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Body image refers to one’s own personal perception of one’s physical appearance based on self-observation and the reactions of others. Body image affects how you think and feel about yourself as a person. This image is not based on facts, it is psychological in nature and the image one has of one’s body is learned. Therefore, a bad body image indicates being dissatisfied and unhappy with your body and believing that others perceive you in the same way.
A widely held theory suggests that poor body image is due in part to a culture that values appearance over substance and values women more when they are skinny. The power of the media over the development of a poor body image is leading to the rise of more deadly eating disorders. Images of the “perfect” or “ideal” female body are everywhere. Celebrities are getting younger and thinner. Advertising in the media, including magazines, television, and the Internet, sends very dangerous images and messages, which further contribute to poor body image. You’ve seen it, “I’ve lost 20 pounds on this diet and can finally get back into my size 2 jeans. I feel great,” she says provocatively, looking vulnerable women in the eye. Media advertising even goes as far as placing these commercials on the channels our children watch. Then you hear the messages on the radio and they go something like this: “Ladies, are you constantly trying to lose that extra 10-20 pounds in your midsection that won’t go away no matter what you do? Well, our product promises this result and all you need to do is call for a free trial.” Then there is the magazine advertising where the cover criticizes the celebrity who has gained a few pounds. or praise the actress who is withering to nothing. The advertiser then so subtly places these photos next to each other for even more impact. Media and advertising sell much more than products, they sell values, unrealistic expectations, and ideals of success and self-esteem.
It is clear that advertising in the media increases the pressure to become slimmer, more perfect and to conform to an ideal. The body image distortion begins to grow as she continues to compare herself to others and creates increasingly unrealistic expectations of herself. On an even more dangerous note, poor body image has the potential to become an eating disorder if these media hype tools continue to attract more and more of it. Losing 10 pounds, hitting the gym 5 days a week, limiting your daily caloric intake to a specific number no longer seems to be enough. It becomes a vicious cycle, this ongoing striving for perfection and control that never seems achievable or enough. It is important to emphasize that these advertising images do not cause the eating disorder, but they are a big contributing factor in shaping one’s body image.
By choosing to remain unaware of the profound seriousness of this ever-present influence, repetitive messages, and subliminal impact of advertising, we ignore one of the most powerful “educational” forces in our culture. Although the cultural demands placed on the body may change over time, these verbal and unspoken signals that come through all these media outlets of advertising continue to have a major impact on an individual’s self-esteem and sense of well-being. So, the next time you’re thinking about buying or just picking out that seductively pictured magazine, or craving to click on that world-promising diet, or find yourself stuck watching that commercial or show that confirms that just being yourself isn’t enough, STOP! Take a moment to see how you, too, are contributing to this growing epidemic of poor body image. Choose to make a difference in your generation and for generations to come.