Media is Psychologically Inducing Body Dissatisfaction Amongst Women
Mahnoor Malik
Bushra Javed Butt
Wadiah Akbar
Habiba Masood
Section: B
Instructor: Rawa Haider
IDEAL BODY IMAGE THROUGHOUT THE DECADES
The existing standard of the ideal body weight, shape and size is extreme thinness.
In 1940s the lean and thin women were generalized to be nervous, submissive and were termed as ‘a bit tired’ and ‘frail as a reed’ (Maynard, 1999)
This topic examines the relationship between the media hyped body image, created by the Fashion Industry, among women and different patterns that they exhibit in terms of changes in perceptions, attitudes and behavior.
WATCHING WOMEN PORTRAYED IN MEDIA HAS EFFECTS ON THE WAY YOU PERCIEVE YOUR BODY
- Refers to a person’s perception, thoughts and feelings about his or her body.
- Various means of communication e.g. TV, radio etc
- Used as a tool for entertainment.
A questionnaire was carried out among a sample of 25 female students to obtain their attitudes towards their body image, self-esteem, mood, drive for thinness and to find out the extent they will go through to attain the ideal body shape.
weight reduction activities
- Refers to a person’s negative thoughts and feelings about his or her body.
Which figure would you say best represents your current body?
Which figure represents your ideal body image?
- Body image dissatisfaction is predominant among women. The media is responsible for over emphasizing the thin-ideal and creating body dissatisfaction among women.
Feel depressed after watching women with ideal body image
Does media play a role in the development of eating and shape disorders in females
- Majority of the female respondents agreed that watching women portrayed in media has effected the way they perceive their body.
- Media induced and hyped ‘body image’, which is an illustriously thin body, has created high levels of body image dissatisfaction mainly among women.
Scholar’s views about BODY IMAGE
- Exposure to the media portrays an ideology of thin women being attractive and successful which puts pressure on women, who do not have that body image, to attain that certain body image leading to negative effects.
- Trying to maintain ideal body image through skipping meals, taking diet tablets or undergoing cosmetic surgeries may result in harmful effects on the health.
- Garner (1997) defines body image as
- “a settled picture of one’s own physical dimension” (pg.30),
- Further states that this perception of one’s self influences their behavior, self-esteem and psychopathology.
- It has been suggested that these images convey the message that the current tall, slim beauty ideal is necessary for happiness, success, and attractiveness.
- Al-Sendi et al (2004) describe body image as an important factor that affects an individual’s psychology related to body weight.
- Polivy and Herman (2002) concur with this notion that poor body image is linked with low self-esteem, social phobia and eating disorders.
- However, since it is unattainable for the great majority of girls and women, repeated exposure to these images is thought to result in body dissatisfaction
There are factors that act as mediators, a transition between the process of getting exposed to the thin-ideal and the negative outcomes.
Social Comparison
Self discrepancy
- “People look at images that they perceive to be attainable and reliable and subsequently make comparison among themselves and the idealized images” (Bisell et al, 2004).
- Women who compare themselves to thin ideals have higher levels of body dissatisfaction and suffer from negative moods, eating disorders, depression and low physical attraction
Self-Discrepancy is the gap between the actual body image and the ideal body image.
- “The representations in the self-concept of ways in which one falls short of some important standard” (Harrison ,2001)
- Promotes high levels of various emotional distress; disappointment and dissatisfaction, eating disorders; bulimia and anorexia, feeling of shame, low self-esteem, depression, and social phobias.