“One of the things that makes the modern world ‘modern’ is the development of consciousness of the self.”
–Warren Susman, Culture as History, 1973
Everyday, we are bombarded with images of perfect women and men. They are in our favorite television shows, movies, magazines and music. The women are tall, thin and beautiful. The men are muscular, tanned and seductive. Where does that leave everyone else? People who do not fall within this media produced norm are left without models to look up to. Instead, they try in vain to alter their bodies to what they have been told is beautiful. Adolescent girls and boys are constantly striving to acquire an unattainable physique. Across the nation, millions of teens struggle with eating disorders and borderline conditions; 4 out of 5 American women are dissatisfied with their appearance and almost half of American elementary school students between the first and third grades want to be thinner (EDAP). These individuals are plagued with a depression that stems from the media’s concept of a ‘perfect body.’
America’s love of media has turned into a one sided relationship; we feed on what the media gives us without objection. Because of this relationship, many Americans are susceptible to the negative messages that we consume every day. If a celebrity tells us that “thin is in”, we must accept this without protest. American adolescents are at an even greater risk. According to Santrock (1998), adolescents spend at least a third of their time with some form of mass media. Through this heavy consumption of advertisements, sitcoms, music videos, movies and pictures in magazines, teens develop an idea of how they should look, behave and think. Shows such as “Popular,” on the WB network, have allocated one or two specific characters as “fat” and they are perpetually mocked for their size. This example alone demonstrates the belief of American youth that it is ok to ridicule individuals solely based on their outward appearance. Everyday, millions of teens dread attending school because of this fear of segregation. They wake up in the morning and stare at their naked bodies in the mirror and ask themselves, “why?”
June 29, 1994
Today was awful. AWFUL!! I went to school in a new pair of pants that my mom bought me yesterday. I thought that they were comfortable and my mom said that I looked great. As soon as I walked up to my locker, I hear snickering and whispers behind me. I turned around to see Shelly and Luke and all their other stupid friends laughing and pointing at me. I turned around in an attempt to ignore them but as I looked in my locker, there was a plastic pig hanging from the top with a sign on it that read “Oink!”
My sister was watching this show on television last night where the “fat kid” had the same prank pulled on him. I suppose to Shelly and her dumb friends that I’m the “fat kid.” I’ve always been the “fat kid,” my father has encourage me to play sports but I’m always the last to be picked for every team. The rest of the guys in school dress as if they were in the Backstreet Boys but those clothes don’t look good on me. My mom says that I’m attractive and I can date any girl I want. What does she know?
-John
Even though the concept of a perfect body is universal, girls tend to internalize the negative beliefs to a greater degree than boys. Historically, women have believed that their main asset is their physical attractiveness. This need began with the mothers of the baby boomer generation. Raised during the Great Depression, they developed a desire for luxuries that were previously denied to them and quickly became image-conscious. Naturally, they handed down their perceptions to their daughters and the cycle began. This belief has been reinforced and monopolized by advertisers since the 1950’s. Even though big-breasted, curvaceous women like Marilyn Monroe and Doris Day were idolized in the fifties as the epitomes of sexiness and cuteness, the ideal housewife was expected to be more like Audrey Hepburn. They were expected to sport a slender body complimented by a minuscule waistline. The decade began to usher in diet food such as Metrecal, RyKrisp and Diet-Rite Cola, to encourage women to control their appetites. Cigarettes were originally marketed as a sexy appetite suppressant which curbed the “unnatural” desire for food. As the next decade rolled in, women endured the emerging ultra-thin model such as Twiggy and the ideal figure turned towards one of emaciated beauty.
October 7, 1996
I went to my first swim meet yesterday. Mom and Dad came and so did John. They were cheering me on as I dived in during the 400 relay. We won second place for that race and third overall for the afternoon. I was wearing the new team suit, they’re pretty high cut in the thigh and I felt somewhat uncomfortable but all of the older girls were excited for them, what was I to say? Luke was also at the meet, he so dreamy! I think he was there for his girlfriend, Shelly, she looks just like Jennifer Love Hewitt on Party of Five, but Shelly’s breasts are smaller. I don’t think she likes me very much.
After the swim meet, my folks took me out for dinner. Dad and John congratulated me and bought me ice cream. My mom wouldn’t let me eat in peace though, she though I looked fat in the team suit. I couldn’t understand why should would say that. I don’t think that I look fat! I am very happy with my body.
-Elise
As we enter the 21st century, after surviving women’s liberation and the advent of the feminist, one would expect more variety in models. Instead, we are still at the mercy of the media to tell us exactly what women should look like. From every angle, we are exposed to abnormally thin women. Their popularity is circular. The media is only giving the public what it believes the public wants while the public is anxiously awaiting to see what the media has to offer. Amazingly, this desire for a thinner woman comes not from the desires of men, but from what women perceive to be attractive. This is most evident in the hundreds of women’s magazines that stock shelves every month. One simply needs to check them while standing in line at the supermarket. Popular movie stars and models grace their covers, pouting their collagen filled lips and are bordered by articles informing readers on how to lose unsightly pounds in weeks or how to please their man in bed. Many women turn to these magazines to find simple answers to general questions.
April 20, 1997
Luke asked me to the prom!!! I don’t know what happened between him and Shelly, maybe he’s just asking me to make her jealous, but that doesn’t matter because I’m going to the senior prom! When he saw me at the swim meet, he didn’t even look twice, but I was much heavier then. My resolution this year was to lose weight, can you believe that I was tipping the scales at 145? At my height (5′5″) I shouldn’t be anything above 120. I’ve been working real hard since January and now I’m down to 125 but if I’m ever going to fit in this prom dress I’ve gotta get my act together.
Calista Flockhart was wearing this amazing dress in the most recent issue of Cosmo and I bought one that was similar. It’s a size 4. I was thinking of getting a bigger size but then I wouldn’t look anything like Ally. I have to lose about 10 pounds over the next 2 weeks so I have stopped eating breakfast. It is just a start but I think I’m going to be ok. Mom hasn’t been bothering me anymore about my weight J. Besides, she wanted me to wear her prom dress which is a size 6. I laughed when I put it on, it was a tent! My mom was huge back in the day.
-Elise
May 5, 1997
The prom is in two days! I’m so excited. I’m down to 118 and I think I look pretty good in the dress. I’ve been feeling kind of drowsy lately but I think its from not getting enough sleep (my mom said that I have to finish my projects before Friday rolls around). My mom says that I should stop dieting since I can fit in the dress, I’m just not happy with the way I look. I think I’m too fat. Luke says that he doesn’t like fat girls, they remind him of Oprah. I told him that Oprah has lost a lot of weight over the years but he said “she’s still a fat heifer.” He must be right.
-Elise
There is a lack of larger women in media today. All celebrities seem to portray one of three body types; (1) the heroin-chic, emaciated Calvin Klein style woman such as Kate Moss, Calista Flockhart and Courtney Cox, (2) the muscular, toned, healthy woman that has appeared with the explosion of women’s sports, such as Gabrielle Reese and Chyna and (3) “full bodied women” as found in Playboy, Baywatch and other such sources. Any women who falls outside of these three generalizations is often found without someone to look up too. Therefore they descend into the dissatisfied, peerless category of those who are desperately trying to change their outward appearance to match one of the above. Their only models include women who are regularly ridiculed such as Oprah, Rosie O’Donnel and Rosanne. These heavy celebrities may portray a woman who is not concerned with what other people think of her. But, because of the constant scorn, they too are insecure about their bodies. In reality, many women cannot achieve any of the three models for a perfect body.
The depression that stems from insecurity about one’s body shape can manifest itself in many ways. Approximately 1 in every 150 teenage girls in American suffers from anorexia nervosa which is defined as the refusal to eat enough to maintain even a minimal body weight (EDAP). Eating disorders are prevalent in our modern day American culture to the point where they are legitimate grounds for humor in television and advertising. Some years ago, a billboard in Sioux Falls, South Dakota went up advertising the hit television show “Friends.” It featured the three female stars of the show (Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston ) cuddling and smiling with the caption, “Cute Anorexic Chicks”. This advertisement raised many eyebrows in the community and nationally when the EDAP (Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention) became involved. The message glamorized anorexia and insulted thousands of women everywhere. The caption was originally derived as a joke regarding the accusations towards the three women of having eating disorders and unhealthy exercise habits, which all of them denied. Although the billboard was removed quickly, it illustrated one extreme of a spectrum of ads promoting harmful body ideals.
Although this billboard may have been erected as a joke, the seriousness of the issue itself was not ignored. Millions of girls each year are suffering from eating disorders in a desperate attempt to be thinner. These eating disorders are a manifestation of a mental state on the part of girls nationwide. They are told constantly that they are fat and unattractive and they have internalized it. They no longer feel confident in themselves and their self image is destroyed.
May 20, 1997
I woke up this morning and threw up. I’m not certain why but that’s beside the point. Luke doesn’t want to go out with me any more! He never said why, but I know its because I’m too fat! I look at myself in the mirror and I just see fat EVERYWHERE! I just don’t feel like a person when people snub me in the hall because of my weight. It just seems that everyone is judging me because I’m such a heifer. Yesterday, my coach asked me if I was going to be swimming next season, I didn’t have the guts to tell her that I wouldn’t be caught dead in a swimsuit.
I think I’m going to skip school today. I’ve missed 4 days in the past two weeks (since Luke dumped me the week after prom), I keep walking up to the front door and deciding that its just not worth it to be stared at by everyone. I end up going on walks to the park during the day, its usually just old people feeding the ducks and their eyesight isn’t too good anyway. There was this really cute boy out there last week, but I didn’t want to talk to him. Not until I lose some more weight.
-Elise
PS: John’s girlfriend dumped him. She said that he was spending too much time at the gym, he looks pretty good though, my friends keep asking him to drive them home.
Girls are not the only ones to suffer from a societal body norm. Although the concept of an ideal male body does not have the same history as its feminine counterpart, men can still suffer from feelings of physical inadequacy. The components of male beauty are not as simple as they are for females but our society has managed to distinguish certain aspects of men that we consider beautiful. “Perfect” men are admittedly hard to find but are glorified in popular culture. Men are faced with increasing pressure to meet the standard of the muscular defined body that is promoted in film and television as well as by the fitness industry.
August 25, 1995
I was accepted for the football team! I have been working my ass off all summer to try and shed the unsightly baby fat that was suffocating my body. Yesterday was the first day of school (I’m no longer a freshman!) and it was great to watch Shelly’s jaw drop as I strutted past her and the rest of her cheerleading friends. She spent her freshman year making fun of me for being fat, and now I could hear her gasp in amazement. She wants me.
-John
Evolution has designed a somewhat perfect mating system. As a man, you are expected to display your genes for all women to see so that may decide which would be best to father their offspring. In order for a man to attract the woman that he wants, he must be attractive himself. Open any contemporary women’s magazine and you will most likely find an article about what women notice or admire about men’s bodies. Women confess to longing for firm buttocks, six-pack stomachs and strong chests. The way men’s bodies look is associated with sex appeal, virility and potential ability to please a woman. This notion that you have to look a certain way to attract a partner is remarkably similar to the experience women have with body image messages. In the case of males, eating disorders can manifest themselves in a very different manner. Often men who feel less than perfect will spend most of their time in the gym, trying to improve their physique and will become obsessed with a proper diet. Disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are not as widespread in males due to the fact that thin is not in. In many cases, too thin is just as bad as too fat.
Men who do not fit this norm can either be grossly overweight or underweight. There is more of a margin when it comes to the perfect weight for men. They can usually get away with being 10-20 pounds overweight, because of the loose fitting nature of male clothing. Either way, a man who is not within these margins will be ridiculed throughout school as a wimp, pencil-neck or tubby. To achieve the “perfect” physique, men turn to athletic facilities as women turn to eating disorders. Although time spent exercising is often considered healthy, it can have negative affects upon the male psyche. The behavior becomes obsessive compulsive before becoming addictive. Often the man who is obsessed with working out will find that he cannot survive without it.
September 17, 1995
I have a date with Nicole from the track team. She’s’ HOT!! I invited her to dinner and a movie. I think I’ll take her to that nice romantic Italian place. This is my first date since 8th grade, but that one didn’t really count because it was with Josie (Elise’s fat friend). I think these past four months at Gold’s have been paying off. I used to go there three times a week but now I go there everyday. Mom doesn’t like it when I miss dinner, but I try to explain to her that a protein shake is dinner.
I’ve been advanced to middle linebacker. Coach approves of my recent weight gain, and is encouraging me to bulk up even more. Who am I to argue with the coach, and the girls are on my tail. I got two letters from secret admirers, one is a hottie but the other is some dorky freshman. Its amazing how my life has changed since I’ve started going to the gym, women can’t seem to get enough of me.
-John
The interesting thing about working out is that it seems to lead to increased body confidence and, in turn, to greater personal confidence and self-esteem for many people. The problem comes when people get hung-up on body image until, in the male case, they look big and defined. The physical dangers go hand in hand with the emotional ones. Emotional connections between friends and family are forced to take the backseat when there is a high demand to achieve a certain physical appearance. Take Arnold Schwarzenegger for example; he refused to return to Austria to attend his father’s funeral because it would have meant breaking training. Schwarzenegger is indeed at one extreme. Not all men are interested in attaining such excessive results, but a result is very much sought after. Men discouraged at a lack of results may turn to other harmful areas such as steroids.
February 16, 1996
Why the hell am I so WEAK? When I went to Gold’s this past week I couldn’t bench 260!! I was able to do 250 last month with no problems, why didn’t all that training help? I was going to the gym almost everyday. I guess the creatine isn’t helping anymore; I need to find something else. This guy at the gym who benches 300 told me about some pills, a kind of steroid, but safe ones he said. Even if they are bad, one month of using them won’t hurt and benching 300 would be SO sweet.
I’m so damn tried of Nicole, why doesn’t she just give up? She has been calling me almost everyday crying, she won’t shut up! I almost lost my voice from yelling at her when she tried to tell my mom that I was neglecting my homework. It’s none of her damn business or my mom’s what I do.
-John
Considered more addictive than cocaine, steroids cause both psychological and physiological dependence arising from a user’s obsession with body image. Side affects include stunted growth, rectal bleeding, testicular shrinkage, breast enlargements, and impotence. Even with these side effects, men are desperate for the ‘positive’ results. When steroid use stops, so does muscle development along with the feelings of power and self-esteem. These drugs are easily attainable for young men in the search for results. The psychiatrist Katharine Phillips has observed that young males (average age of 15) exhibit symptoms of a body dysmorphic disorder. She describes this disorder as “a psychiatric illness in which the patients become obsessively preoccupied with perceived flaws in their appearance.” Young men in turn become convinced that they are scrawny and underdeveloped no matter the state of their current bodies. These body image misconceptions don’t just come out of the gym, but straight from popular culture.
What does all of this mean and how does this tie into our class? The media has created a perfect body image for men and women and anyone who does not conform to this image is open to criticism and ridicule. Because of this image, many deem it acceptable to openly mock people for their non-conformities. Because of this image, girls and boys question their worth as a human. Because of this image, physical appearance is regarded higher than personality. The media refuses to incorporate many different body types as beautiful even though the variety in the human species is what makes it beautiful. Their biggest audience is teenagers who do not know any better and cannot make decent life choices on their own. They accept everything that is fed to them without discrimination. Depression over body image is potentially the worst. There is a feeling of defeatism, because you cannot change how your body looks and you are doomed to live the rest of your life in an inadequate vessel. What can be done? What can be changed to improve the way of life among children nationwide? With support groups for overweight individuals, America is slowly learning to accept the range of body types that can be considered beautiful. Neither of us (Abran and Charisse) fit into the ‘perfect’ body type for our genders but that does not prohibit us from believing that we are attractive. There is so much more to beauty that what we are given over the television and in movies that there can never be an image of the perfect body. On must learn to find beauty in oneself and portray that beauty to others on a daily basis. Libby Bakalar stated it perfectly when she said, “the image of women [and men] in the media is… harmless at best and deadly at worst.”