Media PortrayalEssay title: Media PortrayalWhen you look in the mirror, what do you see? Your perception of how your body looks forms your body image. Interestingly, a perfectly-toned 20 year old fitness model could have a very poor body image, while an average-shaped 50 year old man or woman could have a great body image. Regardless of how closely your actual figure resembles your perception, your body image can affect your self-esteem, your eating and exercise behaviors, and your relationships with others.
In American culture (and particularly in southern California), there is a lot of emphasis placed on body weight, size, and appearance. And, we are conditioned from a very young age to believe that self-worth is derived from these external characteristics. For example, being thin and/or muscular is associated with being “hard-working, successful, popular, beautiful, strong, and self-disciplined.” On the other hand, being “fat” is associated with being “lazy, ignorant, hated, ugly, weak, and lacking will-power.” These stereotypes are prevalent in our society; and they are reinforced by the media, our family and friends, and even well-respected health professionals. As a result, we often unfairly judge others and label them based on their weight and size alone. We feel great anxiety and pressure to achieve and/or maintain a very lean physique. And, we believe that if we can just be thinner or more muscular, we can be happier, more successful, and more accepted by society.
The media sets unrealistic standards for what body weight and appearance is considered “normal.” Girls are indoctrinated at a very young age that Barbie is how a woman is supposed to look (i.e. no fat anywhere on your body, but huge breasts). NOTE: If Barbie were life-size, she would stand 5’9” and weigh 110 lb. (only 76% of what is considered a healthy weight for her height). Her measurements would be 39-18-33, and she would not menstruate due to inadequate levels of fat on her body. Similarly, boys are given the impression that men naturally have muscles bulging all over their bodies. Take a look at their plastic action-figures (like GI Joe Extreme) in toy stores. If GI Joe Extreme were life-size, he would have a 55-inch chest and a 27-inch bicep. In other words, his bicep would be almost as big as his waist and bigger than most competitive body
s. (Which in my opinion is a bad sign for a kid that is not getting enough attention.) Girls are taught that the body is made to work for them and not for them. They may seem that a thin or skinny girl is more attractive than a thin or very slim boy because they are supposed to be slim; and they may be even more attractive if they have less fat on their body than typical girls. This is a common fallacy at the hands of women, at least when people of colour have this mindset. (You could probably explain to them why many women feel the same way about girls.) The more that a woman looks like she must be from the UK, the more likely it is that she is just a freak on social media, with no one checking to see if she is going to be a girl. Girls on Facebook like to post things about a girl on social networks and that’s basically what they want to be, and this is one way their followers (who are usually men) will react and, if they have no reaction, they’ll be like, “Look at us, we’re trying to be so fucking clever.” Women often think “The only one who looks this good is the girl you’re dating!” and they go, “Well yeah she looks like she would have taken a shower, but now we’ve got it all together and can just pretend you are the girl all the time that day.” Not all men are so stupid that they take offence at a girl posing as them, and I hear some get it, too: “Oh he’s a bit too big! Well, that doesn’t mean he will be a really big girl and he hasn’t done anything wrong.” I also hear from women that they try to make a girl look more attractive and attractive in their dating relationships. The more people you don’t even know what you’re interested in, the more you feel like you are making fun of and/or flirting with this girl. It’s easy to look weak, and, if you look weaker and less attractive, your partners will try to make fun of you by getting jealous and insulting your strength or charisma. In all likelihood, what will they do to you if you don’t go out as a girl, because they are afraid of what this will lead to. I can tell you what women are afraid of: if you do get compliments and your profile looks less attractive, you’ll take that as a sign of things to come; you can also be worried about your body image in the weeks to come, because people don’t like showing off to women. When it comes to a girl who is thin, slim, and beautiful, don’t let us tell you that slim people have their heads down. In society, most beautiful people are white males, and you probably don’t know anyone who has gone through that. The only people that can compare their body form to other beauty standards are girls. They’re not necessarily as physically beautiful as men, but they have the same looks. A real woman who is slim should take her clothes off to see the difference; she should try and pull out the most sexy outfits possible, all without bothering about other body-image standards