Is the fashion industry responsible for a false representation of body image? Men, women, and adolescents struggle every day with their appearance. In today's society, people have interpreted the ideal body image as being thin and looking to celebrities and models as role models. Over centuries, women have suffered from being unnaturally thin, especially during the 20th century. Now in the 21st century, more actions are being taken to lower number of cases of eating disorders in the United States. Although some would disagree, the fashion industry is to blame for a false representation of body image, because it uses unrealistic photographs, promotes eating disorders, and creates a standard of negativity towards adolescents and women.
Many people in today's society believe that the fashion industry is not to blame for a false representation of body image because it is professionally necessary for models to be thin. The fashion industry believes that in order to sell clothing the models need to be thin (Hilton). In this article Hilton discusses how the models are not responsible for triggering eating disorders in today's youth because it is more of a personal choice. According to Hilton, "the prevalence of anorexia is very low, especially compared to the obesity epidemic in Great Britain and the United States" (Hilton). Eating disorders are not a serious problem in the world compared to obesity which is not influenced by the fashion industry. Hilton also mentions how people believe eating disorders are becoming more common due to the fashion industry but in reality the number of cases of eating disorders are not very high and are not as influenced by the fashion industry. She states, "Eating disorders, we are told, are on the rise, ready to grab the gut of any vulnerable teenager who spends too much time dreaming over Vogue. Except, actually, they're not" (Hilton). She is arguing the fact that the eating disorders promoted by models are not influencing teenagers as much as people think in today's society. However, the fashion industry may not be directly linked to eating disorders it still has an impact on women and adolescents seeking a better body image. Firstly, in media advertisements, and the use of models the fashion industry has been creating unrealistic photographs. These unrealistic images have an effect on adolescents by pressuring them into making themselves achieve an ideal body image. As a way to start controlling the effect these images have on adolescents, Diller states, "The American Medical Association (AMA) recently announced it was taking a stand against image manipulation in advertising, stating that alterations made through processes like Photoshop can contribute to unrealistic body image expectations, eating disorders and other emotional problems" (Diller). The AMA is trying to decrease the amount of people affected by an unrealistic body image. These distorted images can cause many people to see themselves differently in a bad way. Diller says, "We need to question the unrealistic goals set not only by the distorted images..." (Diller). She takes a strong opinion on the fact that these images do more harm than good for adolescents. The images cause self esteem issues leading to many problems for adolescents development and health. In addition, the unrealistic photos contributed to the false representation of today's body image. Secondly, the fashion …show more content…
The adolescents and women believe in a size zero as being the perfect size. The models create insecurities in young women and children because they believe they need to look a certain way to be pretty. Bawdon says, "...adolescents are among the most susceptible to these pressures"(Bawdon). The amount of teenagers impacted by the fashion industry has been increasing and becoming a well known problem in the United States. Bawdon states, "...nearly 30 per cent of 11-year-old girls expressed dissatisfaction with their body weight, and one in ten was on a diet. By age 15, 46 per cent of girls were unhappy with their weight, and a quarter of them were dieting"(Bawdon). The media has played an important role in how people view themselves and all of their insecurities about their bodies. Especially in children because they become more vulnerable to changing their appearance. The negative impact left on these teenagers contributed to the growing amount of problems affecting body
Many people in today's society believe that the fashion industry is not to blame for a false representation of body image because it is professionally necessary for models to be thin. The fashion industry believes that in order to sell clothing the models need to be thin (Hilton). In this article Hilton discusses how the models are not responsible for triggering eating disorders in today's youth because it is more of a personal choice. According to Hilton, "the prevalence of anorexia is very low, especially compared to the obesity epidemic in Great Britain and the United States" (Hilton). Eating disorders are not a serious problem in the world compared to obesity which is not influenced by the fashion industry. Hilton also mentions how people believe eating disorders are becoming more common due to the fashion industry but in reality the number of cases of eating disorders are not very high and are not as influenced by the fashion industry. She states, "Eating disorders, we are told, are on the rise, ready to grab the gut of any vulnerable teenager who spends too much time dreaming over Vogue. Except, actually, they're not" (Hilton). She is arguing the fact that the eating disorders promoted by models are not influencing teenagers as much as people think in today's society. However, the fashion industry may not be directly linked to eating disorders it still has an impact on women and adolescents seeking a better body image. Firstly, in media advertisements, and the use of models the fashion industry has been creating unrealistic photographs. These unrealistic images have an effect on adolescents by pressuring them into making themselves achieve an ideal body image. As a way to start controlling the effect these images have on adolescents, Diller states, "The American Medical Association (AMA) recently announced it was taking a stand against image manipulation in advertising, stating that alterations made through processes like Photoshop can contribute to unrealistic body image expectations, eating disorders and other emotional problems" (Diller). The AMA is trying to decrease the amount of people affected by an unrealistic body image. These distorted images can cause many people to see themselves differently in a bad way. Diller says, "We need to question the unrealistic goals set not only by the distorted images..." (Diller). She takes a strong opinion on the fact that these images do more harm than good for adolescents. The images cause self esteem issues leading to many problems for adolescents development and health. In addition, the unrealistic photos contributed to the false representation of today's body image. Secondly, the fashion …show more content…
The adolescents and women believe in a size zero as being the perfect size. The models create insecurities in young women and children because they believe they need to look a certain way to be pretty. Bawdon says, "...adolescents are among the most susceptible to these pressures"(Bawdon). The amount of teenagers impacted by the fashion industry has been increasing and becoming a well known problem in the United States. Bawdon states, "...nearly 30 per cent of 11-year-old girls expressed dissatisfaction with their body weight, and one in ten was on a diet. By age 15, 46 per cent of girls were unhappy with their weight, and a quarter of them were dieting"(Bawdon). The media has played an important role in how people view themselves and all of their insecurities about their bodies. Especially in children because they become more vulnerable to changing their appearance. The negative impact left on these teenagers contributed to the growing amount of problems affecting body