Beauty essay Not Finished
1 Christiansen
Grace Christiansen
English 11
January 10, 2014
Beauty
Female models have been getting thinner and thinner over the past 100 years. A century ago, the ideal body shape for a woman was fleshy and fullfigured. And while models are getting thinner, more women and younger girls are feeling unhappy about their own natural body shapes.
The media has a damaging effect on people and their selfesteem because they portray the
“perfect” body, it objectifies women’s bodies, and it has a link to eating disorders. By establishing unattainable standards of beauty and bodily perfection, the media drive ordinary people to dissatisfaction with their body images. This dissatisfaction can result in resorts to drastic measures, and even disorders of behavior, as people try to achieve these unreachable goals.
While most people assume it is only women who are affected by this, the fact is that of the estimated 8 million Americans who suffer from eating disorders, one in ten is male. While for women the anxiety centers around magazines, for men, they see the images of ultramuscular action heroes and that may be affecting the body image ideals of young boys. The shape of the action figures' bodies had changed enormously over the decades. The action figures of the twentyfirst century sport much bigger shoulders and upper bodies than those of the 1950s and
1960s. One study revealed that college age men wanted to add an average of 30 lbs. of muscle to their bodies because they felt it would make them more attractive. Even though to most of those men, that goal is unreachable for their body type. For both women and men, the more they look at unrealistic portrayals of the human body, the lower their self esteem and the lower their self
2 Christiansen
esteem, the higher their chances of developing an eating disorder, depression, anxiety or other mental illnesses. Today’s young girls are bombarded by overly thin body images increasing their
anxiety
Grace Christiansen
English 11
January 10, 2014
Beauty
Female models have been getting thinner and thinner over the past 100 years. A century ago, the ideal body shape for a woman was fleshy and fullfigured. And while models are getting thinner, more women and younger girls are feeling unhappy about their own natural body shapes.
The media has a damaging effect on people and their selfesteem because they portray the
“perfect” body, it objectifies women’s bodies, and it has a link to eating disorders. By establishing unattainable standards of beauty and bodily perfection, the media drive ordinary people to dissatisfaction with their body images. This dissatisfaction can result in resorts to drastic measures, and even disorders of behavior, as people try to achieve these unreachable goals.
While most people assume it is only women who are affected by this, the fact is that of the estimated 8 million Americans who suffer from eating disorders, one in ten is male. While for women the anxiety centers around magazines, for men, they see the images of ultramuscular action heroes and that may be affecting the body image ideals of young boys. The shape of the action figures' bodies had changed enormously over the decades. The action figures of the twentyfirst century sport much bigger shoulders and upper bodies than those of the 1950s and
1960s. One study revealed that college age men wanted to add an average of 30 lbs. of muscle to their bodies because they felt it would make them more attractive. Even though to most of those men, that goal is unreachable for their body type. For both women and men, the more they look at unrealistic portrayals of the human body, the lower their self esteem and the lower their self
2 Christiansen
esteem, the higher their chances of developing an eating disorder, depression, anxiety or other mental illnesses. Today’s young girls are bombarded by overly thin body images increasing their
anxiety