Body Image Research Paper

Words: 1061
Pages: 5

Under society’s norms for decades girls have been put under the pressure and expectation to have perfect bodies. That is, thin and curvy, beautified by applying pounds of make up to their face but not look ridiculously overdone. Where do these unreachable standards come from? So, when a young girl hears the photoshopped model on the cover of Vogue being called flawless it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life replica of the photoshop. These companies spit out magazine covers plastered with girls’ idols daily. In a study conducted on mass media it was revealed that women’s magazines had about 10.5 times as many weight loss advertisements than men’s. However, girls aren’t just forced to be slim, they’re also expected to have curves …show more content…
Ads and posters of skinny female models are everywhere. Young girls not only could be better, but need to be better and feel forced to have perfect physique. The society tames girls early in life and continues throughout her life to conform to a figure that’s desirable to boys. Girls are evaluated and oppressed by their physical appearances; be it age, skin tone, or size. With accessories and apparel designed to enhance a look; social media, magazines, and marketing campaigns and advertisements add to the burden of perfection. This is still prevalent today’s society, whereby female bodies are staged as the ultimate commodity, and used for the selling of products. The ultimate purpose of advertisements is thus to appeal to the insecurities of individuals, in hopes of selling them the solution. Marketers fuelling negative body imagery are also highly aware that those who undergo these problems, are more likely to …show more content…
Users are constantly bombarded by notifications, posts, and photos about the lives of others; sending messages about what we could, should, or would be if we only purchased certain products, made certain choices, or engaged in certain behaviors. Despite the ability to create and control content on social media, the same unattainable body ideals we see in traditional media are also reflected in the online environment. Based on a survey, 56% of women acknowledged the effect of the social media culture in driving the pressure for perfection and negative body image; whereby it forces them to look a certain way. Applications such as Instagram have become a body-image battleground, while the selfie is now the universal lens in which individuals use to criticize their bodies and others. Facebook and Snapchat also allow users to receive appearance approvals and acceptance from the viewers through the ratio of views, comments, and likes. In America, the dieting industry earns roughly 40 billion dollars per year on the expense of