Body Image Standards Essay

In today’s society people are surrounded by what the perfect body should look like and what one should strive for to obtain this image. The standards pounded into people’s minds can and will have negative effects not only to the body, but also can lead to psychological concerns that can become hard to recognize or treat if needed. The role social media plays in today’s society consumes the majority of everyday people’s lives, through the ideas of body image expectations versus reality, advertising, the struggles with men, women, teens, and the effects that one pursues to conform to these standards. Standards of the ideal body image that society says are the way one should be, are unrealistic, unhealthy, and can lead to many problems for both …show more content…
Women are expected to be between a size zero or size three, when in reality the average woman is between a size eight to size ten. Women are expected to have a certain length, style or color of hair, while also meeting a specific height or weight standard. Impossible beauty ideals have led women to believe if one does not look a specific way she is not beautiful. Women should not feel the need to meet these standards just to feel confident. The way the media portrays men is not much less of the expectation for women. With the way, social media presents what the average man should look like, men are expected to have a perfect fit body image. Men should be strong, muscular and show no emotions. The ideal man is six foot one, and about one-hundred and sixty pounds. However, in reality on average men are ranging between five foot ten and one-hundred and ninety pounds. Men and women both experience a form of self-consciousness about their appearance, and it is normal to want to change a few small things. However, with today’s society the changes one wants to make to their appearance are often far from being