Body Image Of Women Essay

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Social standards of women’s body images are presented in all types of media, constricting our own depiction of women and replacing it with the unofficial rules of society—women must be thin, attractive, have flawless skin, perfectly whitened teeth, act as sexual objects, and must be portrayed as such. Not only does this affect society’s views of women as a whole, but it also enforces internalization of these thoughts by women themselves. Mass media’s use of unrealistic models sends a message to women everywhere, saying that in order to look beautiful, a woman has to be unhealthy, unwise, and subject to society’s scrutiny. Society encourages the thoughts that constantly meddle through a woman’s head—I’m too skinny or I’m too fat. With this mindset, women are constantly attempting to criticize and fulfill their unrealistic expectations of representing others portrayed in the media. Images that are projected via commercials, advertisements, television shows, news anchors; anything or anyone we see on the daily news or elsewhere tends to reflect what we see in women as they are presented in media: perfection. Granted, although self-esteem and other internal influences may be affecting a woman’s image of herself, it is also prominent that the media is a big contributor. A great example of this dates back a week ago, when Calvin Klein announced their new plus size model Myla Dalbesio. Articles from all forms of media have informed others of this, and yet, the negative response from women has captivated the interest of Calvin Klein employees as well as other informed readers. According to Calvin Klein, a plus size model is considered to be a size 10 or higher, and their main intention was to expand their clothing line to fit more shapely women aside from petites. Granted, some may see this as a good thing, due to the exposure Calvin Klein is giving to women of other sizes and the steps they are taking to evolve. However, this can also be seen as a critique, expanding the mindset of women being considered thin or fat, or delving into Calvin Klein’s sympathy towards larger women as a whole. Some women, after seeing that plus size is considered a size 10, are sickened by the fact. In my opinion, this is just enforcing the intrusive thoughts that linger in the minds of women every day. Are we fat? Are we viewed as disgusting by those around us because of what guidelines the media has set for us? Women come in all shapes and sizes—fat or thin, short or tall, wide hips or narrow cheeks; regardless, media does a terrible job of portraying just this. As humans, we are imperfect; but as women, we fail to realize that it’s okay to be flawed because of what the media portrays. Also, a month ago, Victoria’s Secret faced issues regarding a new media campaign about their new product and their slogan ‘the perfect body,’ which illustrated nothing short of the perfect image of a thin woman with curves in the right places. This eventually led to an online petition, calling the marketing of the campaign ‘irresponsible’ and urged people to tweet the line #IAmPerfect. As the controversy intensified, Victoria’s Secret decided to change the slogan on their website. This notion also shows how impactful the words ‘perfect body’ can be, especially to women. The media primarily focuses on the appearance of women and emphasizes society’s expectations. Arguably, media can accompany other factors, such as low self-esteem, mental illnesses, bullying, eating disorders, etc. …show more content…
in which can contribute to how women respond to this type of criticism. According to Meyer, media perpetuates an ideology of thinness. In a sense, eating disorders are coded as lifestyle choices until they are exposed in some public way, typically through mediated channels (Meyer 226). Granted, these disorders can be righteously argued as lifestyle choices; that is, until we take into consideration just how much media tends to influence these ‘choices.’ We see advertisements in every print form of media, showcasing women in bikinis or minimal clothing, in red pumps and sleek makeup. We can even see the creases a woman should have in her stomach muscles and a gap between her thighs, emphasizing the ideology of women being thin through these advertisements as well. In magazines, we see phrases like “5 Fat Burning

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