An example of the mediacreating the context for eating disorders is the fact that “ the average fashionmodel weighs about 120 pounds. However, the National Center for HealthStatistics tells us that the average American women weighs about 169 pounds” (“ BodyImage in the Media”). There is obviously a difference here. People are made tothink that they abnormally heavy or overweight, because what they see ontelevision tells them they are.
Since they see this so much in the media, they believethat this 120 pound body is typical. This lack of knowledge and medialiteracy-that is, knowing what is true and what is not, what is real and whatis not in the media- leads to them feeling inadequate in comparison to the peopleon television. This feeling of inadequacy can lead to the development a negative body image.
People won’t feelgood about themselves and will try to change the way their bodies look. Social media is anotherplatform that helps to create the contextfor eating disorders. Instagram is a prime example of social media wherepeople are encouraged to look a certain way. The incentive is more followersand popularity.
This is another reason that people feel the need to be thin. They feel that this is the only way to be noticed. Think about it: How manytimes do you take a selfie before you post it? Why do we take the same pictureso many times, but from different angles, positions, and lighting? We aretrying to get that “ perfect” image that we are conditioned to think isnecessary. Women who want to holdthe positions of model, actress, or beauty pageant participant think that theyhave to look a certain way to get these same jobs.
This is because of theexistence of sizeism in the world, which happens when people are discriminatedagainst because of their size. People who are bigger do not get the same jobsor opportunities as people who are smaller. Even as all of this is happening, the average North American woman is not getting smaller.
This is a testament tothe underrepresentation there is in the media of most women. On the averagetelevision show, we may see one or two people that are “ overweight” by themedia’s standards. When there is an overweight character, they are usually madefun of or given a nickname that can be seen as hurtful.
An example of thiswould be that on Disney Channel’s K. C. Undercover, there was a characternicknamed “ Big Ang” (short for Angie) because of her size.
Young girlsespecially, see this, and feel that to be liked or noticed in a positive way, they have to be paper-thin, when this is just not the case. “ Both boys and girls (aged 9-14 years old) whowere making an effort to look like the figures in the media, were more likelythan their peers to develop weight concerns and become constant dieters”(Morris and Katzman). This shows thatthe media are a driving force behind the problem of negative body image. Both males and females feel the pressure tolook a certain way, which leads to constant dieting and potentially eating disorders, which can develop from the inability to stick to a diet. The figures in themedia, however, are not presented accurately most of the time.
These people areairbrushed, their imperfections are taken away, and their bodies are modifiedto get the “ perfect” finished product. When all is said and done, the person wesee is far from the real person. People need to know this. Maybe it will stopthem from trying to reach unattainable bodyimages.
There are celebrities whoare speaking out against the unattainable body image the media puts out. Actress Lena Dunham from the HBO series Girlsthanked Glamour magazine for leavingher un-photoshopped when she appeared on the front cover of one of theirmagazines with her costars. Actress Zendaya called out Modeliste magazine for making her look slimmer than she really isin photos taken of her.
They took the photos down and put the untouched photosup. We need more of this. We need more people in the industry speaking outagainst this issue. The change starts in the industry from which the problem stems. Asa result of media influence, many people (younger ones, especially) aresuffering from eating disorders. They are falsely advertised to.
They are noteducated on media literacy, so they might now know the truth about what themedia is telling/showing them. The media needs to promote positive body image andstop making people feel that they are inadequate by comparison to the figuresin the media. Dieting articles need to emphasize that these diets are forpeople that really need them (those who are in need of a lifestyle change dueto their quality of life being threatened or the development of health issues dueto bad eating habits), and they need to emphasize how to diet healthily. Thereshould be women of all shapes and sizes on television, and they should be talkedabout in a positive light no matter their size. There also needs to be morewomen in the roles of decision-making in the industry.
When this happens, representationwill be more accurate and evenly spread. There are solutions to the problem. Wejust have to be willing to find them.
