The Media’s Influence on Women’s Body Image

The idea of beauty in Western culture seems to mean a thin body. In recent years, thousands of women have starved themselves in an attempt to lose weight. Others have indulged in a cycle of binging and purging in order to maintain their weight. Society is confronted daily with a stream of images showing and glamorizing thin female bodies. Because they seem to project the image that thin equals beautiful, it is easy to understand why media influence has been directly blamed to be a culprit behind the increase of eating disorders, especially in adolescent and young adult females.

Here is an example. Let’s say that Jane, who is five feet six inches tall and weighs 145 pounds, decides she has had it. She is sick of being “fat” and wants to lose weight. Jane stocks up on a variety of women’s magazines and cuts out the articles that have anything to do with weight-loss, diet and exercise. She cuts her daily intake of calories in half. She joins a gym and works out everyday. One week later, Jane is exhausted and hungry. She heads to her freezer, pulls out what is left of a gallon of ice cream and devours it. After she finishes the last bite, she catches a glimpse of a model on the cover of one of her magazines and panics. Jane rushes to her bathroom and forces herself to throw up. She vows never to binge again.

This situation is very real for many women. You can see how people are affected by what they see. Most women are sick and tired of being compared to a Victoria’s Secret model, a Playboy centerfold or a thin actress. Is it any surprise that 95% of American women are unhappy with their bodies? Have you ever had this experience: you are waiting in line at the check out counter of your local supermarket.  You begin to notice the magazines placed on the racks in front of you. Thin, glamorous women stare at you from the covers. Standing there, you begin to think, “I could never look like that.” Your self-esteem takes a nose dive. You begin to feel that you would be so much happier if only you were thinner.

A study was done that examined the covers of twenty popular women and men’s magazines and revealed that for every one men’s magazine that had a weight-loss related message, ten women’s magazines had a weight-loss message. This 1:10 ratio is equal to the existent ratio of men and women who suffer from an eating disorder. Researchers also discovered that 94% of the women’s magazine covers and 50% of the men’s covers showed a thin female model or actress barely dressed. This seems to encourage men to desire thin women and for women to be thin in order to be desired. Furthermore, it was realized that the arrangement of messages related to weight-loss were strategically placed near other messages associated with leading a better life. A message that reads “Lose Ten Pounds” next to a message that reads “Ways to Make Your Life Easier, Happier and Better,” or “Stay Skinny” next to “What Men Want Most.” Dr. Stice, a psychologist at the University of Texas, says that out of 61% of adolescent females who read fashion magazines regularly, 41% reported that magazines are where they gather most of their information regarding weight-loss. Dr. Stice went on to say, “I think the media reflects a larger cultural pressure for an ultra-slender body.”