Literature Review
Where did it all start
The first appearance of a form of media in the United States was in 1690 when Richard Pierce printed the first newspaper in Boston. Then in 1920 the radio became another way for the media to communicate, followed by the television (David,2000). Media at this time was directed toward White two-parent middle-class homes. Shows mostly portrayed women as soft and gentle stay at home mothers and men as the breadwinners. The first black person did not appear on television until 1939 on The Ethel Waters show where she performed her hit play Mamba’s daughters. (David, 2000) Soon every home owned a television set that depicted vibrant colors and alluring sounds, and social media became the next best phenomenon. …show more content…
Furthermore, there are different standards for women of different races. For White women, the media standard is to be slim, however, for Black and Latina women the standard is an hourglass shape, or what some will call “thick- bodied.” Though the standards are different, the effect they have on women is identical. Studies are also showing that women are going out of their way to look like women in media. A recent trend in cosmetic surgery sees women requesting specific body parts of celebrities (PRNewswire, 2015). Women are willing to risk their health and pay lump sums of money to look like celebrities such as Kim Kardashian. However, if individuals don’t have the money to afford surgery, then social media helps them achieve the look they want. On the app, Instagram users, can edit and filter their pictures to achieve a certain look and share them with the public. Additionally, research has found that just as with men, time spent on the internet, and more specifically time spent on social networking sites, is positively correlated with negative mood and body dissatisfaction. (fardouly, Diedrichs, Vartanian, & Halliwell, 2015). Women not only compare themselves to celebrities in the media but they also compare themselves to their peers and friends. Participants in Fardouly and Vartanian’s (2015) study reported that they compared their appearance on social media more with distant peers than with friends or celebrities. This ideal of how a woman or young girls should look is also being incorporated into cartoon shows geared toward the younger audience. For instance, in the show Dora and friends, Dora used to be a chubby young girl with an awkward hairstyle. Now she sports long hair, pouty pink lips, and eyelashes coated with mascara, and she’s lost weight. Many studies focus on how media affects teens and adults but tend to leave out
Where did it all start
The first appearance of a form of media in the United States was in 1690 when Richard Pierce printed the first newspaper in Boston. Then in 1920 the radio became another way for the media to communicate, followed by the television (David,2000). Media at this time was directed toward White two-parent middle-class homes. Shows mostly portrayed women as soft and gentle stay at home mothers and men as the breadwinners. The first black person did not appear on television until 1939 on The Ethel Waters show where she performed her hit play Mamba’s daughters. (David, 2000) Soon every home owned a television set that depicted vibrant colors and alluring sounds, and social media became the next best phenomenon. …show more content…
Furthermore, there are different standards for women of different races. For White women, the media standard is to be slim, however, for Black and Latina women the standard is an hourglass shape, or what some will call “thick- bodied.” Though the standards are different, the effect they have on women is identical. Studies are also showing that women are going out of their way to look like women in media. A recent trend in cosmetic surgery sees women requesting specific body parts of celebrities (PRNewswire, 2015). Women are willing to risk their health and pay lump sums of money to look like celebrities such as Kim Kardashian. However, if individuals don’t have the money to afford surgery, then social media helps them achieve the look they want. On the app, Instagram users, can edit and filter their pictures to achieve a certain look and share them with the public. Additionally, research has found that just as with men, time spent on the internet, and more specifically time spent on social networking sites, is positively correlated with negative mood and body dissatisfaction. (fardouly, Diedrichs, Vartanian, & Halliwell, 2015). Women not only compare themselves to celebrities in the media but they also compare themselves to their peers and friends. Participants in Fardouly and Vartanian’s (2015) study reported that they compared their appearance on social media more with distant peers than with friends or celebrities. This ideal of how a woman or young girls should look is also being incorporated into cartoon shows geared toward the younger audience. For instance, in the show Dora and friends, Dora used to be a chubby young girl with an awkward hairstyle. Now she sports long hair, pouty pink lips, and eyelashes coated with mascara, and she’s lost weight. Many studies focus on how media affects teens and adults but tend to leave out