Running head: SECONDARY SOURCE INTEGRATION 1 SECONDARY SOURCE INTEGRATION 2 Secondary Source Integration Stereotypes are confirmation that certain specific roles are specifically designed for a particular gender or group of people. Stereotype play a critical role in the process of elimination of personal choices in various matters of interest. Living to the standards of the stereotypes caused a lot of physical and emotional damage to self since most of the expectations are usually unrealistic. The women's body image has experienced a lot of stereotypes because of the general quest for acceptance in society. Different scholars and authors share different views on the subject of women body's image. The women’s body image issue is strongly related to both physical aspect of the matter and the psychological aspect which is related to the attitude. Most of the cultures in the world reveal that women are greatly obsessed by the existing myth of beauty. The acceptance of these myths is influenced by the existence of various media influence that is consumed from television and social media (Stice et al., 2014). The effect of social media on behaviour and character is indisputable due to the fact that most trends in various parts of the world have been as a result of the power of social media. Therefore, most of the stereotypes on the state of the women body emanate from trending believes in the media. Over the years, the media has fuelled the belief that slim women are more attractive than those with a lot of body flesh. Additionally, the media has always hailed the light skinned women as beautiful and looked down upon the women with dark skins (Stice et al., 2014). The repercussion of these media influences has been great and contributed to some life-threatening decisions among the women. For instance, most dark skinned women have been taking different therapies and medication with the intention of making themselves beautiful in the eyes of society. Similarly, it is reported that most of the women who enrol in the gym program are pushed by the societal demand to slim in order to be accepted as beautiful (Stice et al., 2014). The gym programs and cosmetic industries have been booming recently due to the push from these beliefs in myths about women body. The infiltration of these myths into the hearts of the youths has been pushed mainly through social media and electronic media. The fitness programs are blended by the dieting process to achieve the desired body. It is a fact that most women strain in a quest to please the society. The quest for acceptance in the society makes the myths about women body seem true despite the fact that they are misguided. Most of the women fight for acceptance in society and this leads to extreme measures of changing their body to suit the needs of the society. It is generally reported that most women have suffered while trying to please society. The stereotype about women sends an unhealthy message to both men .

1. Running head: SECONDARY SOURCE INTEGRATION 1
SECONDARY SOURCE INTEGRATION 2
Secondary Source Integration
Stereotypes are confirmation that certain specific roles are
specifically designed for a particular gender or group of people.
Stereotype play a critical role in the process of elimination of
personal choices in various matters of interest. Living to the
standards of the stereotypes caused a lot of physical and
emotional damage to self since most of the expectations are
usually unrealistic. The women's body image has experienced a
lot of stereotypes because of the general quest for acceptance in
society. Different scholars and authors share different views on
the subject of women body's image. The women’s body image
issue is strongly related to both physical aspect of the matter
and the psychological aspect which is related to the attitude.
Most of the cultures in the world reveal that women are greatly
obsessed by the existing myth of beauty. The acceptance of
these myths is influenced by the existence of various media
influence that is consumed from television and social media
(Stice et al., 2014). The effect of social media on behaviour and
character is indisputable due to the fact that most trends in
various parts of the world have been as a result of the power of
social media. Therefore, most of the stereotypes on the state of
the women body emanate from trending believes in the media.
Over the years, the media has fuelled the belief that slim women
are more attractive than those with a lot of body flesh.
Additionally, the media has always hailed the light skinned
women as beautiful and looked down upon the women with dark
skins (Stice et al., 2014). The repercussion of these media
influences has been great and contributed to some life-
threatening decisions among the women. For instance, most
dark skinned women have been taking different therapies and

2. medication with the intention of making themselves beautiful in
the eyes of society.
Similarly, it is reported that most of the women who enrol in the
gym program are pushed by the societal demand to slim in order
to be accepted as beautiful (Stice et al., 2014). The gym
programs and cosmetic industries have been booming recently
due to the push from these beliefs in myths about women body.
The infiltration of these myths into the hearts of the youths has
been pushed mainly through social media and electronic media.
The fitness programs are blended by the dieting process to
achieve the desired body. It is a fact that most women strain in
a quest to please the society.
The quest for acceptance in the society makes the myths about
women body seem true despite the fact that they are misguided.
Most of the women fight for acceptance in society and this leads
to extreme measures of changing their body to suit the needs of
the society. It is generally reported that most women have
suffered while trying to please society.
The stereotype about women sends an unhealthy message to
both men and women (Grabe et al., 2017). The women currently
believe that there is a type of women that the men desire to
have. Therefore, most of these women work round the clock to
achieve the status of acceptance in society. Some of the
measures taken by women are dangerous especially those that
deal with cosmetic industries. Women have been forced to go
for plastic surgeries and other beauty procedures that are not
entirely healthy.
On the other hand, the agenda of women body has also
contributed to the issue of violence against women (Grabe et
al., 2017). The discussion on women's body subjects people to
think that somehow men have control over the looks and dress
of the women. These incidences make women subjects of men
and deny them the ability to control their thoughts and beliefs.
Grabe et al (2017) argue that the worst violence that has been
done to women has been acceptance of the beliefs and myths
about their body. This form of violence is worse than having to

3. beat the women or subjecting them to hard conditions. While
most women believe they need to look like superstars and
models seen in the media, fostering acceptance of the natural
body for the women would go a long way in killing the myth in
the society.
The issue of dieting and use of make-ups has become one of the
popular practices in the current society that influence women
behaviors (Polce-Lynch et al., 2011). Make-ups have basically
been a factor of copying the ideas that are seen in the media and
television screens. The ladies are the most affected because of
the fact that women have always been considered to be items of
popularity and media display (Polce-Lynch et al., 2011). The
amount of effort put in maintaining these looks and display. The
effort made by the women could be considered to be draining
because of the time and effort put while trying to achieve
satisfactory levels.
The body image stereotypes have gone a great level of affecting
the children in the society. The impact on the children has been
fueled by the fact that children have been made to believe that
emulating other people is part of living a real life in the current
world (Polce-Lynch et al., 2011). The acceptance of the
abnormal and using it to replace what was initially normal has
made people who are conservatives seems as enemies of
progress and good in the society. However, the biggest concern
is whether there is anything the society can do currently to
change the beliefs about women body.
It is believed that the societal beliefs about women body have
been planted in the hearts of people in society either directly or
indirectly (Polce-Lynch et al., 2011). While media is thought to
be playing an important role in this influence, the reality is that
upbringing and parenting play a major role in determining
people's view on the body of women. Parents play a major role
in fostering the right beliefs and ideas in the minds of the
children. Children become what they see and it is the duty of
the parent to make them see the right things that will help them
avoid bad ideas concerning women’s body.

4. Fighting myths about women body start by teaching the children
that supporting these stereotypes is unacceptable (Grabe et al.,
2017). Realization of total disregard of the beliefs about women
body at a young age helps in fostering good behaviours that will
help the women accept how they look and appreciate their
natural beauty.
The young women are the most affected by the myths that
surround the acceptance of the body of the women. It is
reported that most women have been dieting with the intention
of realizing the most perfect body that the society greatly
desire. It is interesting to note that even men are affected by the
myths about the look as most of them are always required to
seem strong and realize great body that proves the masculinity.
These ideas have brought great harm in society by fueling the
myths and beliefs that make the young girls and women
vulnerable to the snares of the men and the society.
In conclusion, the issue of women body is among the greatly
controversial issues in the current society. The myths about
women differ from one society to another despite the existence
of general principles around the issue. Men are believed to have
a major contribution to enhancing the beliefs in this myth.
Additionally, social media and television also play a critical
role in enhancing the acceptance of these myths. The acceptance
of the myths impacts the society greatly when it begins at
childhood since most of the childhood exposure determines the
adulthood behaviours. Teaching the society that media
personalities are not as perfect as they seem will greatly help in
enhancing acceptance among the women as they will appreciate
how they look without comparing themselves with other
persons. The risky activities and behaviours among the ladies
reduce significantly with reduction in the stereotypes that judge
the women and list them in the group of beautiful or less
beautiful.

5. References
Grabe et al (2017). The role of the media in body image
concerns among women: a meta-analysis of experimental and
correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin, 134(3), 460.
Polce-Lynch et al (2011). Adolescent self-esteem and gender:
Exploring relations to sexual harassment, body image, media
influence, and emotional expression. Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 30(2), 225-244
Stice et al (2014). Relation of media exposure to eating disorder
symptomatology: an examination of mediating
mechanisms. Journal of abnormal psychology, 103(4), 836.
PRIMARY SOURCE ANALYSIS
Tina Fey’s joke about how women should change their bodies is
a stereotype about women’s body image. All women are
expected to have specific body images. The color of their eyes
should be blue while their skin should be hairless just like the
Asian skin. In order to qualify to be beautiful, other attributes
such as having the Swiss legs have also been included. Tina Fey

6. mentioned all these attributes in her joke, which seemed to be a
mere stereotype to women.
These attributes which people have placed on women are merely
mental stereotypes. Women are already pre-judged and required
to look in a particular way or have some attributes or body
image. Every woman should be left to live just the way she is
(Barlett et al, 2018). Comparing body or forcing women to look
like a specific model or a popular artist is a way of stereotyping
them.
In her joke, Tina Fey fails to realize that explaining how far
women have come from while trying to change their bodies is
stereotypical. She says that women initially wanted to have a
body which looks like that of Jenifer Lopez. However, they
changed again and all wanted to be like Beyoncé, to be quite
slim but not thin (Grabe et al, 2017). She explains how having
the Swedish legs is desirable to all women. However, it should
not be this way. All these would make women want to change
their physical appearances, and those who fail to have such
attributes are seen as exceptional.
This stereotype of body image has now been deep-rooted in the
society. This is because even young girls grow up believing in
these stereotypes which are against themselves. The stereotype
of body image begins when young girls are given Barbie dolls.
These dolls are often made to mimic the body of a slim white
woman (Grabe et al, 2017). Young girls, therefore, grow up
admiring to have bodies like these Barbie dolls. These dolls
enhance the stereotype that all women should have the same
physical appearance such as being slim and white.
Little girls even start dieting and wearing make up in order to
have a similar body image to the models. This brings about
retarded growth and unhealthy bodies since the kids do not eat
as they should do. Stereotype on body image is also enhanced
by the models. All the models who win awards are always thin
and blonde (Grabe et al, 2017). The fat women never attempt
modeling. Even if they model, they always work out in order to
get that ‘perfect' body of a slim woman.

7. Physical attractiveness should not be based on the body image
of a woman. This is because it causes many women to compare
their bodies with those of the models often pictured in
magazines. The society believes that women should be slim in
order for them to look good. Clearly, this is a way of telling the
huge women that they are not good looking (Polce-Lynch et al,
2011). Since the slim women are given full attention while the
fat ones are ignored, the fat women often experience low self-
esteem.
The stereotype of body image in women also enhances racism.
This is because according to Tina Fey's joke, women want to
have Indian hair. This also means that the hair of people from
other races is unwanted (Stice et al, 2014). This causes people
to have a bad image of having dreadlocks. When one has them,
he/she might be seen as a bad person who smokes weed.
Associating some people with some behaviors due to their
hairstyle is stereotypical.
The research question chosen is “What is the most appropriate
method which can be used to eliminate body image
stereotypes.” Another research question would be “What are the
most efficient measures which can be put in place to ensure that
the media is used to inhibit body image stereotype rather than
enhancing the stereotype.”
REFERENCES
Barlett et al (2018). Meta-analyses of the effects of media
images on men's body-image concerns. Journal of Social and
Clinical Psychology, 27(3), 279-310.
Grabe et al (2017). The role of the media in body image
concerns among women: a meta-analysis of experimental and
correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin, 134(3), 460.
Polce-Lynch et al (2011). Adolescent self-esteem and gender:
Exploring relations to sexual harassment, body image, media
influence, and emotional expression. Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 30(2), 225-244
Stice et al (2014). Relation of media exposure to eating disorder
symptomatology: an examination of mediating

8. mechanisms. Journal of abnormal psychology, 103(4), 836.