Introductory Essay

Complete Essay

Mood, Self Esteem, and Body
   Dissatisfaction

Television

Magazines

Advertisements

Celebrities and Models

Eating Disorders

Critical Essays

Young Adults as a Target of the   Media

  Magazines' Portrayal of Body
    Image

Works Cited

About Us

          Four out of five women are dissatisfied with their appearance.  One in four third grade girls is currently on a diet.  Adolescent girls are more afraid of gaining weight than cancer, nuclear war, or losing their parents (Media and).  Why is society so concerned with having the perfect appearance?  Who is to blame for instilling this belief in the minds of adolescents, both males and females, throughout the world?  According to Alison Alexander, "Advertising and the mass media may play a part in creating and reinforcing a preoccupation with physical attractiveness and influence consumer perceptions of what constitutes an acceptable level of physical attractiveness" (53). For example, Marilyn Monroe, sex icon of the 1950s, was 5'5" tall and weighed 135 pounds.  Actress Elizabeth Hurley was quoted as saying, “I’ve always thought Marilyn Monroe looked fabulous, but I’d kill myself if I was that fat” (Media and). 

            Clearly, something has changed over fifty years, and that something is the media’s proposed idea of the perfect body.  Viewing pictures of “thin-ideal” celebrities in television, magazines, or advertisements has been proven to lower self-esteem and body satisfaction and to cause extreme mood shifts (depressed or angry), which all ultimately lead to an increasing number of eating disorders, especially for adolescents (Myers 446).  We will explore ways the media impacts the world’s perception of body image through advertisements, television, and magazines and more and the results of this new image, especially body dissatisfaction, thin-body ideals, and eating disorders.