Running Head: BODY IMAGE

Body Image
Carlie Peters
Rowan Cabarrus Community College

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Body Image

Young girls scroll the TV channels and Facebook and are constantly bombarded with lies
that their body is not good enough. They see pictures of girls and women who look perfect or
crazy thin. An ideal that is impossible to achieve. Body image is defined as a subjective picture
of ones own physical appearance established by self-observation and by noting the reactions of
others. by Merriam Websters online dictionary (Body Image). This definition tells the world
why we are to be concerned with body image. Body image is established by self-observations
all girls of any age have to do to observe the lies the media puts out and change how they view
themselves forever (Body Image). Some may argue Its just a cool picture, why would
anyone think they need to change because of it? Because the media influences conversations at
school and what to wear, it easy to see how someone could watch TV , see models and want to
look like them. The world lies and says were supposed to be like the media, to be like the people
on TV shows, to buy stuff advertised on TV and to look like the celebs. Society distorts the
worlds view of body image through, media, size distortion and dolls.
As the advertising and film industries bombard the industrialized world with images of
idealized beauty, me and more adolescents are forming negative body images and engaging in
self-destructive behaviors in attempts to achieve an unrealistic ideal.(Body Image, 2007).
This quote published in World of Health, an online research database, brings to focus the
medias role in influencing body image. The effects are not positive engaging in self-destructive
behaviors in attempts to achieve an unrealistic ideal.(Body Image, 2007). The media is
leading young teens to self- destructive measures to achieve their ideal. This ideal leads to
body hatred something British psychotherapist and social critic Susie Orbach says the media uses
to get rich (Orbach, 2012). Susie Orbach also talks about how the media uses cosmetic

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companies, stores and the vast diet industry to persuade young girls to believe their body image
is not good enough (Orbach, 2007). What should astound most audiences is that other foreign
countries are able to look at America and see what is wrong with our ideals, why Americans
cannot see it. The media has many tactics to produce this fake body image of perfection and
one of them is size distortion.
Size distortion is one of many ways the media and others fool people into thinking that
their size is not normal. In reality, that couldnt be further from the truth. This was facilitated
by the invention of Photoshop. Now people, like celebritys can look perfect with no blemishes
or stomach fat. The modeling industry can make people look any way they want with Photoshop.
They can even totally distort what is real and make bodies that are an extremely unrealistic size
look like the norm. The American Medical Association (AMA) recently stated it was taking a
stand against Photoshop because it gives unrealistic body images (Diller, 2013). This is why
many actresses like Rumer Willis arent okay with Photoshop editing their bodies ( Rumer,
2014). Rumer a 26 year old actress doesnt like Photoshop because she wants to promote
healthy body image in girls. (Rumer, 2014). Thankfully,

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the world is for those who stand up to Photoshop and want to stop this impossible image the
media portrays. Now if only America will stand up against the media who has been conditioning
children through their childhood about what their body image should look like.
The media is able to this through toys and dolls such as Barbie. Kids pick them up and
play with them, and unknowingly start to think that this is the way their supposed to look. Sadly
for these children, Barbie is not even close to reality. A recent study showed that if Barbie was
real shed be forced to walk on all fours and would be physically incapable of lifting her oversized head. (Golowski, 2013). Barbie if built by her original proportions could not even exist.
A study was done at an elementary school to see how kids would react to a realistically
proportioned doll (Vingiano, 2014). The results were astounding. Kids said that this doll looked
like a regular girl going to school., like she would help someone if they were hurt. and
Shes not like other dolls. (Vingiano, 2014). This new doll called the Lammily doll comes
with all sorts of different stickers, that represent things a real person would have, like acne and
bruises (Vingiano, 2014). This doll is like a real person, the kids in the video seemed to be
amazed that she looked like them or their brother or sister (Vingiano, 2014). This is an awesome
example of how body image matters. Kids would not normally take is lie of Barbie being the
norm if they had access to things like the Lammily doll to show them the truth. (Vingiano,
2014).
Why most people by now would be going Okay, I see her point this media portrayal of
body image needs to be reformed. Some would still argue that it doesnt affect everyone. Or
its not that bad. I dont know what those who say this argument believe, but anorexia and
bulimia are eating disorders that take lives. What are these disorders and how do they effect this
argument? Bulimia is defined as a serious eating disorder that occurs chiefly in females, is

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characterized by compulsive overeating usually followed by self-induced vomiting.

(Bulimia). This disorder is caused because girls want to enjoy food and want their friends,
peers and families to believe their fine. There not fine. They throw up what they eat as to not
gain weight from the food they have eaten and to stay skinny. Anorexia is defined as loss of
appetite especially when prolonged.(Anorexia). Essentially, those who suffer from Anorexia
stop eating all together to stay skinny and to keep weight off. Why do these girls think they need
to be skinny? The media and all the lies they shove on girls. That being skinny is pretty and
looking perfect is the only way to be popular. The media needs to stop this before more girls
harm themselves to achieve the medias ideals.
In closing, to help girls stop self-harm and to help girls to feel better about themselves the
media should be monitored. Photoshop, dolls, and TV shows should be watched and held
accountable for showing more realistic people. No one is perfect. No one is going to like their
favorite TV show or actor any less if they look realistic. In fact they may find themselves able to
relate to them, and sales may even increase. Why does the media gain money off of body hatred
when they gain money from people loving their body and who they are ?

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References

Ballaro, Beverly, and Geraldine Wagner. "Body Image and the Media: An Overview." Points of
View Referecne Center. N.p., 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
Diller, Vivian. "Altered Fashion Magazine Photographs Contribute to Unrealistic Body Images."
The Culture of Beauty. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing
Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Is Photoshop Destroying America's Body Image?" Huffington Post.
2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
GOLGOWSKI, Nina. "Bones so Frail It Would Be Impossible to Walk and Room for Only Half
a Liver: Shocking Research Reveals What Life Would Be like If a REAL Woman Had
Barbie's Body Read More: Http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2308658/How-Barbiesbody-size-look-real-life-Walking-fours-missing-half-liver-inchesintestine.html#ixzz3Iu4HD2px Follow Us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on
Facebook." Mail Online. N.p., 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
"Body image." World of Health. Gale, 2007. Science in Context. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
"Rumer Willis rejects Photoshop to promote healthy body image." UPI NewsTrack 3 Oct. 2014.
Student Resources in Context. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
Orbach, Susie. "Market Principles Foster Dangerous Standards of Beauty." The Culture of
Beauty. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt.
from "Body Image in the Media: Using Education to Challenge Stereotypes." 2012.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
Vingiano, Alison. "This "Normal Barbie" Comes With Cellulite, Stretch Marks, Acne, And
Tattoos." BuzzFeed. N.p., 19 Nov. 2014. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.