Free Essays on Media and Self Image

â€Å"Without social identity, there is in fact, no society† - Richard Jenkins. This statement holds true to everything in our everyday lives. From the time we can sit up our parents plant us in front of the television to keep us out of their way. Commercials and media shape our outlook, our self-image, and our stereotypes. Every commercial has a message in it; we’re to fat, to stupid, not driving the right car, we are all supposed to be beautiful†¦. The list is endless, and by this we are ‘socialized† into our identities. I am not going to take a look at any one commercial in particular but I am going to look at few of the market dominators, self-image and dieting, and where they come from. From catalogs, stores, commercials and magazines, it is not surprising that eating disorders are on the increase due to the value society places on being thin. In modern Western culture, women are given the message at a very young age that in order to be happy and successful, they must be thin. Every time you walk into a store you are surrounded by the images of withered models that appear on the front cover of fashion magazines. Women are constantly bombarded with advertisements catering to what is considered desirable. Thousands of women and girls are starving themselves to attain what the fashion industry considers to be the ideal frail figure. The average model weighs 23% less than the average woman. Maintaining a weight that is 15% below your expected body weight fits the criteria for anorexia, so most models, according to medical standards, fit into the category of being anorexic (Brumberg 205). Women must realize that society's ideal body image may in fact be achievable, but at a detrimental price to one’s body. The photos we see in magazines are not a clear image of reality. Adolescents and women striving to attain society's unattainabl... Free Essays on Media and Self Image Free Essays on Media and Self Image â€Å"Without social identity, there is in fact, no society† - Richard Jenkins. This statement holds true to everything in our everyday lives. From the time we can sit up our parents plant us in front of the television to keep us out of their way. Commercials and media shape our outlook, our self-image, and our stereotypes. Every commercial has a message in it; we’re to fat, to stupid, not driving the right car, we are all supposed to be beautiful†¦. The list is endless, and by this we are ‘socialized† into our identities. I am not going to take a look at any one commercial in particular but I am going to look at few of the market dominators, self-image and dieting, and where they come from. From catalogs, stores, commercials and magazines, it is not surprising that eating disorders are on the increase due to the value society places on being thin. In modern Western culture, women are given the message at a very young age that in order to be happy and successful, they must be thin. Every time you walk into a store you are surrounded by the images of withered models that appear on the front cover of fashion magazines. Women are constantly bombarded with advertisements catering to what is considered desirable. Thousands of women and girls are starving themselves to attain what the fashion industry considers to be the ideal frail figure. The average model weighs 23% less than the average woman. Maintaining a weight that is 15% below your expected body weight fits the criteria for anorexia, so most models, according to medical standards, fit into the category of being anorexic (Brumberg 205). Women must realize that society's ideal body image may in fact be achievable, but at a detrimental price to one’s body. The photos we see in magazines are not a clear image of reality. Adolescents and women striving to attain society's unattainabl...