Eating disorders and the Media

Everyday one is exposed to the media in every front. Whether it is through television, magazine, billboards, radio or newspaper, the media’s presence is widespread making it the most efficient means of changing opinion, creating controversy, exposing scandal and setting standards. Media can dictate what products are good by portraying them positively and they can also expose products in a negative light leading to their unpopularity. It is no secret that the advertising and marketing companies are billion dollar industries and large corporations such as computer companies and fashion moguls pay millions of dollars yearly to hire the best advertising agencies to represent their brand, knowing that exposure is the key to setting trends and making their product coveted. Even seemingly neutral or objective media mediums such as news broadcasting agencies can influence public opinion though exposing certain sides of controversies over others or giving more air time to certain stories. In every aspect of one’s life, the influence of the media can not be underestimated and whether desired or not, one’s opinions are formed and changed by the dictates of the media.
This prevalence of the media in forming opinion has in latest years become especially detrimental in the issue of self-image, especially that of women and how they perceive themselves. The images continually shown in the media of the “ideal” woman is always that of an overly thin woman, a super model who is supposed to represent the average woman and set the standard of beauty for women everywhere. However these models used in the media represent the top 2% of women in their build and the standard of beauty that they set is unattainable for the majority of women. This had led to an increase in the number of women who develop eating disorders in an attempt to cope with living in “a society that demands women so thin”(Davies, 2000), most women will fall short their whole lives regardless of how little they eat and how strictly they exercise. Although eating disorders have in the past been limited to the models themselves, these days average women in all walks of life develop eating disorders. In this day and age the media is a main cause of eating disorders in women who are made to feel unwanted and worthless by continuously falling short of the images media uses to portray the “average woman.”
The media perpetuates the image of women and sets the standards for how women should look. Whether it is fashion spreads directly showcasing a beautiful woman, advertisements for products non-related to beauty or even simply news broadcasts, the media perpetuates a specific ideal for women.

dissertation abstract