Beauty myth- how media & beauty today impacts women

Beauty myth Beauty myth Definition of beauty: This is a term used to define the characteristic of a place, object, idea, animal or person indicating the perceptual experience of satisfaction and pleasure which is attained from these factors.
Definition of Media:
Transmission or storage channels which are mainly utilized for the deliverance of data or information.
Resources
Wolf, N. (1991). The beauty myth. New York: William Morrow and Company.
The author of this book believes that the media has had a positive influence on the perception of the beauty of women. She believes it has empowered them to be more prominent and powerful in different spheres of life. However, she also indicates in the book that media has made beauty standards which are impossible to meet and hence have severe adverse influences on women both physically and psychologically. She refers to this as the “ iron maiden”. Hence, Wolf criticizes the media for depicting the image that is ideal for women as she states that this is a choice that women should make for themselves.
Halliwell, E., Malson, H., & Tischner, I. (2011). Are Contemporary Media Images Which Seem to Display Women as Sexually Empowered Actually Harmful to Women?. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 35(1), 38-45. http://pwq. sagepub. com/content/35/1/38. short [Accessed 17 March 2014]
The article assesses the way women have been previously depicted as passive sex objects to present times when they are representatives of sex and are sexually powerful and in control due to their looks. This has been found to have an adverse effect on the body images of women and research that was carried out by the authors of this article found that the current depiction of beauty by the media has led to increased self objectification and weight concern.
Acevedo, C. R., Nohara, J. J., Arruda, A. L., Tamashiro, H. R., & Brashear, T. (2011). How women are depicted in ads? A content analysis study with Brazilian advertisements. International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER), 5(10). http://www. cluteonline. com/journals/index. php/IBER/article/view/3517/3564 [Accessed 17 March 2014]
The aim of this article was to analyze the roles that were occupied by women in TV advertisements. The aim was to determine the message spread to society about women and how this has changed over the years. The study analyzed 95 pieces and derived upon the conclusion that women’s images have changes however, they continue to be idealized and stereotyped, which also extends to social settings.
Kelly, S.,(2014). 82% of Women think Social Media Drives the definition of Beauty. Mashable. http://mashable. com/2014/01/24/dove-beauty-study/ [Accessed 17 March 2014].
This article is done based on a study that was performed by Dove and indicates that women gain their perception of beauty from what they see on social media. This article suggests that beauty is no longer largely influenced by fashion magazines or TV shows, but rather social sites like Instagram or Facebook through images of different appearances via “ selfies” and other viral trends.
Grabe, S., (n. d). Concern Over Strong Media Influence On Women’s Body Image. MNT. http://www. medicalnewstoday. com/releases/107269. php [Accessed 17 March 2014]
The article illustrates the health impacts that are implemented by the depiction of beauty in media sources. These have led to the consideration of a bill by the French authorities which prohibits the glamorization of extremely thin women.
Body Image and Advertising . 2000. Issue Briefs. Studio City, Calif.: Mediascope Press. http://www. healthyplace. com/eating-disorders/articles/eating-disorders-body-image-and-advertising/ [Accessed 17 March 2014].
The article analyzes the approach that is taken by advertisers in order to entice the audience. In this instance it analyzes female beauty and how it is used to sell products. In addition, it also analyzes the opinion of teen girls. It was discovered that approximately 30% of these girls use magazine to determine what is beautiful. Therefore, researchers concluded that the media has a negative impact on women and the images it portrays leads to idealize ultra thin appearances.
Siddiquee, I., (2013). Women Are Not Their Own Worst Beauty Critics. The Representation Project. http://www. missrepresentation. org/media/women-are-not-their-own-worst-beauty-critics/ [Accessed 17 March 2014]
Many individuals are generally very low in self confidence and hence this pressure is further increased on women as the media portrays them as beauty symbols and they are expected by society to uphold these unattainable standards. It also goes on to state that the media has made the world critical of female appearance regardless of the societal positions they occupy.
References
Acevedo, C. R., Nohara, J. J., Arruda, A. L., Tamashiro, H. R., & Brashear, T. (2011). How women are depicted in ads? A content analysis study with Brazilian advertisements. International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER), 5(10). http://www. cluteonline. com/journals/index. php/IBER/article/view/3517/3564 [Accessed 17 March 2014]
Body Image and Advertising . 2000. Issue Briefs. Studio City, Calif.: Mediascope Press. http://www. healthyplace. com/eating-disorders/articles/eating-disorders-body-image-and-advertising/ [Accessed 17 March 2014].
Grabe, S., (n. d). Concern Over Strong Media Influence On Women’s Body Image. MNT. http://www. medicalnewstoday. com/releases/107269. php [Accessed 17 March 2014]
Kelly, S.,(2014). 82% of Women think Social Media Drives the definition of Beauty. Mashable. http://mashable. com/2014/01/24/dove-beauty-study/ [Accessed 17 March 2014].
Siddiquee, I., (2013). Women Are Not Their Own Worst Beauty Critics. The Representation Project. http://www. missrepresentation. org/media/women-are-not-their-own-worst-beauty-critics/ [Accessed 17 March 2014]
Wolf, N. (1991). The beauty myth. New York: William Morrow and Company.