Perfect Body and the Role of the Media
The Perfect Body and the Role of the Media Abstract During the last two decades, one of the manifestations of popular culture in Western societies has been body worshipping. ... The beauty ideal has changed throughout centuries from voluptuous and curved women to the thin and slim body of nowadays. Because of their popularity and accessibility to the people, the media and fashion are linked to the promotion of this new body ideal, an ideal which many young men and women attempt to achieve in order to be accepted by society. But in this obsessive attempt, several eating disorders arose, and people suffering from these psychological illnesses such as anorexia, bulimia, vigorexia and orthorexia, reveal a low self-esteem and a distorted body image. ... A survey carried out in Fiji in 1998, evidences the relation between the media and the poor body image and incidents of eating disorders. ... Therefore, the evidence given depicts the harmful role of the media and their responsibility of the eating disorders increase. The Perfect Body and the Role of the Media Among others, movies, music, new technology, tattoos, magazines, piercing, beliefs or food are part of popular or ‘pop’ culture. ... It is widely known that during the last two decades, one of the manifestations of popular culture has been body worshipping. Thus, body worshipping is something commonly liked and approved by many social groups all over the Western countries. ... In the 1800s, a focus on changing women’s body shape and size began in order to reach the ideal standard imposed by fashion. ... Physicians began to see body weight as a matter of calorie counting. ... Energy and vitality became important and body fat was perceived to contribute to inefficiency . ... In the 1990s, the notion of healthiness took more importance, and besides being skeleton-like thin, to exercise in a gym and to intake healthy food was almost imperative to convey the perfect body ideal. An article published by DALnetIRC Network Zine Team (2002) pointed out the implicit problem: This obsession has become popularized into an ideology, which dictates that unless one has the perfect body, one will never be accepted. ... Since the influence of the media and fashion are linked to the notion of the ideal body, they are highly responsible for these modern illnesses such as anorexia, bulimia, vigorexia, ortorexia and psychological unbalances. The popular media such as television, movies and magazines are among the most influential promoters of today’s notion of the ideal body because of their popularity and accessibility to the people (Robinson, n. ... To reinforce this asseveration, the article “The Perfect Body” (2000) says the media are the main opinion leaders. Thus, the perfect body, according to what the media advertise, is a body that exudes fitness, youth and health, thin and slim. The notion of a perfect body that is disseminated by the media can be associated with economic organizations whose profit comes from selling products that conveys this image of perfection (Perfect). ... The media and the diet, fashion, cosmetic and beauty industries are aware of these insecurities people feel about their own bodies and, for this reason, the images that are presented in advertising are designed to create an illusion, a fantasy ideal that will keep people consuming (Perfect). ... Moreover, the content of popular magazines like Perfil, Vanidades or Cosmopolitan has increased the emphasis on weight loss and body shape during the last decade, as well as a change for male and female models to a thinner body and focus on dieting and exercise to help improve appearance and attractiveness. To illustrate the influence of these media, it is interesting to quote what Katie Ford of Ford Models (as cited in DALnetIRC Network Zine Team, 2002, 13) points out, “Studies have shown that while almost 25 years ago, the average model weighed 8% less than the average American women, today’s model weighs 23% below de national average”.