Anorexia-A disease perpetuated by the unrealistic images portrayed in the media.
Women in our society are bombarded daily with visions of what is acceptable as the “perfect body” on television, in magazines, and by the young stars today who wear a size 0. Although anorexia is not a new problem, depiction of the "perfect body" in the media causes an increase in anorexia in women and especially young girls because it portrays skinny women as healthy, it pressures someone with an already low self esteem and image to get thinner and thinner, and it feeds on the irrational fear that anything but a size 0 will make them unpopular and ugly.
Women’s and teen magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Seventeen, Health and Fitness, and the tabloid People Magazine, constantly advertise images and products that promote thinness through dieting and exercise. The front covers of these magazines usually have photos of actresses or athletes with perfect body images. It is safe to say that most people understand that in many of the photos airbrushing has been done to make the person look enhanced. Airbrushing can make their teeth whiter, their waist’s slimmer, thighs skinnier, and abs tighter. This is accepted by society and for most people it does not affect their self-image. But, for someone, especially a young girl who does not understand this, the fake images can lead to trouble.
Media targeting teenage girls are emphasizing the ideal of thinness as beauty. The average height and weight for a model is 5'10" and 110 lbs, and the height and weight for the average woman is 5'4" and 145 lbs. It is easy to see why this can create a huge health risk for young girls. According to an article in the National Institute on Media and the Family, and as reported in USA Today “ In a survey of girls 9 and 10 years old, 40% have tried to lose weight, according to an ongoing study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute” (USA Today). In another study on fifth graders, 10-year-old girls and boys told researchers they were dissatisfied with their own bodies after watching a music video by Britney Spears or a clip from the TV show "Friends" (Mundell). One author reports that at age thirteen, 53% of American girls are "unhappy with their bodies." This grows to 78% by the time girls’ reach seventeen (Brumberg).
What starts out as wanting to lose a few pounds to look like the stars, turns into an obsession with thinness, and it doesn’t matter to the young girls how they get there. They do not understand the consequences of dieting too much, what it does to their bodies and the effects on their vital organs. There have been many public figures who have confessed to being anorexic and some that have succumbed to the damage caused by this disorder. The pop singer from the 1970’s, Karen Carpenter, died from a heart attack after she had been on the road to recovery from anorexia. The actress Tracy Gould suffered from anorexia and to this day struggles with her self image. Mary-Kate Olson of the famous Olson twins has not come out and admitted to being anorexic, but the photos and images portrayed in the media painted the true representation. Even the late Princess Diana confessed to having an eating disorder.
The dieting industry makes billions of dollars each year by consumers continually buying products in an effort to be the ideal weight. Hollywood displays an unrealistic standard of beauty that makes the public feel incredibly inadequate and dissatisfied and forces people to strive for an unattainable appearance. This takes an enormous toll on one's self-esteem and ultimately can lead to an eating disorder.
Advertisers are starting to realize the impact they have on young people, especially women. Dove launched a campaign in response to what the media portrays as an “ideal” woman: "Campaign for Real Beauty." This campaign features women in their plain white underwear, proudly showing their not so perfect bodies, women whose bodies are curvy, and have realistic proportions like most women. Dove has also produced commercials that criticize the industry for distorting the perception of beauty. They are showing that it is ok to have a body that is not stick thin and that won’t fit into a size 0 jean. Some critics say that Dove has doomed itself to becoming the spokesperson and brand for “fat” women.
One of the biggest breakthroughs to come through was in 2006 when the Madrid Fashion show, Pasarela Cibeles, chose to ban models with a dangerously low Body Mass index (BMI). Photos that appeared in the media, which showed models whose ribs, could be seen and counted, and whose collarbones stood out sharply, brought this on. Typically these shows have at least 300 models apply. Only 68 applied for the Pasarela Cibeles show, and out of the 68 models that applied, five were deemed to have a BMI too low. It was a broad step and one that will take years to convince the fashion industry that natural curves should be the norm.
While the media cannot be blamed totally for the increase in anorexia, it is perpetuating the problem by portraying unrealistic models, causing a negative effect on women and girls, which can lead to self-esteem problems and eating disorders. One has to ask why does the media have these super-thin, gorgeous models in magazine ads and covers, commercials and billboards? Why do the film industry and the arts communities continually push these size 0 actresses? Why doesn’t the media show people as they really are and at weights and sizes that are attainable? Maybe this would help negate the negative feelings that so many impressionable young people have about their bodies. If magazines and the television showed models that were of a variety of weights and sizes, people might not have that insecurity and feel they need to be that ultra-thin size "0" to fit in. People, especially young girls need to know that it is ok not to be a size 2, 4, or a size 6. The media is a powerful tool with a huge place in today's society, and it should act responsibly.
Works Cited
Brumberg, J. J. “The Body project: An intimate history of American girls.”NY: Random House. 1997
Mundell, EJ. “Videos Make Even Fifth-Graders Feel Fat.” Reuters Health 2002:
©National Institute on Media and the Family. http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_mediaeffect.shtml
Tiggemann, M., and Pickering, A. S. (1996). “Role of television in adolescent women's body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness.” International Journal of Eating Disorders, 1996: 20, 199-203.
USA Today, 1996: P 01D http://www.usatoday.org/
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