3. Body Image How a person feels about the way they look Not based on fact Learned from your surroundings Changes as you grow up Biological, psychological, and social influences
4. Media Television & movies Shows the types of bodies that are “acceptable” and which ones aren’t Magazines Articles that tell you how to “lose weight fast!” or “look years younger!” imply you should look a certain way Advertisements & commercials Attracts attention to their products by using thin women and muscular men Images are edited to show unrealistic bodies
6. Reality Body features Props, lighting, angles, computer techniques Shapes and sizes Altered Unwanted features Edited out Body features from photos of different people Combined to make a “perfect” image Body doubles Common in films Photos can be completely computer-generated
9. Consequences Unhealthy diet Over-exercising Using drugs (steroids, cocaine, diet pills, cigarettes, etc) Cosmetic procedure complications Eating disorders Depression and other mental health problems Low self-esteem
10. Women “A thin body is a measure of a woman’s worth” The “ideal woman” = Caucasian, big chest, small waist, lean hips, no blemishes, no stretch marks, no wrinkles Not meeting the ideal = use exercise, diet, plastic surgery, and expensive makeup or creams to reach the ideal Insecure woman are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids “As a teenager, I was obsessed with achieving the white girl look: slim hips, perky breasts, flat stomach. I hated that I didn’t look like white models in my magazines.”
13. Did you know? Diet industry makes $40-100 billion (US) per year 1 out of 4 college-aged woman use unhealthy methods of weight control 80% of women are dissatisfied with their appearance The average woman is 5’4 and 140 pounds The average model is 5’11 and 117 pounds A woman spends 2.5 years of her life on her hair A person sees 400-600 advertisements per day
14. Supermodels are so famous because they are not typical. Their proportions cannot be imitated with natural means. link
15. Children Infants recognize themselves in mirrors at 2 years Females begin to dislike their body a few years later Boys are less critical of their appearance In a study, normal-weight girls were more concerned than obese boys Boys go through a short phase of dissatisfaction Physical changes with puberty (taller, more muscular) bring them closer to the masculine ideal For girls, puberty makes things worse Increase in weight and body fat
17. Did you know? Weight control measures are being taken by girls as young as 5 or 6 50-70% of normal weight girls think they’re overweight Attractiveness and thinness were associated with goodness in over 100 female characters in 23 Walt Disney films Main focuses of concern for men are height, stomachs, chests , muscle mass, and hair loss
18. Barbie is Impossible 99% of adolescent girls have at least one Barbie “Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions, for example, found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition.” 1 2 3
