The Media and Body Image

I know that we have all heard of this before… that girls and women feel the pressure to be thin from societal pressure.  But how are these societal norms and ideals developed in the first place?  This question is addressed in the article, “Does Media Type Matter?", which discusses the issue of “body perfect” image within the context of “socio-cultural theory.” This article is particularly informative, though long, because several different studies, all part of a larger study, are included.  The subjects of the studies are girls between 14 and 16 from a school in Southeast England. Even though the studies take place in the UK, its results are generalizable, particularly for the United States because both nations have similar ideals of beauty and body image. The basic idea is that negative body image results from “perceived environmental pressure” and that media promotes an “unrealistic” image of the female body and of beauty in general. 

The principal finding is that these “body perfect” media ideals are strongly correlated with negative body images in girls and women.  In addition, the type of media the girls are being exposed to actually is not significant, a finding that surprised me.  The girls identify with the body image presented by the media models, not matter what the media: TV, magazine, or internet, for example.

What is most disturbing is the fact that adolescents are the most vulnerable to “body perfect” media exposure.  In my opinion this is the critical issue to address because younger and younger girls are experiencing these negative feelings about their body image as they confront changes and developments in the process of creating their identity.  The article also points to significant physical and mental health consequences, which result from exposure to this “body ideal” media.  There is no question that there needs to be more regulation of how girls and women are portrayed in the media.  Exposure to the “thin ideal,” no matter where from, is dangerous.  There has been some progress in this area, however.  In 2006, models who were deemed “too skinny” based on BMI calculations could not walk in a fashion show.  More recently, I read about the efforts of an 8^th grader who petitioned against photo shopping in Seventeen Magazine. Check out the article—what an inspiring young lady!

In “The Effects of the Media on Body Image: A Meta-Analysis,” a shocking, but revealing, statistic is presented.  The ratio of eating disorders of men to women is between 1:6 and 1:10.  What’s interesting about this, however, is that women are not affected by viewing images of the "thin ideal" because they see these images so many times, they no longer compare themselves to them.  The final article, “Media in Our Image,” analyzes the role of women on social networking sites (SNS) and provides some amazing statistics.  For example, women outnumber men in every age group on social networking sites!  What’s the result? Women are exposed to more media perfect images on a regular basis, unfortunately, and thus have a greater chance of feeling dissatisfied with their bodies.

The issue of policy change in the media with regard to image portrayal is discussed in "Tumblr Bans Blogs That Promote Self-Harm" and "Pinterest, Tumblr Policies to Combat Pro-Anorexia Messages Applauded by Eating Disorder Expert Dr. Gregory Jantz of Caring Online.”    These changes took place in early 2012 on both Pinterest and Tumblr.  On Pinterest, for example, you can no longer pin things that promote self-harm. Moreover, on Tumblr, when you search for words like anorexia or bulimia, a PSA or some type of warning is played.  These changes are important indications that steps are being taken in certain media networks to discourage the promoting of negative body image.

from kidshelp.com 

This graph is particularly illuminating. Between the ages of 15 to 18 years old, there is more concern about one's body image than in any other age group. This makes the exposure to media with the "thin ideal" more problematic for these teens.