Body Image And Beauty Standards Have Changed Over The Years

The pressure to have a perfect body is even greater due to media. But the truth is, most public figures are 15% below a normal and healthy BMI. This beauty standard is becoming increasingly difficult because most women (96%) are not born with this specific body type causing women to take extreme measures to accomplish this ideal. Media exposure of the thin-ideal body and materialistic values is causing eating disorders, body dissatisfaction and affecting a person's well being.

Modern society portrays good looking men to have broad shoulders, toned arms, six-pack abs, and a small waist while good looking women are viewed to have the characteristics of being slim and fit, having a small waist, lean hips, and perfect skin complexion. As a result, many people are affected by our own society's portrayals of good looking men and women that they feel pressured into doing whatever it takes and going through extreme measures, most of the time, spending countless hours in the gym trying to achieve that perfect body. Body image is evident in the gym, as the men are lifting weights they are frequently looking in the mirror examining every angle of their body making sure no area is lacking muscle. On the other hand, women tend to partake in the same behavior as men, showing a sense of insecurity about their own bodies, frequently making trips to the scale to keep track of their weight making sure to stay slim and fit. Society has a profound effect on many people, making them feel insecure about their own bodies. The mass media's use of such unrealistic images sends an implicit message to men and women that to be considered good looking they must partake in unhealthy diets, extreme exercises and unhealthy body modification enhancers, which in turn can have detrimental effects on one’s health. Such standards of beauty and appearance are almost completely unattainable for most men and women and most of the models displayed on television and in advertisements is

Millions of people struggle daily to maintain a perfect physical body image in hopes of receiving approval, love, and happiness. The need to maintain this perfect image is supported by society and the media with a mirage of messages that you can be happy if you obtain this perfect image. Society 's ideals of what the human body should look like have caused numerous people to develop abnormal eating patterns in a contempt to conform and seek society 's approval of their body image.

The media’s increased obsession with the thin-ideal and industry promotion of a perfect body may contribute to unrealistic body ideals in people with and without eating disorders. An increase in access to global media and technological advances such as Photoshop and airbrushing have further skewed our perception of attainable beauty

For eons body image and culture have gone hand in hand, each year a determined trend. One constant over time was the destruction of the soul over something superficial. Culture is made up of language, norms and shared values. All three of these are voiced by the mass media, who constantly and vigorously remind others how to act. Predetermining who we are, before we know it ourselves. Body dissatisfaction has always been an extraordinary concern for men and women alike, but in the modern world, it has reached an all time high. These buildups in body negativity is fueled by media, society and the individual themselves. Due to this, a plethora of mental and physical health problems have emerged such as low self esteem, depression and eating disorders.

Females of all ages come under immense pressure from the media, friends, partners and even parents to maintain a great body shape. The body images portrayed in the media can then push a female to go on a diet to begin a journey to gaining a similar body shape like that of the model, but low self-esteem and lack of confidence generally contributes to any issues or difficulties in life; workplace or school, relationships etc. to which can make an individual extremely unhappy and vulnerable. Research shows depression, low self-esteem and the development of eating disorders can be related to the unrealistic, unachievable body images exposed through the mass media.

Body image and beauty standards have changed drastically over the years. By establishing impossible standards of beauty and meticulous bodily perfection, the media drives people to be dissatisfied with their bodies. Consequently, this dissatisfaction results in behavior disorders as people try to achieve unreachable goals with unhealthy methods.

Body image expectations cause disorders in women. These expectations cause mental disorders as well as physical. The problems include: “depression, anorexia, bulimia nervosa, and physique anxiety” (Breines et. al 433-434). All of these

Because of this, modern society defines beauty by how aesthetically pleasing one is. Families, peers, schooling and work environments all reiterate the idea that only the beautiful and thin are, happy, loved and successful (Hesse 80). Thus, children are being raised to be body conscious not just health-conscious. The obesity epidemic in western countries due to sedentary lifestyles and easy access to unhealthy food is putting more pressure on younger generations to be obsessive over what they’re eating and reaching the physical standard in society rather than being fit and healthy. This then leads to obsessive measures to maintain low body weights such as starvation or purging food before it digests fully. No matter how determined people may be, some are physically incapable of reaching society’s ideal body types and perceive their body as less than satisfactory. Distorted body images, then contribute to the aggravation of the severe measures to maintain low body weights, and the development of eating disorders.

Negative body image can cause severe medical conditions such as eating disorders. Amanda J. Holmstrom claims, “One prominent theory is that the media’s constant depiction of extremely thin women leads women to believe they should try to meet this ideal” (The Effects of the Media on Body Image: A Meta-Analysis 196). Some eating disorders include anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and even constant dieting or fad dieting and

The media puts forth a plethora of information to the general public. Appearance is a major idea in society that is constantly put out on mainstream media. The image of seemingly perfect celebrities and stars are heavily rotated, and have lasting effects on millions of Americans who are unhappy with their body image. Plastic surgery has become common amongst middle class women, and a rapid increase in male plastic surgery has been noted in recent years. Constant exposure to the “perfect” body image in the media puts harm in the very idea that the human body comes in all shapes and sizes. Despite the temptations of a perfect body and plastic surgery to fix imperfections, it is completely possible to maintain a positive sense of self while facing standards and expectations that are nearly impossible to obtain.

The issues that emerge due to unrealistic standards are perceived as being true, unedited, and even normal. Many health concerns arise due to mass medias unethical beauty standards and there is substantial amount of harmful effects being caused to these young generations whose minds are still developing. The problem of eating disorders, poor body image, and a lack of self-esteem are partially caused by mass media; although it can be hard to overcome these issues, it is essential for them to be solved because they are life

We wake up every morning judging our appearance in the mirror before we even start off the day. We constantly say the words “I wish I was her” or “I hate how ugly I look”. We are so caught up in what we should look like rather then what makes us happy. They say image is everything, from the brand of clothing to the size of the clothes you wear. Diet pills are consumed daily and operations are always occurring. We live in a world of plastic where almost everything is fake but it’s “normal”. Magazines, tv shows, movies, etc. show women and men with perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect body. Toned bodies shaming society for not looking that way and putting ourselves down for not having that “perfect” body.

Body image dissatisfaction is arising in modern society, amongst all sexes due to the media promoting ideal bodily features. Western culture has consistently emphasized, through the media that the ideal body figure for a woman is to be thin (Thompson &

In order to meet the society’s standards for looking “perfect” is not always easy, especially for girls. Girls are judged by their appearance everyday more than guys, and the standards are based on what’s being shown in the media. Researches has pointed to these influences as having a heavy impact on a person’s body image. Media is constantly showing what a perfect female or male is supposed to look like. Which led to negative affect body images in teens and adolescents more than any other age group.”About 58 percent of college-aged girls feel they need to be a certain weight to be considered attractive.”( Body images, facts, 2017).