Societal Influences
editContents of "thin-ideal media" include the portrayal of thinness as a desirable trait, and protagonists in media are thin, exceptionally beautiful, desirable, and successful.[1] According to the sociocultural model of bulimia, eating disorders are a product of the increasing pressures for women in our society to achieve an ultra-slender body.[2] There are two components to the social comparison theory: Downward social comparison, comparison to others perceived to be less fortunate than ourselves, and usually serves to enhance mood or self-worth; upward social comparison, comparison to others we perceive as socially better than ourselves, which usually leads to negative moods and self-evaluation.[3] Women in the media are presented as having different roles in society depending on context and demographics. Television, magazines, and newspapers along with advertisements have a powerful and influential role in society, and women in the media are often role models for young, impressionable girls. Mass media affect dominant societal values
Stereotypical Female Roles
editWomen are commonly portrayed in traditional female roles including stay-at-home-mom and homemaker. There are few portrayals of women in positions of power, authority, or responsibility. Media stereotypes of women as housewives may impede the employment of women.
Thin-Ideal Impact on Women
editCorrelational studies have linked exposure to media that contain ultra-thin ideals to increased body-dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, self-discrepancies, and eating pathology in young women. Sociocultural theory maintains that current societal standards for beauty emphasize the desirability of thinness, and thinness at a level impossible for many women to achieve by healthy means. [4]
Women in Magazines
editWomen’s magazines focus mainly on “domestic” aspects of life, including marriage, child-rearing, beauty, etc. (Gaye Tuchman. The Symbolic Annihilation of Women by the Mass Media). More than 75% of women’s magazines include at least one ad or article about how to change their physical appearance by diet, exercise, or cosmetic surgery[5]
Women in Television
editWomen on TV shows rarely appear in the same professions as men; for example, men are doctors, women are nurses; men are lawyers, women are secretaries; men work in corporations, women tend boutiques (Gaye Tuchman. The Symbolic Annihilation of Women by the Mass Media).
References
edit- ^ Harrison, Kristen (2006). "The Body Electric: Thin-Ideal Media and Eating Disorders in Adolescents". Journal of Communication. 50 (3).
- ^ Stice, Eric; Shaw, Heather E. (1994). "Adverse effects of the media portrayed thin-ideal on women and linkages to bulimic symptomatology". Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 13 (3): 288–308. doi:10.1521/jscp.1994.13.3.288.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Bessennoff, Gayle R. (September 2006). "Can the Media Affect Us? Social Comparison, Self-Discrepancy, and the Thin-Ideal". Psychology of Women Quarterly. 30 (3): 239–251. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00292.x.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Brown, Amy (2005). "Think "Thin" and Feel Bad: The Role of Schema Activation, Attention Level, and Thin-Ideal Internalization for Young Women's Response to Ultra-Thin Media Ideals". Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 24 (8): 1088–1113. doi:10.1521/jscp.2005.24.8.1088.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "Beauty and Body Image in the Media". Media Awareness Network. Retrieved 30 March 2012.