popular media a menace to society
... In todays society, the number of cases of eating disorders is steadily rising. ... Whenever you flip the first page of a popular magazine such as Cosmopolitan or Seventeen, do you ever see a plus-size model sporting the latest trend for Bongo or American Eagle? ... Instead, you see the emaciated physique that society has deemed as the "ideal" figure. Day in and day out, young girls receive the message through the popular media that thinness equals happiness. ... It is no surprise today that millions of Americas youth are starving or engaging in dangerous behaviors to acheive this facade of beauty that the media has denoted as beautiful. Top celebrities are struggling to uphold the Hollywood image of beauty the popular media has set into stone. ... Kate Winslet, "Rose" of Titanic, was denoted as "titanic" by the media for her full and healthy figure. If popular Hollywood stars cant uphold societys standards of beauty without utilizing dangerous methods, how can the general public not be expected to buckle to the pressure of being thin? ... There are countless informericals for popular diets such as the Atkins diet or Hydroxycut featured weekly on the screen. ... Society has been deceived into believing that attractive and happiness are associated with thin. ... Two sociologists, Dale Cusamano and Kevin Thompson, conducted an experiment to find the relationship between media images and ones own perception of ones body image. ... The relationship established in the experiment that people internalize and take to heart what they see on TV, in magazines, and in other forms of the popular media. ... Media researchers claim that they are only giving the public what they want for the value of entertainment. While this is true to some extent, women begin to feel insecure about their own bodies after much overexposure to emaciated figures published in the media. ... Many people would like to see all facets of society represented in the media and not just one section: the slender and beautiful. Featuring plus-size or full-figured models and actresses in the popular media and entertainment industry would definitely help women to feel more secure about their bodies.