their appearance. On another note, it is very rarely would you see an Australian woman go to the extreme to idolize a particular celebrity and clone their appearance and lifestyle.
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
Realistically, most women nowadays are career-driven, individual people that do not need to depend on their husband or partner for money or security. A further factor that suggests that the mass media create an image of women that is more stereotypical than realistic is through television. The characters usually shown on television programmes are usually very skinny, creating a lot of self-consciousness in the women that watch these shows, about their bodies. The ‘perfect’ image of women portrayed by the media is usually having slim and toned bodies. Also, nearly three-quarters of all female characters in sitcoms are underweight, and those that are overweight are often the subject of comments or jokes about their bodies made by male characters.
It seems as if models nowadays or becoming even thinner, while many women are getting heavier, so there is a wide range between the "ideal" body shape and the reality. There needs to be more realistic body types shown across television and fashion magazines. Being big-boned is not fat. The media has brainwashed females-
Social comparison has become one of the strongest theories as to why women are finding themselves overwhelmed or having trouble getting to the “thin ideal” they see in the media. It is near impossible to reach the media’s view, because it always seems to be too perfect. The mass media is very powerful and has played into women’s perception on reality, the cultural structure, and the “ideal image.” Many studies have verified that one’s view of their appearance can have a powerful impact on a woman’s development and psychosocial experiences (Serdar). Researchers have found that body dissatisfaction is correlated with other forms of psychological impairment. Not surprisingly, disturbed body image is one of the main precursors for disordered eating and dieting in adolescent and young adult girls.
One example of social networking influencing imperfect bodies is the publication of magazines. Inside Vogue, Nylon, People Magazine, and Seventeen Magazine, there lies editors’ believed beauty ideals. The issue with magazines is that they are thoroughly based on opinions and filled with peoples perspectives. Most readers do not see this flaw and are bombarded with the “perfect” body that media idolizes. Throughout American history, people have admired a skinny body and a slim figure.