Mariaelena Mota: Body Shaming In The Media

Body Shaming In The Media

What is the issue? 

"I am so ugly compared to her I will never have a perfect fit body," or "I am very fat, I need to lose weight to look like the famous celebrities." These are some common phrases used by individuals that face some type of body shaming. Body shaming is not a new phenomenon on women and men, nor it is uncommon in the media. It has taken it's toll on society, due to the unrealistic beauty standards it has created. Body shaming refers to the act of making negative comments about an individual's body. In this case, almost every single individual has been affected by it at one point of their life, whether it has happened as a child, teenager or an adult. The most to be affected are the females, females tend to be more self conscious of their physical looks than males. However, males can also experience body dissatisfaction between themselves or other males. Body shaming can be manifested in many ways, from criticizing ones own appearance to criticizing another's person appearance. It can be done by parents, siblings, friends, enemies, schoolmates and often portrayed in the media. The media takes role by portraying overweight or underweight characters and body shaming them. Which leads to making fun and discouraging them in front of the audience. This type of body shaming can generate consequences that can directly affect their self-esteem later on.

Research

In the article "Body Image Concerns in Young Girls: The Role of Peers and Media Prior to Adolescence" describes the occurrence of body dissatisfaction from an earliest stage of childhood through peers and media influences. This study focuses on the effects it has on young girls and their exposure to it. With that said, the study used a variety of methods to examine the relationship between their peers, the media and the young girls including dieting awareness. As a result of the study, they were able to predict which factor had the most effect on the young girls.

Statistics and Facts of Body Dissatisfaction on Young Girls  

- 6 years of age was likely the onset for the desire of thinness
- 42% of girls desired a thinner body 
- it is evident that girls aged 5 - 8 years, already exist in a socio-cultural environment that places an undue emphasis on appearance

Statistics and Facts Between Peer/Media influences and Outcome Variables 

- "Peer body dissatisfaction was significantly related to both girls' own body dissatisfaction and dieting awareness." 

- 43% reported that they would use some form of dietary restraint 

- Girls perception of their peers' body dissatisfaction was a significant predictor of their own body dissatisfaction and dieting awareness

- 84% of the girls reported watching television 'a lot'

- 69% reported that they look at magazines; high rate in appearance focus and presentation of the thin ideal

- Peers and the media appear to be significant sources of influence on young girls' desire for thinness, satisfaction with appearance and dieting awareness 

Male Body Image and Statistics 

 According to the "The Modern Male and Body Image: It's Okay to Talk About It," states facts and statistics of males that have experienced body dissatisfaction and having the ideal body.

- In today society, men feel the need to display strength, security and masculinity through physical appearance 

- Male body dissatisfaction has tripled in the last 25 years, from 15% of the population to 45%

- 17% of men are on extreme diets 

- 3% of men binge eat

- 4% of men purge after eating

- 3% of adolescent boys use performance enhancing drugs 

My Personal Experience 

It's funny, when you're a child you don't think about your body much because most of the time, you're playing and having fun. A child isn't concerned about their physical looks, or how society views them. Then somewhere along the line, society and the media start telling us different things. They tell us how to look and start judging our appearance. In this case, I, myself became a victim of being body shame. As a young girl and now, I am always told that I am skinny and thin. They tell me I have to gain weight to look like the other girls. With their advice in mind, I started to listen to them instead of myself. So like most young women, I suddenly started comparing myself to celebrities and became obsessed to appear like them, being fit and having a perfect body appearance. I began to make my appearance and my body my priority. I started scrolling through media, in this case instagram, to look a videos to help me get fit, and stay up to date with the new trends in society. I enrolled on a gym membership to start gaining more muscle. I changed my eating habits, started eating healthier and less unhealthy foods. I learned to do my make-up, because apparently now a days wearing make-up is the new trend or else you aren't pretty. Needless to say, throughout the changes I was making for myself, I started to lose my self confidence. I was more aware of people judging my looks instead of accepting and loving myself. I soon realized that I should be making the changes for myself not for them. So I chose I new life trajectory and started accepting myself. I started to ignore people's advice and slowly started accepting myself and my body. I learned that if I wanted to make changes for myself, I would do them because I want to not because society or media tells us to change. 

With this said, young girls or women including men like myself, that have been affected by this issue, shouldn't feel overwhelmed to fit into society. Every single individual is unique, so stop comparing yourself to everyone else and let go of self criticism. We should embrace the bodies we have been given and love ourselves to the fullest.

Interviews 

As I went around my community, I interviewed individuals that have experienced some type of body shaming either from themselves, other people or the media. 

Ashley Ayestas

"

 Vladimir Centeno

Jocelyn Serrato


Javier Orozco

Perla Barrera

References 

Dohnt, H. K., & Tiggemann, M. (2006). Body Image Concerns in Young Girls: The Role of Peers and Media Prior to Adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(2), 135–145. doi: 10.1007/s10964-005-9020-7
Larsen, Amber. “The Modern Male and Body Image: It's Okay to Talk About It.” Breaking Muscle, 5 June 2019, https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/the-modern-male-and-body-image-its-okay-to-talk-about-it.