Do thin models warp girls' body image?
The idea in the world today is thin. The widespread concern for thinness is growing progressively everyday. It's becoming such a problem that every women or girl is becoming very uncomfortable with their own body. After seeing the very thin examples of models, many everyday women start to strive for perfection. This strive for perfection is harmful. There are many harmful factors that are involved with the strive for perfection.
One of the biggest problems in the world today would have to be eating disorders. Eating disorders would include anorexia and bulimia. Someone with anorexia doesn't realize how harmful it is for the body. They are starving themselves. Usually victims of anorexia have a misperception of their own body weight. They often think that they are very overweight when in reality they are underweight. Most women with this disorder think less of themselves when they eat anything. They are basing their self-worth on their body image. Anorexia may get women the model type body they want but they also will get many harmful side effects.
Bulimia is also an ongoing disorder in our world today. It usually occurs in women who can't stop eating all together but can make themselves purge afterwords. This is very harmful to their bodies. This disorder is also persuade because of the idea that women have to be thin. Harming their own bodies to maintain what is a "normal" body.
Slenderness is a large obsession in our country. All women today are wanting to rid their bodies of what makes them a woman: our curves, our natural shapes, and our gorgoues selves. It's not surprising that women want to be slender because our society pays attention to those women who look good not the women who don't. Women should be able to be comfortable in their own skin. Unfortunately, most women aren't comfortable with their bodies. Their is no cure for this problem, but I think that we could make a difference and show these girls and women that they are perfect jus the way they are.
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Hey, this is a good first stab at this overwhelmingly huge subject. I suggest checking out www.edap.org (largest eating disorder organization in US) and www.obesity.org. They bith offer great piles of information that would clarify these issues for you.
I had a long reply to this written out and then something went wrong and it didn't post, so I'll just go with the gist of it.
Not all woman are uncomfortable with their bodies or want to get rid of their curves. I am quite happy with my imperfect body and will keep it as is. I imagine there are countless others on this forum alone who feel the same.
There are answers to the problem, we simply don't bother too hard to look for them. Part of the anorexia and bulimia problem is that it isn't taken seriously enough. How can it be when we continue to ignore the fact that children and teenagers are putting up entire websites devoted to teaching other young girls how to become anorexic or bulimic? If we actually put a little effort into changing the mindset that the "Hollywood stereotype" has given us, things would be changeable. Unfortunately, we don't bother to try and are either "too skinny" or "too fat." There doesn't seem to be an in between any more. It's either one or the other and that's a damn shame.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
The models do make me a bit more self-conscious than I am beforehand, but that's not to say that they are the reason I want to lose the newly found pudge around my midsection.
I was always thin. Within the last year, it looks like someone inserted an air tube into my belly button and blew me up.
I know what I'm supposed to look like, and I don't look like that, and that makes me strive towards my goal of...not looking like I do.
I'm not saying I'm fat (though a recent picture tells me otherwise O.o), but I am fat to ME. There's a difference. Not all women want to lose their "what makes them a woman" simply because its socially acceptable. I want to do it because I don't think my pudgy belly and chubby cheeks are sexy. Personal opinion.
I think a lot of it is subconcious. Most of my skinny friends are obsessed with their lovehandles and it really doesn't matter, but the media tells them it does. I agree with you here, but it's not so much that we see someone skinny and we say "I need to be skinny like that." It's just something society has made a normal thing, that it is something we must strive for.
The media plays a big part in how the youth of today view themselves. At one moment we can be watching perfectly healthy people on one chanal and the turn to a cartoon where the characters are sticks. Nice role models for todays kids. Who do you think they would want to be more like the every day, healthy weight people or the super skinny super heroes.
I don't think I am overweight, I think I am average, and average isn't good enough, it's not unique. And I think many anorexics feel this way. Models are thin, sometimes too thin, but everything looks better on skinny people. Of course, I'm being biased though.
models do ruin it for us everyday girls, but it's their profession to do so. it's up to us girls/women to make the perception of the perfect body image--skinny to change.
models do ruin it for us everyday girls, but it's their profession to do so. it's up to us girls/women to make the perception of the perfect body image--skinnychange.