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Negative Body Image Analysis

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guilt and insecurity (Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Shaw, & Stein, 1994). Body image dissatisfaction and concern about weight gain and body shape are some of the symptoms related to anorexia and bulimia nervosa. It has been estimated that the prevalence rate for eating disorders is 3% to 10% for females between the ages 15 to 29. For men though, the prevalence rate is 0.02% to 0.03% (Polivy & Herman, 2002).
In order to answer the question of how magazines can contribute to the development of a negative body image leading to eating disorders the essay examines several theories that have attempted to describe the ways media (magazines) influence the development of a negative body image which is related to eating disorders. Social comparison theory, cultivation theory and self schema theory are presented. In the conclusion the theories are evaluated as to how they can answer the research question.

Theoretical explanations of why women are influenced by magazine models Throughout the years, researchers have pointed out the fact that the way women are portrayed to the media negatively …show more content…

It claims that individuals assess themselves in relation to their peers or to groups that are similar to them (Milkie, 1999). Depending with which group they compare themselves people can feel that they are better or worse off on a particular aspect. After this comparison, if the individual feels that he or she is better off than the group this is an upward comparison. Contrary, downward comparisons happen when the individual compares himself or herself to someone who is not as good as them on a specific aspect. It has been found that upward comparisons correlate with depression, whereas downward comparisons are likely to lead to mood enhancement (Lin & Kulik, 2002; Schooler et al., 2004; Tiggemann & Slater, 2003; Tiggemann & Mcgill,

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All three of these articles share one common topic: body dissatisfaction leading to an eating disorder promoted by some type of media. Some degree of body dissatisfaction among women and young girls is consider a norm today. According to one girl asked to describe the “ideal girl” she described it as “5 ft. 7 in., 100 lb. , size 5, with long blond hair and blue eyes” ( Groesz, Levine, and Murnen 1). This ideal is not attainable for all young girls and women and I can only imagine how horrible this would make them feel, always seeing images of ideal beauty and not being able to meet it can cause them to go to extremes to get the body they want.

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Moreover, Body Image, Media and Eating Disorders states that 30% of children are dissatisfied with their body image due to being overweight and 15% are dealing with obesity (Derene & Beresin, 2006). This demonstrates that the number of children watching television and the number of overweight, obese children are involving their selves more into the media rather than more crucial events. Correspondingly, the average model is 23% thinner compared to 25 years ago (Ravelli & Webber, 2012). Today’s media has an impacting effect on how women should appeal themselves to others in society. This guides them to behave a certain way and not truly be themselves.

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Anorexia is a pathological fear of weight gain leading to faulty eating patterns, malnutrition, and usually excessive weight loss and a refusal to maintain a healthy weight B. Bulimia is repeated binge eating followed by behaviors aimed at preventing weight gain C. Over eating is the action of repeatedly eating past the appropriate amount of food or eating past the point of fullness II. Ways eating disorders effect people (healthandwellness.edu) A. Weight loss, fatigue, dizziness/fainting, brittle hair and nails, menstrual irregularly B. Dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, heart and other organ problems, tooth damage C. Death III. Ways to treat eating disorders A. Therapy to talk about why they began struggling with an eating disorder 1. Eating disorders are normally present from past issues 2.

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554 Words | 3 Pages

Body images and the ensuing and inevitable body shaming, has grown to become a pressing problem impacting the Canadian youth. With overweight rates at 65% and 30% for adults and children, respectively, one may see weight loss as the necessary solution to solve all body images stigmas. On the contrary, eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are climbing steadily amongst today’s Canadian youth. (Derene & Beresin, 2006). With such drastic sides of the spectrum, many have pointed toward different potential reasons for this trend however, a key determinant that must be tackled in the role the media play’s in the lives of today’s youth.

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Higher respect and esteem is usually given to women perceived as being thin, regardless of other factors. There is a paradox concerning the ideal form of a woman being so slim in contrast to our Baumann 2 society of excess and overindulgence. Outdated standards of thinness and beauty are still applied, even in an environment that is no longer conducive. The author reaffirms that many factors go into the development of an eating disorder -- most of which have to do with one’s external environment. Pop culture is constantly promoting slim models smiling and laughing in advertisements to the point where it alters our idea of what it takes to truly be happy.

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American Psychiatric Association (1993), “Practice Guidelines for Eating Disorders.” American Journal of Psychiatry, 150 (2), pp 212-228. Arthur-Cameselle, Jessyca N., and Paula A. Quatromoni. " Factors Related to the Onset            of Eating Disorders Reported by Female Collegiate Athletes." Sport Psychologist         25.1 (2011): 1-17.

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In the media, women are often portrayed in a condescending way as having more negative qualities than other traditional social groups, such as white males. This representation presents viewers with ways of thinking and acting towards people of this particular group, therefore affecting communication and perception in reality. Dolf Zillmann and James Weaver looked into the study of horror films and the gender stereotyped behavior. They concluded that “girls and female adolescents [in horror films] who are witnessed displaying fearfulness and protective need in the face of terror on the screen are more favorably evaluated by male and female peers and non-peers than their counterparts who are witnessed displaying no distress” (p. 87) The illustration of fear is merely only one example of women stereotyping in that viewers

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Anorexia survivor Erin Treloar said “my eating disorder was perpetuated by retouched magazine photos”. Beauty standards has such a giant effect on women emotionally, psychologically and physically. The pressure on women to be thin leads to unhealthy weight loss practices (Battle & Brownell, 1996), eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia (Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1998) and low self-esteem (Tiggeman & Stevens,

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In the essay Pressure To Conform there are many societal points covered that women face every day in regards to their looks. She covers the media stand point as well as the medical stand point. Many of the things she talks about I see and hear women talk about every day. In her thesis statement she points out the “the twin obsession of thinness and indulgence” (p-222). I agree whole heartedly that magazines and media are one of the biggest factors in why women face so many body image issues in today’s society.

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Upward social comparison is an individual comparing themselves to people who are better than them to figure out how to improve (Banaji & Prentice, 1994, p. 304). Downward comparison is an individual comparing themselves to those who are not as proficient as they are or less fortunate in a given task (Banaji & Prentice, 1994, p. 303). Downward social comparison tends to foster high self-esteem and promote self-enhancement after failure. Upward social comparison serves models of self-improvement.

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Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are the most common eating disorders in the world. In the United States, twenty million women and ten million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder (Wade, Keski-Rahkonen, and Hudson, 2011). America has taken an incredible toll and creating a nation of guilt towards food. Eating disorders are a growing epidemic. People views on the two topics and people who are affected by the eating disorder should be taken seriously.

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Someone who doesn’t approve of their physical appearance and are experiencing body shaming are more likely to be depressed. Distressing along with the worry of what others think about their body weight and shape manage to reconstruct the symptom of depression into one’s everyday life, possibly leading to suicidal attempts. In the article “Negative Body Image Related To Depression, Anxiety And Suicidality” Sciencedaily talks about the new study done by researchers at Bradley Hospital, Butler Hospital and Brown Medical School and the discovery of body dysmorphic disorder found in patients who have experienced body shaming. Sciencedaily states, “The study found that one third of inpatient adolescents had problematic body image concerns, and that these patients were more severely ill than other adolescent inpatients in a number of important domains. Specifically, those with BDD and shape/weight preoccupations had significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidality than other patients with no body image concerns”.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

Women of all races have ideals that they are “expected” to live up to, based on cultural and personal preference. Hispanic women ages 13-35 reported that they had a preoccupation with body image and weight and that diet and exercise was the main focus to meet certain ideals (2004). Research has shown that magazine geared to White women puts more emphasis on rejection, being self- critical and ambivalence, whereas magazines geared to Black women emphasized more themes of celebration, identification and seeking depth (Ogden & Russell 2012). These results may only show a central role of self-identity within the races. In contrast, does this self-portrayal make a difference in the number of young girls and women with eating disorders?

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When looking at magazines that contain advice on how women can perfect themselves and become more beautiful, pictures of women who are supposed to represent this flawless body image are constantly found to be exceptionally thin. Magazines specifically spreading this phenomenon include Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and Victoria’s Secret, to name a few. Of course, giving in to societal pressures is expected from the female adolescents who are exposed to these forms of media, as they feel that often times, physical attractiveness above all allows for ultimate perfection. This causes these girls to do anything in their power to attain this picture-perfect look, most of the time leading to disorders that could become potentially fatal to these teens. In an attempt to follow the crowd, adolescents look at themselves and, with the discouragement of not being as thin as the women in the pictures seen in the magazines, television shows, or movies, result in having anorexia nervosa which becomes a crucial impediment in their lives.

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In today’s modern culture, almost all forms of popular media play a significant role in bombarding young people, particularly young females, with what happens to be society’s idea of the “ideal body”. This ideal is displayed all throughout different media platforms such as magazine adds, television and social media – the idea of feminine beauty being strictly a flawless thin model. The images the media displays send a distinct message that in order to be beautiful you must look a certain way. This ideal creates and puts pressure on the young female population viewing these images to attempt and be obsessed with obtaining this “ideal body”. In the process of doing so this unrealistic image causes body dissatisfaction, lack of self-confidence

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