Who determines what is beautiful? It sure isn’t the Joe Schmo that sits next to you in class with his greasy hair, acne, and dated clothes. No, who really determines what the beautiful standards are are the people behind the magazines, TV shows, billboards, photo shoots, fashion shows, and anything that displays these “beautiful” people. And these alluring people are all the same really. For women they are tall, slender, with 0% body fat and for men they are tall with very muscular chests and they appear in every advertisement. According to Body Image and Adverting the average person sees over 600 advertisements daily so it is no wonder that with all those images, people of every age and class what to look just like them. Isn’t this why women debate over what shampoo and conditioner to buy? Do they get the product that is shown on TV by the cute girl getting the guy or the generic brand that they know nothing about? What about men? Do they buy Axe which displays guys being swarmed by girls or Bod where women are seen goggling over the men playing basketball? People want to be like them and they will do whatever it takes. Period.
Why is it that a whole generation wants to look like one body type with all the same features and conform themselves to not eating or strict diets? It’s pretty simple. In every sitcom, TV commercial, movie casting, runway show, or music video it is the pretty, thin culturally beautiful person that gets the part. It’s the gorgeous girl that gets the coolest boy in school and no matter what always wins at whatever she does and it’s the rugged guy that has every girl hanging off him and no worries. According to MediaWise.org, TV shows show the skinny girl being praised and idolized by male roles while the overweight character is the butt of all jokes. All of this is encouraging girls to conform to what I like to call the Barbie standards. The blonde bimbo with the unattainable 36-18-33 measurements that would put a normal woman in serious health risks but this is what young girls identify as beautiful. And it encourages boys to idolize the thin while terrorizing the fat. It sets the standards for who is popular in school and how people should act towards others.
This affect encourages men and women into wishing to project the media’s body image onto themselves which can cause serious health risks. The biggest risk is getting an eating disorder. The people that succumb to eating disorders are just normal people who are dissatisfied with how they look because they aren’t the models from the magazines. They are so convinced that they must look like these models that they will put themselves in harm’s way to get it. In a survey done in 2004 by the U.S. Census Bureau, it showed that currently over 10 million women and 1 million men are being affected by an eating disorder and once any person gets a disorder, they are affected by it for life. Eating disorders can drain a person mentally, physically, and financially. These disorders led to preoccupation with food, weight and body, malnutrition, serious heart, kidney and liver damage, depression, low self-esteem, mood swings, “All or nothing” thinking, or even death and can cost over $100,000 per month to treat. Since people suffering from eating disorders must face their problems every day, treatments generally last for two years or more which quickly drains anyone’s pocket book.
So how do we defend ourselves against a multi-billion dollar industry that spreads the “Thin is In” message everyday through every medium? We get informed. We make ourselves realize that every photo, commercial, or ad are edited to make it more appealing to the eye to encourage us to buy whatever they are selling. Whether it be make-up, clothes, or the idea that only thin is beautiful. Instead we should embrace the bodies we were given and realize we can’t conform ourselves to the Barbie standards.
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I thought this op-ed was very informative. I can relate to this, along with many many people which is why it is so appealing. You present the facts well and explain them afterwards. I can tell you are against these types of ads and people by the tone of voice you had throughout the whole argument.
ReplyDeletei would like for you to explain a few of your sources better. you talk about what they are doing but you don't really talk about what they are so do that a little more before you start talking about the sources' information. i didn't think your transition from your tv ad info to your eating disorder info was as smooth as it could have been. keep looking to see how you can better that transition.
ReplyDeleteWhat about magazines who write articles on HOW to get in shape and create a healthy diet along with the pictures of people who are achieving this naturally in a good way. You should drag them into this and either credit or discredit them.
ReplyDeleteNice topic. Need to back up $100,000 fact and this one too "The people that succumb to eating disorders are just normal people who are dissatisfied with how they look because they aren’t the models from the magazines."
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