Girls Body Image Analysis

Words: 1112
Pages: 5

Alessia Cara, a pop star on the rise most popularly known for featuring on Zedd’s hit single “Stay”, the major Disney motion picture “Moana”, and on Jimmy Fallon, once said: “Body image is something that girls struggle with every day, and it's something that I struggle with everyday,” (Cara). Cara mentions how females’ bodies continue to be criticised and analyzed, which is a major cause for some girls’ lack of self-confidence. In fact, girls’ self-confidence plummets as they go through puberty, which is when the term “like a girl” feels most offensive. “Like a girl” is a derogatory term that implies that the person is doing an activity sub-par; imagine being in the state of your life when your body is changing in many ways and then being told …show more content…
After running daintily with arms and legs flailed, the participants are presented with the situation of how it would feel to girls going through puberty when their actions were described using “like a girl”. One participant responds: “It [“like a girl”] definitely drops their [young girls’] self-confidence and really puts them down because during that time they’re already trying to figure themselves out, and when someone says ‘you hit like a girl’, well what the does mean?” As she speaks, her voice carries great emotion; she falters at some points, at others it resembles someone who has cried. One can see the pain she went through and the harmful effects “like a girl” has on girls. Further on in the commercial, a young boy was asked if he had just insulted his sister. He immediately responded “No!”, then after hesitation, he continues with “Well, yeah, insulted girls.” People are blind to the actual implementation “like a girl” has and can only see when they are asked to ruminate it. Additionally, the background music begins quiet, but as the all of the participants come to the conclusion that “like a girl” is insulting and patronizing, the music hits its climax. It tries to inspire and motivate those listening to refrain from using degrading language. Lastly, the aid of the plain background allows the viewer to devote all of their focus to the person on the screen, rather than …show more content…
The combination of both the participant's word choice and tone of their responses, as well as the prompting background music and background in general, allows the viewers to emotionally connect with the damaging effects of “like a girl”. The addition of an experiment allows the viewers who do not connect emotionally to connect logically, and lastly, the use of girls who went through puberty and are not actors help boost Always’ company's credibility, showing that they support real girls. How would you have responded if you were in Always’ commercial? Would you have run weak or confidently? How would you run now? How can you change the perception of “like a