The Headache-Inducing Barrage of the Contemporary, Conventional Body Image

photo credit to: Oklahoma Womens Coalition

photo credit to: Oklahoma Women’s Coalition

Pear. Apple. Peanut. Strawberry. String bean. Carrot. What do these all have in common? Rather than the foods that they should be, society turns to identifying the body types of women through these, and fashion magazines turn to them in order to pick out “what swimsuit works best for you this summer!” Women are implored to “always dress for the body shape that you have” in order to hide the critical “flaws” that we all exhibit- scars, birth marks, skin tags, freckles, stretch marks, or even simply the places on body in which more weight is carried than “is average.” This isn’t just an issue in grown women, however; the National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) reports that an average 42% of 1st to 3rd graders said that they’d like to be thinner, while 81% of 10-year olds are afraid of being fat. The question then falls to: what’s giving girls this young this perception, and how harmful does it really prove for their future? Well, the answer may be a bit more complicated- and toxic- than you might think.
So, what is “body image”? As defined by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), the phrase in sum is “how you see yourself when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind,” and encompasses what you feel about your own appearance, how you feel about your body, and how you feel “in” your body, not simply just how you feel “about” it. According to the many studies conducted around it, there is no singular influence upon an individual’s perception, but rather an entire assortment. From family views and comments on one’s appearance to personal experiences and cultural norms, the array of factors vary in their impact, but researchers do agree that the two most influential are media portrayal and the comparison with peers.
Most worrying about this, perhaps, is the prevalence that the media increasingly holds in the lives of the ordinary person. Americans watch about 5 hours of television every day- or a combined 1,825 hours each year- and the LA Times reported in 2013 that commercials make up about 1/4th of every hour that it’s watched. In short, the quintessential consumer sees a lot of advertising. According to the NEDA, the models of today acting in these ads weigh an average of 23% less than the average American woman. And it isn’t only women who run into this issue: movies and magazines are more and more inclined to show bare-chested men with “impossibly chiseled physiques,” perhaps leading to the evidence that that near one-fifth of all boys are highly concerned about their weight and build. Furthermore, Photoshop and other assorted image manipulation tools allow ad agencies and marketers to quite literally create women who are too thin to be true- women are warped to be thinner and utterly flawless, and men are edited to appear in the more muscular and lean standard that society has deemed. In recent years, scandals have come out of the woodwork left and right regarding this over-perfected airbrushing, everywhere from billboard spreads in the sky on highways to magazine covers staring you in the face in the checkout lines of grocery stores. While these touch-ups may seem like they’re an unavoidable aspect of the industry, the effects they’re found to have on the public are far more startling: in a 2013 UK study, 15% of 18 to 24-year-olds were truly convinced that the images of celebrities and models depicted in magazines, billboards, and ads were what the women looked like in real life. As if distinguishing the disconnect between Photoshop and reality weren’t tough enough when the individual knows about Photoshop, the task becomes much harder when they’re oblivious to the fact.
Similarly, more and more experts are attributing the leading cause of adolescent insecurity to peer groups and friends rather than the usual other attributes, a find that is largely considered surprising. From a study carried out in 2013 by Texas A&M researchers on nearly 250 teenage girls, television viewing and social media usage had little in the way of influencing body (dis)satisfaction; competition between those in their age groups, however, appeared to significantly impact the idea of body displeasure. “Our results suggest that only peer competition, not television or social media use, predict negative outcomes for body image,” the authors of the study recorded in the paper summing up their research, “… suggesting that peer competition is more salient to body and eating issues in teenage girls.” Though most wouldn’t consider this the biggest factor in the perception of one’s body image, in hindsight the conclusion does make sense: competition to have the most friends, be the most popular, be the most successful, ect. all are stereotyped as being near-exclusive to the better-looking teens. Anything less than that, and what are you to expect from life? Additionally, different research points to the thought that genetics may play a bigger role in the idea of body image than had been initially expected. In a study conducted on a large group of female twins in Michigan from ages 12 to 22 answered a survey on how much they wished to look like the women that they had seen on television and in advertisements, then compared the results on how fraternal and identical pairs answered the questions. Being raised in similar environments, the difference between fraternals- who share half of their genes- and identicals- who share all of their genes- would suggest some underlying genetic impact to body dissatisfaction. Which, from the data collected, found that more similar genes equated more similar answers. Further research is needed on both subjects in order to come to any conclusive verdict, but the initial indication signifies that these two could be just as influential as the often believed venomous media.
From body dysmorphic order stemming from what is perceived as the “perfect shape” shown in the media to the rising frequency of which eating disorders are being diagnosed- 24 million people of all ages and genders are diagnosed with some sort of form in the U.S. alone- the adverse effects that body image has taken over the past 50 years alone, frankly, is a frightening one that needs to change. Fortunately, an assortment of celebrities, organizations, and companies alike are taking a stand to change the idea that if you don’t look a certain way, you aren’t good enough. Meghan Trainor croons “But I’m here to tell you/Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top” in All About That Bass (2014) to promote the idea of body positivity, saying that she herself has struggled with body image since a young age, and that she’s overjoyed if the song resonates with others. An assortment of other songs have been released within the past few years that aim to assure listeners that self-love and confidence is crucial, but the efforts don’t stop at vocalists. Actresses like Demi Lovato and Laverne Cox are remarkably open with the journeys they’ve been on to achieve the comfort they feel in their own skin, and those such as Jennifer Lawrence and Lena Dunham have made the opposition they take against the standard “shape” of today’s average Hollywood beauty- the latter saying that she thinks of her “body as a tool to do the stuff I need to do, but not the be all and end all of my existence.” Perhaps that in itself is too broad of a generalization, as the figure of standard Hollywood beauty is steadily diversifying itself: see Rebel Wilson, Tess Holliday, Melissa McCarthy, Robyn Lawley, among others. Even male figures are getting in on the positivity: Prince Fielder, a 275 lbs. baseball player for the Texas Rangers, was featured in ESPN’s Body Issue of 2014, and was attacked on social media for being a “plus size.” Fielder responded by noting that just because a person is “big” doesn’t mean that they cannot be athletic, and the general consensus of the photo was that it was a “brave and beautiful move” towards body acceptance. Most encouraging about this, perhaps, is the fact that the stars taking a stand against this issue are ones that are looked up to by youth across the country- those who will be in charge of the future of the perception of body image.
Furthermore, an assortment of companies are turning towards campaigns that embrace the message of self-love and a positive body image. Dove may have been the trendsetter on this, beginning its Real Beauty Campaign almost 10 years ago that features women of a wide array of ages, shapes, and sizes to promote confidence and focus on the idea that “women are beautiful no matter their body type.” Special K has followed suit; despite being a weight management company, it takes great length to emphasize that “beauty is more than just a number on a scale.” Even American Eagle, a clothing designer that’s noted for its small sizes, has made steps to show a greater variety of models: their Aerie REAL campaign has pledged “No supermodels. No retouching,” showing women who do have lines, curves, and even rolls towards a brand that targets 15-25 year old demographic. When studies show that women are most easily influenced by media, the fact that they can see models who actually look like them is a fair predictor at both the increased sales and the improved body image of their consumers.
The perception of the “average” body image is one that is ever-changing and still far from perfect, but is one that is improving step by step. The final goal, ultimately, should be to eliminate the idea that there is anything “standard” about a woman’s body or her beauty, and to come to the realization that each and every one of us is an individual who can’t be lumped into a single category to define that. Once we accomplish this- making self-confidence commonplace- the idea of “beauty” may be one that’s no longer exclusive to the fashion models in magazines, but held by the everyday woman seen on the street.