Media's Influence

As we all know, it is easy for society to become entrapped or influenced by media, and I must say that I too, I am a victim of this corruption. From politics to music and fashion, there is an ideal image for everything and everyone. Females, in particular, seem to become obsessed with the body image portrayed by models and actresses. Starting at a young age, girls form images in their heads about what they believe looks perfect and try to achieve this look, usually with the hopes that men will find them perfect also. Three authors, Choi, Yoonhyeung 'Yoon'; Leshner, Glenn; Choi, Jounghwa, studied the Third-Person Effects of Idealized Body Image in Magazine Advertisements. In this article, I found a lot of interesting information concerning the female mind. Posted below are some of my findings.

• Female adolescents are affected negatively by ideal body image not because they believe those images are real but because they believe that others, in particular, males, will evaluate them.

• According to idealized body images in advertisements, such explanations stand somewhat in contrast to previous studies where researchers assumed women would perceive the ideal body as a realistic and attainable goal (based on social comparison theory), thus comparing themselves to the ideal bodies (Law & Labre, 2002; Martin & Kennedy, 1993; Richins, 1991).

• Body image is a multidimensional construct and is defined as a mental construction of oneself (Markus, 1977; Markus & Sentis, 1982) or as the degree of satisfaction with one’s current physical self (Cash & Deagle, 1997). According to Hutchinson (1985), body image is formed via positive and negative feedback from others whose opinions matter to us.

• Women see themselves through the eyes of others whom they believe have been significantly affected by idealized media images.

• The TPP (Third Person Perspective) applied to idealized body image advertising suggests that women believe others are influenced by idealized body images more than they themselves are.

• According to the study, people use a relatively naïve schema for media effects on others, whereas they use a more complicated conditional-effects model to evaluate media effects on self.


As I take a step back and look at media’s affects on the female population, I realize that I too am affected. It is so hard not to look at a magazine with gorgeous girls in it and have no desire to be like them. What I wonder about is the models themselves. Do they enjoy their workout and diet regimen? I’m sure that a lot of them are anorexic too, and maybe some of them fell into that category after being involved with the industry for so long. It is hard to blame models and movie stars for being the way they are. That is just how our society is built…if they were larger and unattractive, people wouldn’t want to go watch them at the cinema or buy an advertised bathing suit. Body image is a vicious cycle with the impetus being money. I can only imagine what it would be like to be a model, and think that if I gained 5 pounds I’d be cut, without a job, and no source of income. I think, due to our perfectionist mindset, America will remain the same with regards to body image. And just to get your mind thinking, there are some Latin American countries that prohibit you from modeling if you are UNDER a certain weight. Yes, this means they actually want you to live a bit longer.

So what about in the countries where being fat is or was once considered wealthy; what does their media portray? To investigate this question, I took up BBC News for some help. In Mauritania's 'wife-fattening' farm that was in practice over a generation ago, one third of the female population was force-fed into obesity. Now, only around one in ten girls is forced to live at fat farms until they have reached their families expectations. In rural Mauitania, the classic rotund woman is still strutting her desired body on the streets, and this fat and beautiful look is still what their country is famous for. Although not all men are interested in the famous voloptuous woman, no men are interested in the oh-so skinny American. What they want, is for their women "to be natural, just to eat normally."



Citations

Choi, Yoonhyeung 'Yoon'; Leshner, Glenn; Choi, Jounghwa. Third-Person Effects of Idealized Body Image in Magazine Advertisements. Hanyang University. American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 147-164, Oct. 2008

Pascale, Harter.
26 January 2004. Mauritania's 'wife-fattening' farm. Electronic document,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3429903.stm


Here is a clip from youtube regarding an anorexic model from Italy, the fashion capital of the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTIjRxT_Y9g
CBS News Online
October 12, 2007
Sheila MacVicar reports.
(CBSNews.com)