The violence beauty can cause isn't always an obvious problem. The media is in our lives everyday, so when we see people bending over backwards to look a certain way, most of us won't think more than a minute or two about it and move on with the rest of our day. Unfortunately, this issue is growing bigger and bigger and unless we try to do something to stop it no one will know the true meaning of beauty- if there even is one. (Find out on my blog next week!)
Most people, from what I have seen through my experience, keep a lot of their self confidence problems built up inside of them. In the article "False beauty in advertising and the pressure to look 'good'" by Jo Swinson, really puts it out there that this is becoming a severe issue that needs to be taken care of. Jo Swinson did a study that reveals how swayed people get from the media and shows us that this is a growing problem not only in America, but in the UK as well. Children and adults were told to review pictures of people and dolls with "perfect" bodies and dolls that had a healthy figure to see their reactions. The results showed that the pressures in adults and children increased severely and the children (girls between the ages five and seven) who viewed thin dolls versus the children who viewed healthier looking dolls, said that they wanted to be smaller and look like Barbie. The media has a lot to do with this, "From children's toys to TV programs, images of the idealized body have permeated every level of our visual culture." -Jo Swinson. What caught my attention the most were the results of the children from the study she conducted. I knew that the results would definitely lean towards people having pressures about being "perfect" but I was shocked to hear about children from the ages five to seven already have confidence issues.
In conclusion, no one is perfect, so therefore, anyone that is human can relate to this article. Jo Swinson is very explicit about how we need to start paying attention to what makes ourselves feel good, and what we are happy with and to stop letting the media tell us what beauty is and what it isn't.There is a wonderful clip from CNN posted on the page of Jo Swinson's article that sums up all what she was trying to get across to us in her article. Please take the time to watch it:
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/07/28/exp.nr.emme.julia.roberts.ad.ban.cnn
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
I'm really excited about your blog. Ever since I started college it has been quite stressful seeing everyone and thinking what a "perfect life" they have and that you are the only one with problems... etc. But, it all just starts with you; you have to be you and only you. That will be what makes you happy in the end.
ReplyDeleteI know this may be completely unrelated but I saw a video of how this lady really dislikes the way adoption pictures for dogs are taken. So what she did was go out of her way and take picture of dogs with pearls instead of chains, on sofas instead of in cages, and those dogs were soon adopted! It just reminded me of your video and how media tells "us what beauty is" like you said.
I'm really glad you're blogging about this issue. The media definitely has a huge influence on body image, and the sad thing is that it has trickled all the way down to children. I like how you mentioned how young girls wanted to look like Barbie. In my Anthropology class I took a year ago, we looked at the evolution of child dolls and found that the dolls have actually changed body types slightly throughout the years. Barbie began to slim down in the waist while her breasts and hips remained the same size. Likewise, GI Joe has grown to be more muscular and fit over the years. These dolls are serving as an example for what we "should" look like. I find it very troubling that these systems exist at such a young age. Childhood innocence is one of the most beautiful things about life, and that is threatened tremendously with the need to have a certain image. I like how you said we need to focus on what makes us feel good. I think that is a great way to live and hopefully with your blog people will start to do that.
ReplyDeleteKatie,
ReplyDeleteI love that you chose a topic that has been an issue for centuries that you are clearly very passionate about. When you really have passion about something it is evident in your writing and I believe that's what can be a big difference in whether your message get through to someone or not. I agree with David, I like that you mentioned Barbie as well as your opinion that the focus of our body image needs to be on what makes us feel good rather than a number on a scale or what someone else has defined as beautiful. When you discussed Barbie I immediately thought of the AMC show Mad Men, which is set in the 60's. It's crazy to see just how different life was then but one thing that stuck out in my mind was how the moms talk about their daughter's weight in ways we would be shocked to hear anyone say to anyone today. For instance, in one episode, the mom was talking with another neighborhood mom about family pictures they had just taken, and the friend suggested that she use one of the photos for a Christmas card. The mom replied that she couldn't use that as the family card because her daughter looked fat in that picture - her daughter is probably around 5 years old and yet that comment was not out of the norm for that time period. It's sad to say that although it may not be that extreme now, it's still something that hasn't progressed enough to detour people from basing how they think of themselves off of everything else but their own thoughts. I know so many girls that have become ill with anorexia and their obsession in so many cases lies within that number on the scale. They always form a new goal of what their goal weight but are never satisfied with the results. It becomes about that number over everything else in their lives. This is such a great topic to discuss in your blog!