Analysis Of America's Next Top Model Of Secondary Socialization

Secondary socialization is a process that teaches people how to participate in society. Agents of socialization refer to the people, groups, and institutions that are the foundations of society. They are often highly influential in shaping our identity and view of the world. The two agencies of socialization that I have chosen to reflect on are media and religion. I will discuss how both topics have affected and influenced my beliefs, values, and role in society.

By analyzing the media outlet of television I will explore how it can influence the perception of body image in society. Marshall McLuhan suggests that “the medium is the message”. Television as a media outlet influences society by delivering messages of societal standard.

As a

We often discussed the competitions and judged the loser of the week. After we began watching the show I noticed that my peers were beginning to lose weight. At this time, my peers also began to bully me. They stated that in order for me to be a part of the group, I also had to lose weight. This led me to believe that in order to fit in I needed to become thin. I was very eager to fit in but after many attempts at exercising and eating healthy foods, I had lost very little weight. This made me become disappointed at my lack of weight loss. Shortly after my failed weight loss, the bullying increased. The girls within my group didn’t understand my attempts and lack of success. This led to them referring to me as “fatty” and suggested I begin vomiting after every meal. One of my peers had seen on television how a “fat girl” had lost 10 kilograms by purging after her meals. Unbeknownst to me many of my peers had been doing this for weeks in order to lose

I would analyse the models on the show and yearn to look similar. This influenced me to take my peers advice, making myself vomit after meals. After a few weeks, I found I enjoyed the purging. I could eat anything I wanted and still lose weight. By daily purging over the following six months, I lost 30 kilograms. This made me feel more confident as my peers now accepted me. I was also being noticed by boys and enjoying my life. I continued with my addiction to purging for the next three years. By this stage, my mother was very concerned because the effects on my health were becoming obvious. I was drawn, very thin and anxious over what I ate. She took me to our family doctor who diagnosed me with Bulimia nervosa. Dippel (1987) explains Bulimia nervosa a binge-purge pathological disorder. It often affects females who after several failed dieting attempts, develop a binge-purge method to lose weight. The doctor discovered that I had lost most of the enamel on my back teeth due to regular bile in my mouth. After much support from family and counselling, I was able to recover. By ceasing to watch shows about modelling competitions and cognitive behavior therapy I was able to achieve a healthy