Is the Media a Sickness for the Body?

            All throughout time, women have faced the challenge of conforming to a certain body appearance in a judgmental world.  In the 1900s, women were valued for their tiny mid-sections. During WWII, women had to be strong and fit while the men were off at war. After the men returned home, the women adopted fancy dresses that fit their curves (see fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Ex. of a model from the 50s
Dahl-Wolfe, Louise. Mary Jane Russell. 
1950. Photograph.
Museum Ludwig Cologne. 
20th Century Photography. 

 During the 1960s, women wanted equality in society; they dressed like men and embraced the thin body structure (Derenne). Today, media advertisements, magazines, movies, and television shows all portray women in a certain way –thin (see fig. 2)! 

Most women feel like they need to measure up to society’s standards through extreme weight loss. In contrast, some women believe that weight loss is not influenced by the media. Therefore, we will explore different views to determine that changes in eating are –indeed— due to the examples set by mass media.

   

Fig. 2: Current ex. of a model ad for BCBG
Overton, Melissa. BCBG Max Azria.2009.
 Photograph. Lipman, Inc.   

First, women’s eating habits are influenced by the media. In a special experiment, women were tested to prove such a hypothesis: when presented with ads that showed rail-thin models, the participating women would chose to eat a diet-based snack rather than a normal-based snack (Krahe’ & Krause). As expected, diet-based snacks were more appealing to the women because of their desire to look like the models in the ads.

Second, some women present the counterargument that media does not affect the body. Naomi Hooke, an anorexia survivor, argues that, “Often the reasons for denying oneself food are depression, anxiety, and the fear of being seen as a sexual human being” (Hooke). Argumentatively, Eugene Beresin, co-director at Harvard Medical School Center, says that, “Rates of some eating disorders in women, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are rising…the reasons for this are complex and likely involve the interplay of media pressure to be thin… dietary restriction leads to a repetitive pattern of self-deprivation” (Beresin). So currently, starvation is most likely due to self-dissatisfaction with the subject’s own body.  

With the proven experiments and essays, we are able to see that the media has a negative impact on a woman’s body despite some differing personal opinions and counterarguments.  We constantly see this throughout the news and in our daily lives. Women are consistently trying to change because of pressure from society about their body shapes. We shouldn’t let the media influence the way we look if we are content with our health, lives, and bodies.  

Works Cited

Beresin, Eugene, and Jennifer Derenne. “The Body Image Presented by the Media Promotes Disordered Eating.”Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.

Hooke, Naomi. “Fashion is not to Blame for Anorexia.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.

Krahe, Barbara, and Christina Krause. “Presenting Thin Media Models Affects Women’s Choice of Diet or Normal Snacks.” Psychology of Women Quarterly 34.3 (2010): 349-355. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.