Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Written Analysis 5


The theories that I found that most applies to body image and the media is that, the media is a strong force which can lead consumers into believing what they should eat or drink in order to have a certain body type. The second myth about body image is; a deeply entrenched negative body image won’t budge. This means that because so many women do not like the way their body looks, we tend to think this a normal for any women to think that way no matter what her body image is. However it is not normal because it is not natural. We are made to think that way with both mass and social media leading us to think that our bodies need to look a certain way which makes it hard for women to like the way they look (Tartakovsky, 2011).
One of the most interesting findings in my research was the effect the media has on body image for men as well. Most people think that this is something that only affects women but men are overlooked. I never realized that when seeing advertisements for men’s products or seeing the stereotypical male model with the perfect body is also putting pressure on men as well.  The other interesting thing I found when doing my research was the celebrities that have stood against the cult of body image, such as Kate Winslet who feels that it is important to look more like your true self, Johnny Diaz with his song about “More Beautiful You, Eleanor Roosevelt who told women not to let other make you feel inferior because of the way you look, and Gloria Steinem who reminded women to not let the media tell you how you should look.
I have learned that what the media portrays as a normal body image really isn’t normal or even realistic, and the emotional stress this puts on both men and women to try to obtain this perfect image. The way I think differently of body image is that since what the media tries so hard to put so much pressure on everyone to look a certain way that neither I or anyone else should buy into this stereotype. Before, I would look at pictures in magazines of celebrities or models and find flaws in myself and desire to find was to achieve that look, but now I have learned that it’s not healthy mentally or to my body.

Reference Page
Tartakovsky, M. (2011). 3 body image myths we keep on believing. Retrieved from

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