Human bodies are truly amazing as no one is exactly alike. So why is ‘body image’ such a big issue? In society today our body image or how we see ourselves is becoming a major problem (3). Youth are becoming more self-conscious about the way they look which is mainly due to unrealistic expectations forced onto them by everything around them. The desire to be thinner emerges in girls at ages as young as six (6). Figueroa’s Framework is a tool developed to evaluate various issues within society of which there are five levels. It is imperative that we can fight against low levels of self-esteem and what issues come of having a low self-esteem.
Body image has a huge impact on young people’s minds. For a lot of teens, their appearance is a main focus (1). …show more content…
This is because everywhere you go you have images of what we should look like. Tan, thin yet shapely women and tan, toned, bulked up men; all portrayed by media as the most desirable. You subconsciously take in all these images and end up feeling like you need to look like that, otherwise you’re undesirable. 50-88% of adolescent girls feel negatively about their body size or shape ( 7). Methods like, “if you buy top, you will look like this model”, are used. People want to be happy; the media take advantage of this, telling people if they look a certain way they will be happier. All models are thin or buff and appear to have no imperfections. Really, every model you see is caked with makeup and has been photo shopped, so most teenagers can never reach those goals. In these early years of their lives, many young men and women still haven’t found themselves and are very open to attacks that can scar them (1). It is very important to be accepted and have friends at this stage in life. When teens feel like they aren’t good enough because they can’t obtain these body shapes, it has a major effect on
Body image has a huge impact on young people’s minds. For a lot of teens, their appearance is a main focus (1). …show more content…
This is because everywhere you go you have images of what we should look like. Tan, thin yet shapely women and tan, toned, bulked up men; all portrayed by media as the most desirable. You subconsciously take in all these images and end up feeling like you need to look like that, otherwise you’re undesirable. 50-88% of adolescent girls feel negatively about their body size or shape ( 7). Methods like, “if you buy top, you will look like this model”, are used. People want to be happy; the media take advantage of this, telling people if they look a certain way they will be happier. All models are thin or buff and appear to have no imperfections. Really, every model you see is caked with makeup and has been photo shopped, so most teenagers can never reach those goals. In these early years of their lives, many young men and women still haven’t found themselves and are very open to attacks that can scar them (1). It is very important to be accepted and have friends at this stage in life. When teens feel like they aren’t good enough because they can’t obtain these body shapes, it has a major effect on