Epidemic of Eating Disorders
The media is the biggest factor in how girls view themselves and how they feel in their bodies. There are so many standards that girls can compare themselves to and cause them to be insecure in their bodies. In the article “The Images of Beauty Are Unrealistic and Hurt Women,” Kirsten Anderberg concludes that the beauty industry has made millions of women believe that perfectly plucked eyebrows and airbrushed skin is “beauty” (par. 1). People in the media always look flawless and girls see from a young age that these “airbrushed” women are known as beautiful. From seeing these beautiful women, young girls assume that this is how they are expected to look when they get older. In, “Body Image & the Media: An Overview,” Beverly Ballaro and Geraldine Wagner write: “the American public has been bombarded with media-driven depictions of what constitutes desirable female and male characteristics in our society… the combination of two trends, the technology-enabled media saturation of the American public and the promotion by this media of highly unattainable body types, is largely responsible for an epidemic of body image pathologies afflicting American girls and women” (par. 1&2). In other words, America’s media is full of beauty standards for women, and most of these standards are impossible to achieve because the media has always gone through some type of editing. One study conducted by Siân A. Mclean,Susan J. Paxton, Eleanor H. Wertheim, and Jennifer Masters revealed that women who post selfies more often than those who do not are more critical of themselves when it come to their body shape and weight (par. 3). Research from Issues and Controversies database agrees with Mclean et. al saying, “When girls and young women see these images, observers say, they are made to feel inadequate and may undertake extreme measures to try to emulate their idols” (“Eating Disorders” par. 24). For women, the idolized body image is that of a fashion model: extremely thin and youthful. The article, “Eating Disorders,” also says that there is an emphasis on women to have large breasts (par. 1). Some of these beauty standards play purely on genetics. Not every girl has the genetics to have large breasts or to be extremely thin, and over time everyone ages and no one keeps their youthful look forever. The standards that the media sets for girls are unrealistic and are damaging to girls in today’s society.
Along with the media images of “perfect” bodies, women are influenced at a young age with the unrealistic toys that they grow up playing with. According to Stacy Malkan in her article, “The Beauty Industry Promotes Unrealistic Beauty Standards,” “American girls have also been captivated by images of female beauty embodied in the Barbie doll” (par. 16). Barbies are all tall and have a skinny waist, but have a wide chest and hips. In Eliana Dockterman’s article, “A Barbie for Every Body” she includes data from a 2006 study from Developmental Psychology that showed that girls who owned a Barbie from a young age had a greater concern with being thin later in life than those girls who did not own a Barbie (pg. 47). By playing with the doll, girls will believe that Barbie is perfect and that when they grow up they should be like Barbie. While Barbies are very influential toys on girls, the G.I. Joe action figures are the most influential toy for boys.
Along with the media images of “perfect” bodies, women are influenced at a young age with the unrealistic toys that they grow up playing with. According to Stacy Malkan in her article, “The Beauty Industry Promotes Unrealistic Beauty Standards,” “American girls have also been captivated by images of female beauty embodied in the Barbie doll” (par. 16). Barbies are all tall and have a skinny waist, but have a wide chest and hips. In Eliana Dockterman’s article, “A Barbie for Every Body” she includes data from a 2006 study from Developmental Psychology that showed that girls who owned a Barbie from a young age had a greater concern with being thin later in life than those girls who did not own a Barbie (pg. 47). By playing with the doll, girls will believe that Barbie is perfect and that when they grow up they should be like Barbie. While Barbies are very influential toys on girls, the G.I. Joe action figures are the most influential toy for boys.