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The Media and Body Image Research Proposa;

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The Media and Body Image Research Proposa;
Introduction:
The proposed study will see if there is an effect on women’s body image after being exposed to a thin idealistic body image in the media. Female undergraduates with varying levels of body image self-discrepancy will be exposed to a set of advertisements that portray thin women (idealistic body image) to determine whether thin-ideal exposure contributes to increased body dissatisfaction and lowered self-esteem This research may provide evidence for a possible correlation between body dissatisfaction and idealistic body types in advertisements.

The obsession with good looks, and the image of perfect beauty as portrayed by the films, television and magazines, has become a phenomenon in our society. The trend raises questions on the exact role of the media in defining beauty and whether it could be going overboard. The excessive pressure to have the ideal body image has driven women to unhealthy lifestyles due to its rigid portrayal of beauty.

Literature Review:
Literature Researchers Grabe, Ward, and Hyde (2008) from the University of Wisconsin recently conducted studies that involved 15,000 subjects, in which they concluded that the women’s exposure to the media that depicts ultra-thin models and actresses had a significant influence on the women’s concern over their body images and, by extension, their lifestyles, including behaviors such as engaging in excessive dieting. The research shows that many women are more obsessed with their body image than they would care to admit. This is extended by the fact that the society bequeaths certain advantages to attractive people over plain women and girls. Various authoritative researchers have come to the conclusion that attractive children have an easier time in school as they tend to be more popular with their teachers and classmates, attractive women have a better chances of securing jobs and receiving higher remunerations than their plainer counterparts; when taken to court, they are often found



References: Baker, Lucie and Eyal Gringart. 2009. "Body Image and Self-esteem in Older Adulthood." Ageing & Society 29(6): 977-995. Bearman, S. K., K. Presnell, E. Martinez, and E. Stice. 2006. “The Skinny on Body Dissatisfaction: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Girls and Boys.” Journal of Adolescence, 35: 217–229. Conner, M., E. Martin, N. Silverdale, and S. Grogan. 1996. “Dieting Inadolescence: Underlying Beliefs and Attitudes.” British Journal of Health Psychology 1: 315–325. Ellis, Albert. 2005. The Myth of Self-Esteem. Prometheus Books. Gillen, Meghan M. and Eva S. Lefkowitz. 2012. "Gender and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Body Image Development among College Students." Body Image 9(1): 126-130. Grabe, Shelly, Monique L. Ward, and Janet Shibley Hyde. 2008. The Role of the Media in Body Image Concerns Among Women: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental and Correlational Studies. Psychological Bulletin 134(3): 460. Hawkins, N., P. S. Richards, H. M. Granley, and D. M. Stein. 2004. "The Impact of Exposure to the Thin-Ideal Media Image on Women." Eating Disorders 12(1): 35-50. Lamborn, S.D., N. S. Mounts, L. Steinberg, and S. M. Dornbusch. 1991. “Patterns of Competence and Adjustment among Adolescents from Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent and Neglectful Families.” Child Development 62: 1049-65 Michaels, Marcia, Alicia Barr, Mark W. Roosa, and George P. Knight. 2007. “Self-Esteem: Assessing Measurement Equivalence in a Multiethnic Sample of Youth.” The Journal of Early Adolescence 27(3): 270. Wade, T. J. 2010. "The Relationships between Symmetry and Attractiveness and Mating Relevant Decisions and Behavior: A Review". Symmetry 2(2): 1081-1089.

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