Body Images Affecting Canadian Youth
Body images and the ensuing and inevitable body shaming, has grown to become a pressing problem impacting the Canadian youth. With overweight rates at 65% and 30% for adults and children, respectively, one may see weight loss as the necessary solution to solve all body images stigmas. On the contrary, eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are climbing steadily amongst today’s Canadian youth. (Derene & Beresin, 2006). With such drastic sides of the spectrum, many have pointed toward different potential reasons for this trend however, a key determinant that must be tackled in the role the media play’s in the lives of today’s youth. The average child spends 4 hours per day watching television, heavily outweighing activities …show more content…
Dissatisfaction amongst today’s youth regarding their personal body image is increasingly common, warranting a necessary change in the norms and behaviours that are portrayed to Canadian youth. The necessary change that must be implemented moving forward is the portrayal of healthy and attainable body images through media. A 2012 ABC News article stated the average model weighs 23% less than the average woman (Lovett, 2012). Such an appalling statistic is something that must be tackled as we progress toward the future seeing as it showcases to the youth of today that anorexia and unhealthy body weight is seen as desirable or attractive. The relation between such a statistic and anorexia is clear. Such unrealistic body images featured prominently in media platforms (i.e. television, internet) and with media becoming more accessible to Canadian youth, it is unsurprising that anorexia and bulimia are being diagnosed at younger ages (Derene & Beresin, 2006). The link to such media representations and overweight is less evident however through further research it is clear that media can promote both extreme weight loss or lead to extreme weight gain. With media moving away from the promotion of healthy lifestyles, and rather working toward feeding the current media addiction plaguing Canadian children and teens, today’s media companies are feeding into the slippery slope that is weight
To Be Fat Like Me Analysis
1568 Words | 7 PagesWhere do we draw the line between telling people “love who you are, no matter what” and “your lifestyle choices are killing you, change it?” If we’re going to survive as a society, we need to stop crumbling individual’s self worth by shaming them. Douglas Bar explored intolerance of the obese in To Be Fat Like Me, as he conducted a social experiment filmed in a high school environment, where a 130-pound jock donned a fat suit and facial mask to make her look like a 250-pound teenager. Aly, the protagonist, perfectly maintains a slim figure while her family has overweight troubles. Aly ridicules her mother and brother for suffering with these challenges.
Marcela Rojas Social Media
835 Words | 4 PagesIt is a serious numbers that are increasing daily, and its constantly been fuel by the press. As research shows, it is an issue that the standard of beauty for women is so unreasonable. Promoting a thin standard that is not achievable or realistic could be detrimental to adolescents s health. It is important to realize that parents should limit their children’s exposure to the media, by encouraging participation in activities that promote self- esteem building. This could help children form a better
The Beverly Hills Diet Summary
641 Words | 3 PagesAll three of these articles share one common topic: body dissatisfaction leading to an eating disorder promoted by some type of media. Some degree of body dissatisfaction among women and young girls is consider a norm today. According to one girl asked to describe the “ideal girl” she described it as “5 ft. 7 in., 100 lb. , size 5, with long blond hair and blue eyes” ( Groesz, Levine, and Murnen 1). This ideal is not attainable for all young girls and women and I can only imagine how horrible this would make them feel, always seeing images of ideal beauty and not being able to meet it can cause them to go to extremes to get the body they want.
Ronda Rousey Research Paper
566 Words | 3 PagesRonda Rousy is an MMA fighter in the UFC. Rousey is known for her fierce feisty attitude. However, there is one thing that upsets her, people criticizing her body. While getting in shape for a commercial she was working on someone called her fat.
Egale Canada Human Rights Trust: Case Study
1206 Words | 5 PagesIn the past, eating disorders have been characterized as “women’s problems’ and men have been stigmatized from coming forward or have been unaware that they could have an eating disorder (NEDA, n.d.). Although women’s body image is continually an issue in society, very few are aware that nearly 18 percent of adolescent boys are highly concerned about their weight and body image
Essay On Thin Ideal Media
994 Words | 4 PagesOne of the biggest issues with the media is “thin-ideal media.” Many American celebrities of the twenty first century are incredibly skinny. However, this is only because so many of them lose weight due to unforgiving diets and overbearing workouts. Thin-ideal media causes the majority of issues, “‘thin-ideal media’ refers to media images, shows and films that contain very thin female leads… Thin-ideal media highlights the idea that thinness is a good and desirable thing to be, even if it is to a level that is potentially damaging to a persons health” (Farrar). Females are portrayed as feminine, skinny, and ladylike on screen.
Body Image Research Paper
133 Words | 1 PagesIn today’s modern culture, almost all forms of popular media play a significant role in bombarding young people, particularly young females, with what happens to be society’s idea of the “ideal body”. This ideal is displayed all throughout different media platforms such as magazine adds, television and social media – the idea of feminine beauty being strictly a flawless thin model. The images the media displays send a distinct message that in order to be beautiful you must look a certain way. This ideal creates and puts pressure on the young female population viewing these images to attempt and be obsessed with obtaining this “ideal body”. In the process of doing so this unrealistic image causes body dissatisfaction, lack of self-confidence
Media Body Image
1257 Words | 6 PagesBody image issues are compounded by unrealistic portrayals of women in the media. 1. Nichter & Nichter (1991) found that the ideal teenage girl was described as being 5’7”, 100 pounds, and size 5 with long blonde hair and blue eyes. If this were a real person, she would represent a body mass index lower than 16, which is extremely unrealistic and bordering on anorexic. On the same note, the average model portrayed in the media is approximately 5’1 1” and 120 pounds.
Argumentative Essay On Body Image
1152 Words | 5 PagesMen and women nowadays are starting to lose self-confidence in themselves and their body shape, which is negatively impacting the definition of how beauty and body shape are portrayed. “...97% of all women who had participated in a recent poll by Glamour magazine were self-deprecating about their body image at least once during their lives”(Lin 102). Studies have shown that women who occupy most of their time worrying about body image tend to have an eating disorder and distress which impairs the quality of life. Body image issues have recently started to become a problem in today’s society because of social media, magazines, and television.
Eating Disorders Argumentative Essay
1525 Words | 7 PagesFrom an early age, we are exposed to the western culture of the “thin-ideal” and that looks matter (Shapiro 9). Images on modern television spend countless hours telling us to lose weight, be thin and beautiful. Often, television portrays the thin women as successful and powerful whereas the overweight characters are portrayed as “lazy” and the one with no friends (“The Media”). Furthermore, most images we see on the media are heavily edited and airbrushed
How Does Reality Tv Affect Body Image
1917 Words | 8 PagesThe impact of Reality TV and The Influence on Individuals' Body Image and Perception Introduction: The impact of media on girls and young women’s esteem of self and body imagery has been researched for years and has produced varied results. However research has mainly focused on magazines, television shows and advertisment, very little has been researched in terms of the increased viewing of reality television. Some might argue that reality television does not depict real life events (Chaney,2011), but the new phenomenon of reality television is the most widely viewed and has given channels increased TRP ratings. Festinger(1954) posits that humans possess a drive to evaluate their abilities and their opinions with
When The Fat Girl Gets Skinny Analysis
806 Words | 4 PagesThe idolization of slim figures are blinding teenagers to believe it is a necessity to practice these methods. As Blaid describes society’s perspective, “If you develop an eating disorder when you are already thin to begin with, you go to the hospital. If you develop an eating disorder when you are not thin to begin with, you are a success story,”(26-27) this is to point out how society has manipulated the point of view on health conditions to be viewed as a
Arab Stereotypes Essay
1027 Words | 5 PagesA child today is borne to watch on an average of over 7 hours of television a
Celebrity Youth Identity
1535 Words | 7 PagesBased on a poll, 40% of nine and ten year-olds had tried losing weight and at age thirteen (Body Image and Gender Identity, 2002), 53% of girls were unhappy with their image (National Institute on Media and the Family). Now, this cannot all be responsible on the media, but with celebrities becoming thinner and thinner, much self-confidence is lost and images of television stars or models have been associated to body discontentment (National Institute on Media and the Family). Celebrities need to be worried about their image because of the unpleasant fact that it causes young fans to struggle to be unhealthily thin. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that eating disorders affect more than five million Americans a year, with disorders usually beginning in the youth or as early as eight. (n.a, www.youtube.com/,n.year,
Unrealistic Standards Of Teenagers
381 Words | 2 PagesMedia is looked at by most people in society as a way to receive news, albeit sometimes biased. Although many news channels and companies often sway a story in favor of their beliefs, media in general is just another tool for entertainment or education. Teens, however, are subconsciously affected by unrealistic standards set by media. Most magazines use photoshop in almost every that they include in their final draft, and have articles that tell how best to live your life or talk to people. Teenage years are a critical part of life, and these standards make many teens feel as though they aren’t good enough for others.
More about Body Images Affecting Canadian Youth
To Be Fat Like Me Analysis
1568 Words | 7 PagesMarcela Rojas Social Media
835 Words | 4 PagesThe Beverly Hills Diet Summary
641 Words | 3 PagesRonda Rousey Research Paper
566 Words | 3 PagesEgale Canada Human Rights Trust: Case Study
1206 Words | 5 PagesEssay On Thin Ideal Media
994 Words | 4 PagesBody Image Research Paper
133 Words | 1 PagesMedia Body Image
1257 Words | 6 PagesArgumentative Essay On Body Image
1152 Words | 5 PagesEating Disorders Argumentative Essay
1525 Words | 7 PagesHow Does Reality Tv Affect Body Image
1917 Words | 8 PagesWhen The Fat Girl Gets Skinny Analysis
806 Words | 4 PagesArab Stereotypes Essay
1027 Words | 5 PagesCelebrity Youth Identity
1535 Words | 7 PagesUnrealistic Standards Of Teenagers
381 Words | 2 Pages