Argumentative Essay On Body Image

Nowadays, society is obsessed with the way our body looks because it is now used as a way to portray what is on the inside. The ideal body image is socially designed as the ultimate goal that one can attain in order to fit-in and be acknowledged in today’s society. The image that society has on the “perfect body” that has been gathered through media, ads and culture, is something that most people have started to “idolize” and are setting

Have you ever looked at an image on Social Media, seen a movie, commercial, or show and looked at yourself and felt ashamed or unsatisfied. Many women around the world have struggled with their weight and how others see them. Media images of ridiculously thin women are everywhere – television shows, movies, popular magazines. The Media often glamorizes a very thin body for women. These are also the pictures that are being shown to teenagers at a time of their lives that they are particularly susceptible to peer pressure and looking good(Tabitha Farrar).

1. Introduction 1.1 Background. According to my understanding body image can be described as the manner in which an individual sees their body structure and their aesthetic features. A lot of women suffer from body image difficulties that are related to their self-image and self-esteem because of the pressures they are subjected to by the society, their peers, the media, how they engage with each other in the community and by the expectations of what a perfect body is and what it means to be beautiful.

With the rise of mass media throughout the 20th century, the popular image of women in America has undergone a substantial change. From Marilyn Monroe to Kate Moss, the body shapes of the most admired models have remained consistently slimmer than that of the average American woman, representing a nearly impossible ideal. This has resulted in a severe rise in weight anxieties and negative body image among women and girls. Dissatisfaction with weight is nearly universal among women, while dieting is ubiquitous. This trend has likewise been reflected around the world wherever this media culture has become dominant.

The presented image tends to display the updated fashion that society should buy and dress like. It is misconceived that oneself will be more acceptable and likeable if they are fashionable and appealing. Many girls wear excessive amounts of makeup via this same belief, the belief that they will be rejected or disregarded if they fail to fulfill this precedent. With this precedent, social media has sculpted the “ideal body” that people should strive for. On top of being fashionable and attractive, the ideal body is commonly fit and in shape.

Body image is how one perceives his or her body appearance, including their height, weight and shape. Issues in terms of body image is a common problem in this society, where unrealistic body ideals are being highly promoted on media platforms such as television and the internet. In the real world, companies seldom use plus-sized models in their roadshows, campaigns or even in their posters. Therefore, this creates insecurity and has a dismissive impact on teenagers who are easily influenced by media. There are both positive and negative body images, that are affected by individual and environmental factors.

Skinny, beautiful hair, glowing skin and pretty clothes this style of a person is what the majority of us strive to be. But it sets such a high standard for people and leaves them unsatisfied with themselves. Then they are influenced by the way people treat them because of their size and the unrealistic expectation about how you should look like based on society's opinion. What is a body image? Your body image is how people picture themselves and how they think others picture themselves.

The Media and Body Image One’s body is unique and everyone has their opinion about the ideal, healthy perfect body. In today’s society there has been a rise on obsessing over the thin ideal body which many people think that media plays a role to it. “The Role in the Media in Body Image Concerns Among Women” by Shelly Grabe, Janet Shibley Hyde, and L. Monique Ward was published in 2008 explains how the increase of thin-ideal body has greatly affected women's view on their body. While Amanda Vogel’s article Body Image: The Impact of Social Media published in 2015 explains the positive side of the issue.

Body image has become such a big issue among society especially females mostly. According to Mariana Gozalo, states “Using Will’s sociological imagination, I thought about how there are girls who wish to look skinny because it is what is being idolized on TV and magazines and online ads. “Social media make us believe that there is a “ideal body” shape. In my opinion, there is no such a thing as the ideal body shape, because everyone is beautiful in their own individual way.

Because it is so difficult for the most part to obtain these popular goals, their self-perceptions and attitudes often become negatively induced. Also, according to sociocultural theory, the more an individual is exposed to media embracing the perfectionistic depiction of the human body, the less favorable and insecure an individual will feel about their body image and evaluations of their quality of life (Brennan, Lalonde and Bain, 130). Although both genders receive heat for nothing being up to the bodily standards of faultlessness, females are more heavily impacted than are males. In Jamie Santa Cruz’s editorial “Body-Image Pressure Increasingly Affects Boys” found on theatlantic.com published last March 10, 2014, an associate professor of pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, Dr. Alison Field, and lead author of the study of body-image’s increasing effect on boys speaks about her very own opinions on this matter. Dr. Field makes valid points on the differences between the expectations of a female and male idealistic figure; females predictably want to be slimmer, and males are worried over gaining more weight to become muscular instead of losing it.

91% of women are unhappy with their bodies. 5% of women naturally possess the bodies that are regularly displayed in the media. 80% of ten year old girls in america fear getting fat. 7 in 10 girls believe they are not good enough. As a result of my research I found that the body standard the media sets for adolescents leads to disorders, Suicide and self loathing.

Body image is one of the most important things about one’s self. American men and women have obtained this certain body image that they think they need to achieve. For women it may be skinny with the right amount of curves, blonde, and beautiful. For men it may be wealthy, tanned skin, and muscular. Men and women, young and old, all have their own image of body.

This shows that such portrayal can change the perception of its audience to be slightly prejudice against “fat” people. Participant B referred to the “best” body as the body that is most lean and healthy. Participant C explained that her definition of a “hot body” is to be slim and toned with a large pair breasts and a curvy rear. These perceptions have been shaped by the portrayal of body image in the media, telling them how what attractive people should look like. Subconsciously, this has been imprinted at the back of their

Social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram provide a permanent platform for comparing one’s physical appearance with his or her peers. This often fosters body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem. Teenagers desire to look a certain way based on how their friends look. They starve themselves to become thinner in order to meet the benchmarks set by the members of their social circles. Media via magazines and television often regulates these standards.

A study that examined body satisfaction in Jordan girls between 10-16 years old showed that a big percentage of such young girls are not happy with their body. These girls are influenced by many factors including mass media pictures and magazines (Tamara Y. Mousa, Rima H. Mashal, Hayder A. Al-Domi, Musa A. Jibril 2010). Ferron (1997) compared sixty US and sixty French adolescent boys and girls to investigate how satisfied they were with their body image. The researcher found that 80% of the Americans believed that they could reach their ideal body with diets and exercise. Whereas, less than half of the French participants believed this to be true.