The Media’s Influence on Women’s Body Image

Besides magazines, television seems to be a perpetrator in depicting thin females as happy and successful. It was found that teenage girls who average three or more nights a week of television viewing were 50% more likely to be unhappy with their bodies than girls who did not watch television, and two-thirds of the female viewers have been dieting. Could this be due to the fact that 32% of the women on television are underweight? Studies have shown that after watching commercials that included thin, beautiful people, viewers become considerably dissatisfied with their own bodies.

In 1998, Anne Becker, an anthropology professor at Harvard Medical School, conducted a study in Fiji, 38 months after television was brought into the country. Becker’s research showed that 74% of Fijian girls had become unhappy with their bodies. 15% of the girls confessed to self-induced vomiting in attempt to manage their weight. The Fijian culture has traditionally favored a more voluptuous body. Becker says, “Nobody was dieting in Fiji ten years ago…teenagers see TV as a model for how one gets by in the modern world. They believe the shows depict reality.”

Of course there are other factors to be taken into consideration. There can be more to an eating disorder than a desire to imitate images of models and celebrities. Psychological and biological factors should be pointed out. Many individuals who suffer from eating disorders are inclined to be very critical and tend to set high expectations of themselves. One who has a female relative with an eating disorder is twelve times more likely to suffer herself. People with certain personality traits, such as anxiety, obsessiveness and perfectionism are more susceptible.

Despite this, there is little doubt that the media is responsible for putting pressure on women, especially those who already feel vulnerable, to be thin. Women constantly say they feel inadequate because of their inability to lose weight and look “beautiful.” Perhaps the most important thing to take from the escalating problem of eating disorders is that, while women have made great strides in becoming equal and important members of society, most still do not feel comfortable and confident with their body image. This raises issues about the pressures and values in our society.