The effect media has on body image
Many people have felt the pressure to look a certain way at some point in their life. Almost everyone has compared themselves to others, even though we know we shouldn’t. Media can have a huge impact on how we look at ourselves and most of the time it’s not in a very good light. The tons of thin women seen on social media and in magazines can cause girls to develop eating disorders, but girls aren’t the only ones affected by the harmful images. Men can often look at male models and feel as if they’re not tall enough, muscular enough, etc. Everyone has insecurities that they deal with, most of the time they go unnoticed by other people.
Have you ever seen the pictures of young girls with anorexia, you know, the girls that have starved themselves to the point of being a walking skeleton? Many of the girls that suffer with eating disorders feel as if they need to be thin in order to be pretty. They just don’t know when to stop. Is our society too crazed with beauty, or is it just these young girls and boys getting in their own heads?
For centuries women have felt the pressure to be beautiful, whether it be to find a husband or for their own pleasure. Through generations, beauty standards have changed dramatically, and some are almost unobtainable. The idea that women have to look a certain way has been a result of models being extremely underweight, celebrities having an hourglass figure, and people being photoshopped to look perfect. But, maybe it’s not media’s fault; maybe it’s our choice to take looks as seriously as we do.
According to the National Eating Disorder Association, the more exposed adolescent girls are to thin bodies, the more likely they are to be dissatisfied with their own bodies. This makes sense. Imagine if everyone on social media and t.v. were promoting their shiny and ripe red apples, but you only have a green apple, that’s just as shiny. If everyone else is carrying around and eating their red apples then you’re going to want one too and not appreciate your green apple.
The more we progress with technology, the worse it’s going to get for people wanting to have a certain body. Because a great deal of famous women have the very defined and dramatic hourglass figure, teen girls are going to think they need those bodies too, when that body type is nearly impossible to get naturally.
With photoshop becoming more and more popular, the situation is becoming even worse. In this photo it shows the same model; however, in one photo she is deathly thin, and in the other she looks like a normal woman. This is an example of photoshop going too far.
On the opposing side people tend to say that it’s not photoshop that causes eating disorders, it’s based on genetics. While that may be true, it’s not always the case. As young, impressionable girls, it could be easy for them to look at multiple pictures of thin girls with flawless skin and perfect makeup and want to be like them.
Some believe that celebrities have to look a certain way, so it’s okay to photoshop their skin and bodies. But, if a young girl or boy is looking at these photos, they’re not going to realize that what they’re seeing isn’t real, especially if the artist mad the photo look especially believable.
The example used above is considered a fallacy, which is a misleading or deceptive argument. Fallacies can be used when someone is running out of sources and needs a less credible argument to fall back on. A lot of the time when we see someone who may be under or overweight we hear people saying “ew she/he’s too fat” or “she/he needs to eat more. They’re too skinny.” Rather than thinking about how they feel about themselves, they think about how they look, as if they don’t know about their own body. This is an example of an ad hominem fallacy. This type of fallacy targets a person's character, or appearance, rather than their argument.
Telling people that it’s okay to photoshop pictures to make themselves look more “desirable” is not okay. It could teach them that it’s acceptable to be fake and pretend to be someone you’re not. We’re taught as children that we’re meant to be ourselves, and it’s okay to be different. We’re sending our children mixed signals when it comes to being themselves. We’re telling them that they’re supposed to be whoever they want, but we turn around and change them so that they fit the idea of normal.
There are many ways of fixing the problem of body image issues, but the only way to fix them is to change the way one thinks about themselves. If one wants to feel better about their body, they need to realize that many of the things they see online aren’t real. It’s best if they don’t surround themselves with things that will make them feel bad about themselves. Maybe we could go about teaching children that they don’t need to look a certain way, whether they be a boy, girl, etc.
Overall, photoshop is not okay and we need to make a change. Most people struggle with body image issues, but if we change the way society looks at different body types, then maybe it’ll help boost the confidence of many people.
There needs to be a change in the way people look at themselves, and if you’re willing to help, then go out and compliment people. It’s okay to tell someone that they’re pretty, or that they’re handsome. It may help out some people a lot more than we realize, but don’t use that as an excuse to harass someone.
Remember, your body is fine the way it is and you’re beautiful.
