Adolescent Body Image

Abstract: Today, one of the most important topics in adolescent psychology is that of body image and how the media affects how adolescents view themselves. The picture of the “perfect” body today for women is extremely thin and for men it is very muscular. These images are unrealistic and many people do not have the “ideal” body shape or size. This information is commonly known by the public and the media has promoted these images for years. The impact of these images on an adolescent’s idea of what constitutes beauty is pronounced and has undergone scrutiny in recent years. Studies are now being done to determine to what degree these images have inadvertently harmed adolescents emotionally, physically, and psychologically in the short term
as well as the long term.
Summary of the Article:

The article “Attention Teenager: Nobody Really Looks Like That” by Doctor Perri Klass briefly touches upon the unintentional effects these unrealistic standards have on adolescents (Klass, 2016). In her article, Dr. Klass discusses what today’s media projects as today’s standard of beauty – thin women and muscular men (Klass, 2016). It then discusses how adolescents who do not have this supposed perfect body type will try to make themselves thin and muscular; the females take laxatives to be thin and the males takes medications that will make them put on muscle (Klass, 2016). Dr. Klass discusses how dangerous taking these supplements are; laxatives can cause electrolyte imbalances in females and the muscle building medications can lead to hormonal problems in males (Klass, 2016). She also cites a study for the prevalence of these abuses in adolescents; over one-tenth of females have used laxatives and over one-tenth of males have used these medications in this study with a 13,000-sample size (Klass, 2016). She also concludes that the prevalence of abuse of these substances goes up with the viewed expectation of gender conformity in childhood (Klass, 2016). These findings parallel what we discussed in class regarding body image and anorexia and bulimia in adolescents.
Comparison of the Article and In-Class Lecture: This information regarding the self-destructive pattern that some adolescent adopt to achieve the “perfect” body aligns with the information that was discussed in the lectures regarding anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
Both the article and the lecture discuss the unrealistic expectations for the “perfect” body that are created by the media and both sources cite individual studies that support the claim that the media profoundly affects how girls see themselves. The lecture cites the Fuji study which surveyed young girls after exposure to the media about how they saw themselves and most of the girls were more self-conscious of their bodies after seeing the images in the media. The article cites a study in which both males and females would take laxatives and hormones to be what the article referred to as “gender conforming” (Klass, 2016). In other words, they were trying to conform to the images seen in the media (Klass, 2016). The most pronounced difference between the article and the lecture were the main methods that were used to achieve this “perfect” body type; in the lecture, we discussed mainly anorexia and bulimia and the article mainly discussed laxatives and hormones. Also, though we did cover anorexia and bulimia extensively in class, I did not realize the number of adolescents who use laxatives and hormones to change their body and the study cited in the article by Dr. Klass that suggests more than one-tenth of both males and females have abused these substances is
surprising (Klass, 2016).

Evaluation of the Article:

I agree with the approach of the article.
The article is written by a pediatrician who would certainly be considered a reputable source. The article itself cites a study with a very large sample size. The large sample size would ensure accurate results due to inability to bias and creating results that exclude unnecessary outliers. All the sources in the article are also doctors and, though the author is definitely a strong believer that the abuse of these substances has a high prevalence amongst adolescents, she backs up her belief with a study and facts. Overall, the article is trustworthy and it can be concluded that the approach the article takes (backing all claims with evidence) makes it a good choice for readers seeking accurate
information.