Below is an essay I wrote for my ethics class as a final project. I thought I might share it with you because it is about a very important topic. Please share this with people you know, it is crucial for the youth of this world to have a better understanding about themselves.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what is true beauty when it is influenced by the beholder, society? The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) estimates that 95% of people with eating disorders are between the age 12 and 25. ANAD goes on to say that 47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures, 69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape, 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat, and most shocking, 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner. (“Eating Disorders Statistics”) It is hard to believe that girls so young are concerned about their weight and how their body is perceived by the world because of the influences of media. Media has put so much pressure on adolescent girls because they are constantly berated with images of ‘perfect’ women who are made to look like that, but are not in actuality. Pressure from media has put a rise on eating disorders to the point where now, Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents. (“Eating Disorders Statistics”) Media’s constant and growing influence on adolescent girls is having negative effects on health, self-esteem, and how women are perceived.
Societal standards of feminine beauty, a beauty that is near unattainable for most women, are presented in numerous forms of popular media from billboards to product packaging. Many models that are displayed on television, advertisements, and magazines are considered 20% below the ideal weight, meeting the diagnosis criteria for anorexia nervosa. These models are shown in media that promotes them as the standard of societal beauty thus making them role models for girls. Having bad role models, such as some of the models portrayed in media can give girls the unrealistic belief that to be considered beautiful, they must be that skinny, an unhealthy weight. (Serdar). Kasey Serdar wrote in her article, Female Body Image and the Mass Media: Perspectives on How Women Internalize the Ideal Beauty Standard, “Ultra-thin models are so prominent that exposure to them becomes unavoidable and ‘chronic’, constantly reinforcing a discrepancy for most women and girls between their actual size and the ideal body” (Serdar). It is undeniable true that media affects girls’ idea of a ‘perfect’ body, in fact, 69% of girls in 5th-12th grade report that magazine pictures influence their idea of a perfect body shape. (“Eating Disorders Statistics”).
The inaccurate portrayal of women in magazines cause women and adolescent girls to perceive their own bodies and the bodies of other inaccurately. Women who are critical of their own bodies tend to misjudge the bodies of other women, their dissatisfaction of their own bodies is translated into their thought process and ability to correctly perceive others. Women who were concerned about their body shape judged thinner celebrities as thinner than they actually are, where conversely women who were unconcerned with their body shaped were able to judge celebrities more accurately. Other studies were conducted to see how mass media affects one’s perception of social acceptability and all the studies agree that mass media does, in fact, affect the individual. (Serdar)
Adolescents look to characters of television and movies as role models for guidance. They look for answers to three basic questions, “Am I keeping up with what is accepted? What would X do in this situation? And how can I feel better about myself?” The characters that adolescents look at are often thin while subtlety hints that the aspect of being thin helps the character to achieve and be accepted. If there are ‘larger’ characters they are either ridiculed for being so or added for comic relief. They are rarely taken seriously and shown to achieve which hints that the aspect of being ‘larger’ is a barrier to social acceptance. (Vitelli) Having alter perception of body image is a leading precursor to eating disorders and dieting in adolescent and young adult girls. (Serdar)
Media promoting thinness as a standard of beauty has led to a rise in eating disorders and other serious medical complications. The idea that thinness is essential to having a perfect body is lower self-esteem and influencing proper eating habits in adolescent and college-age females. (Serdar, Vitelli) Many girls in mid-adolescence report being dissatisfied with their weight and have a fear of more weight gain thus making them preoccupied with weight loss. The want to lose weight is common in ages as early as 9 years old. It is reported that 20% of 9-year-olds and over 40% of 14-year-olds report wanting to lose weight. Most girls who express that they want to be thinner are already within the normal weight range for female their age. Unnatural body images portrayed in media are one of the leading causes for eating disorders and dieting in adolescent and young adult females with about two-thirds of adolescent females reporting dieting at some point. Having dissatisfaction with one’s body is not just affecting eating habits but also adolescent girls’ mood. (Serdar)
Research has been conducted to see how else media’s influence on body image has affected adolescent girls other than eating disorders and dissatisfaction. In one study, women were shown series of pictures and then their moods were assessed after each series of pictures. After being shown pictures of fashion models the women had immediate negative effects on their moods and were more depressed and angry than before.(Manasia) Other similar studies have shown that women who are shown pictures from popular magazines and advertisements show increases in levels of depression, stress, guilt, shame, and insecurity. (Serdar)
As Christians, some basic truths are understood about God. The first is that He created everything and everyone. Another is that God is perfect or infallible. The last is the He loves everyone no matter what. If these three basic truths are put together, than the issue of body image becomes not quite as difficult of an issue. If He created everyone, than He created you, and He loves you as you. By saying there is something wrong with you, you are by extension, saying that God made a mistake, and we all know that He does not make mistakes. Therefore, nothing about you is a mistake; you are perfect the way you are because that is the way God made you. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As daughters of God, we must remember that the ultimate beholder is God, we already know that He loves us and so we are the beautiful daughters of God, “Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:4). Even on our worse days, bad hair days, bloating, or crabbiness, God still loves us and sees us as His beautiful creations. On the other hand, society through media, will shout at you that beauty is only skin deep; skin that you need to take pills, procedures, and products to keep ‘perfect’. So which voice should we listen to? Society’s cruel industry that preys on people’s insecurities or our loving Father and ultimate judge? The answer seems simple enough but it is not always as easy to remember on a daily basis.
Having a good body image is all about respect for yourself. Yes, God made us and he does not make mistakes, but that does not mean we do not need to work to maintain our bodies. Maintaining one’s health is one of the easiest ways to show respect for yourself. Society is under the false belief that skinny is the equivalent of healthy. This is far from true; everyone has their own healthy weight that depends on factors such as, height, age, and lifestyle. Hanne Blank once said, “Real women are fat. And thin. And both, and neither, and otherwise.”
Media’s constant and growing influence on adolescent girls is having negative effects on health, self-esteem, and how women are perceived. Society has set standards of beauty for women that are nearly impossible to achieve. By putting women who are unhealthily thin in positions where they are promoted as role models, adolescent girls come under the belief that that is how they should look too. Women often have altered perceptions of body image due to the influences of mass media. Adolescents look to characters of television and movies as role models for guidance. They look for answers to three basic questions, “Am I keeping up with what is accepted? What would X do in this situation? And how can I feel better about myself?” The characters that adolescents look at are often thin while subtlety hints that the aspect of being thin helps the character to achieve and be accepted. If there are ‘larger’ characters they are either ridiculed for being so or added for comic relief. They are rarely taken seriously and shown to achieve which hints that the aspect of being ‘larger’ is a barrier to social acceptance. Media promoting thin as the ideal body shape has led to a rise in eating disorders. This mass media surrounding the ideal body is everywhere from billboards to product packaging. The pressure of media to have the perfect body is effecting girls as young as 7 years old. In fact, 20% of 9 year olds report wanting to lose weight. The strive for a perfect body is not only affecting the physical health of girls but also the mental health. After being shown series of fashion models, women often report feeling depressed, stress, guilty, shameful, and embarrassed. God created everyone, He created you, and He loves you for you. By saying there is something wrong with you, you are, by extension, saying that God made a mistake, and we all know that He does not make mistakes. Therefore, nothing about you is a mistake; you are perfect the way you are because that is the way God made you. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As daughters of God, we must remember that the ultimate beholder is God, we already know that He loves us and so we are the beautiful daughters of God. When this is taken to heart there is no reason to be depressed, stressed, guilty, ashamed, or embarrassed about ourselves and how we look. God gave each of us the amazing gifts of our bodies and we do have to work to maintain them. Keeping yourself healthy is the greatest gift of respect you can give yourself. Contrary to what society wants you to believe, skinny does not necessarily mean healthy; everyone has their own healthy weight based on their height, age, and lifestyle. This means that we are all lovably unique.
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~WHN
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