How does one not fall victim to insecurity when faced with unreasonable body expectations on a daily basis? In America, people are forced to see ads that show women in workout gear and eating salads while being super thin. Men feel like they have to bulk up and be super fit in order to get beautiful women (SOURCE). Obviously being fit is an attractive trait, but at what point is it too far? When do people decide that their actions are equivalent to someone who has an eating disorder? A challenge for everyone would be to stay healthy, but in a way that is realistic for their body and lifestyle. Today’s obsession with being thin has caused many to feel insecure and have unbelievable body and beauty expectations. There is an immense push
…show more content…
The common sense answer would be to say that “my body is not like that” and it is unrealistic for it to become that way; however, many women (and men) fall victim to this and they respond by going on a diet or feeling bad about themselves. This generates body negativity, which can easily translate to self-hate and mental disorders. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness (Source). This is a stunning fact, in the aspect that it has such a prominent death rate, and is higher than depression. Of course it must be taken into account that many people with eating disorders are depressed as well. At least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S. (Source). The seriousness of eating disorders is intense because it influences everyone. This statistic makes this topic relatable to all because most people probably know someone who has had or does have an eating disorder. The editing that goes into media nowadays is more harmful than it is good and it can be proven by looking at the outcome of mental disorders statistics as well as the amount of people who compare themselves harshly to these extremes. “The standard of female attractiveness that the media portrays is becoming increasingly harder for women to live up to… Media exposure has …show more content…
“Research has shown that low levels of self-esteem in both men and women are predictive of higher likelihood of weight concern compared to those who have high levels of self-esteem,” (SOURCE). Many times when someone is confident in their self it is in correspondence to their overall body confidence; this makes people who have low self esteems more easily susceptible for self-damaging thoughts when they are comparing themselves to edited photos seen on billboards, commercials, social media platforms, as well as clothing stores. Advertising is also a key factor in media that promotes self-esteem issues. “One advertising campaign for Woodbury’s Facial Soap focused on the obsession with being beautiful and ‘as always, beauty and its effects were just out of the average woman’s reach’” (SOURCE). This is a very common theme amongst advertisers because a very easy thing to sell to the people in this society is, “if you use this product, you will become beautiful like our model.” This of course is unrealistic, the majority of the time. When things are unattainable, but are made to look easy to achieve, people are hard on themselves when they are not seeing the results that they expected. People who have low self-esteems need to be especially aware that just because a slogan says that it will make you more attractive or lose inches off of your waist, it doesn’t mean that it is 100% and that
The common sense answer would be to say that “my body is not like that” and it is unrealistic for it to become that way; however, many women (and men) fall victim to this and they respond by going on a diet or feeling bad about themselves. This generates body negativity, which can easily translate to self-hate and mental disorders. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness (Source). This is a stunning fact, in the aspect that it has such a prominent death rate, and is higher than depression. Of course it must be taken into account that many people with eating disorders are depressed as well. At least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S. (Source). The seriousness of eating disorders is intense because it influences everyone. This statistic makes this topic relatable to all because most people probably know someone who has had or does have an eating disorder. The editing that goes into media nowadays is more harmful than it is good and it can be proven by looking at the outcome of mental disorders statistics as well as the amount of people who compare themselves harshly to these extremes. “The standard of female attractiveness that the media portrays is becoming increasingly harder for women to live up to… Media exposure has …show more content…
“Research has shown that low levels of self-esteem in both men and women are predictive of higher likelihood of weight concern compared to those who have high levels of self-esteem,” (SOURCE). Many times when someone is confident in their self it is in correspondence to their overall body confidence; this makes people who have low self esteems more easily susceptible for self-damaging thoughts when they are comparing themselves to edited photos seen on billboards, commercials, social media platforms, as well as clothing stores. Advertising is also a key factor in media that promotes self-esteem issues. “One advertising campaign for Woodbury’s Facial Soap focused on the obsession with being beautiful and ‘as always, beauty and its effects were just out of the average woman’s reach’” (SOURCE). This is a very common theme amongst advertisers because a very easy thing to sell to the people in this society is, “if you use this product, you will become beautiful like our model.” This of course is unrealistic, the majority of the time. When things are unattainable, but are made to look easy to achieve, people are hard on themselves when they are not seeing the results that they expected. People who have low self-esteems need to be especially aware that just because a slogan says that it will make you more attractive or lose inches off of your waist, it doesn’t mean that it is 100% and that