Impossibly Perfect

Kimberly Diaz
English 101
Professor Edwards
12 March 2013
Impossibly Perfect
As victims of media and advertisements, women and men struggle to accept their bodies in American society. Although men an women are not portrayed in the same manner, both sexes seem to be affected psychologically, leading them to push their body limits while not caring about the side effects. With woman being portrayed as having value only for their appearance and seen as sex objects while men are portrayed as strong, lustful and dominating. Since media and advertisements define what it is to be a woman and what it is to be a man, people begin to reject themselves by trying to become the definition of the ideal man or woman. Woman do so by doing everything possible to become thinner an prettier, while men do so by trying to become stronger, more aggressive, and independent. Both sexes struggle to accept themselves and their bodies, due to the insecurities developed through media and advertisements; obsessing over doing everything possible in order to reach the perfection set by media and advertisements, while forgetting about the consequences.
Living in a society where media and advertisements have a strong influence on people, women seem to be the most targeted group. Media and advertisements introduce images of extremely thin women who as said by Abbotl and Sapsfard “sell the image but also promise that wearing certain clothes will attract men”(407) Young woman are targeted the most due to their inexperience of handling the influence of media, as well as the fact that they want to be noticed by men, therefore being likelier to try and fit the image of what it means to be a woman in society. Sadly many young women buy into the images presented to them by media and advertisements, thus consequently suffering from low self esteem, dissatisfaction with their bodies if they do not obtain the perfect body. As Sanders from the article “The Influence of Media Marketing on Adolescent Girls” says, “girls exposed to sexualized images from a young age are more prone to three of the most common mental health problems for girls and women: depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem”. Proving how strong the influence from society is to women, knowing that they are more likely to try and achieve the goals set by media and advertisement through any means necessary.
Many women, especially young women try to fit society's expectations thus doing everything they can do to satisfy the expectations; many times their efforts to become the ideal woman becomes a health issue when they develop eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Evidently“With the increasingly thinner ideal, woman's dissatisfaction with their body image and eating disorders in women has increased considerably”(Tygart).These young women strive for and impossible perfection by starving them selves as they try to become the ideal image of a woman, many times without caring of the consequences such as eating disorders that weaken the body, sometimes up to the point of death . Proving how “American society today places too much emphasis on what a perfect body should look like”(Tygart) especially in the case of younger women. If a woman does not fit into the standards set up by advertisements and media then they are harshly criticized by society; basically telling these young women that beauty is all that matters, not how smart they are or how lovely their personality may be, showing how media and advertisements depersonalize women.
Several times media and advertisements objectify women by making their bodies sex tools for the simple reason that sex sells. This is reflected in advertisements just as Julia Wood said “sexual and erotic images are the single most prominent characteristic of advertising”. Not only do advertisements portray women to be sex objects but they also make it seem that it is perfectly acceptable to degrade women to an objects level. Media as well, encourages women to dehumanize their own self by becoming sex objects in order to please their men. Making it seem as if the only purpose of women is to please men“Women are portrayed as decorative objects, who must attract men”(Wood). Therefore telling women if their body is not up to standards then they are not good enough, leading them to want plastic surgery to meets the unrealistic standards of beauty and what it is to be a woman in American society. By doing plastic surgery women choose to physically dehumanize and objectify them selves in order to fit in with society, therefore finally meeting the artificial standards set up by media and advertisements.
Although men are portrayed as superior to women in media and advertisements, men too consequentially suffer from the standards placed on them. Men feel that media and advertisements place the standards too high to fit realistic expectations. Many times men “see themselves as not large enough,[and] without enough muscles”(Tygart). Giving men the urge to try and fit in by working out and reshaping their bodies. Working out may not seem as bad as plastic surgery, but some me may end up taking steroids just so they can get larger muscles and be the stereotype presented to them by media and advertising.
Men are also portrayed as always being lustful and not expressing their emotions. Consequently as young men grow up believing these stereotypes that only women express their feelings and that only women cry when they get older they lack “the ability to feel a range of emotions, including fear, hurt, confusion or despair. Even talking about these feelings is considered unmanly” (Femiano). Therefore when these men who followed the stereotypes of media and advertisements as they grew up when they try to have a relationship, their inexperience to communicate harms their ability to obtain a successful relationship. Eventually many give up and decide to not have a stable relationship, instead decide become lustful men just as advertisements and media depicts men to be.
Being the dominant male is the most commonly used stereotype that media and advertisements encourage men to behave like. Thus making violent behaviors such as being unable“to work cooperatively without the need for control...or to solve conflicts without violence”(Femiano) a norm for men. The encourages of media and advertisements towards men have made it so behaving in a dominating manner toward women is now acceptable, “ abuse and sex are considered natural parts of love and sex” says Woods. Since media and advertisements have made such behavior acceptable towards woman according to Woods , “ It is well documented that the incidence of reported rape is rising and that an increasing number of men regard forced sex as acceptable”. Proving that the influences being made by media and advertisements is causing a negative impact on society.
Independence is a key factor to have, something which men have over women when it comes to advertisements and media. Men always seem to know what they are doing and always seem to take risks and protect women an children. Advertisements and media place men at the highest level possible degrading women, making it seem that men can only and will only be the ones in control.
Media and advertisements sell the image of what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman at extremely high expectations. Since men are encouraged to be strong, show no feelings toward sex, and act in a dominating manner toward women, the men that do not want to follow the normative characteristics set by media and advertisements are depicted as unmanly or inferior. Same with women who strive to be more than an object that is only worth how they look, they are influenced to do otherwise and follow the expectations that media and advertisements have set for women. Unfortunately American society limits the ways that people perceive themselves as by making anyone who does not fit into the expectations of what it is to be the ideal woman or man, a deviant person, preventing them to live up to their full potential. Many people are afraid to become the deviant and go against the norms established by media and advertisements; people fail to see that media, without them is nothing, and that thei fear is the only thing that holds people back; the only thing that prevents people from accepting themselves and being satisfied with who they are.