The Media Effect: Stereotypes and Image Ideals

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Pressure from All Sides
Long-Term Repercussions
Media Matters. It’s not Just Subtle Innuendo
TV Lying? Say it Isn’t So
Aging Appearance Issues. The Psychology of Aging
Media and Aging
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The media creates stereotypes and distorts image ideals creating psychological and physical issues for all people, women more so than men. From our earliest history, it has been through our outward appearances that we project who and what we are to other people. Studies have continuously shown that people dress a certain way and acquire certain things to try to evince an attitude of belonging to a particular subset of individuals who embody their ideals. Society puts way too much emphasis on outward physical appearance. Women especially are impacted by this societal flaw. Women throughout history have dealt with significant barriers to their well-being and restrictions on their abilities.

Although society has come a long way in terms of providing women with chances to express themselves more and explore other aspects of their inner selves, modern civilization as typified by media images continues to place supreme emphasis upon a woman’s appearance as the true measure of her worth rather than more important aspects of her being such as personality, intelligence, compassion or talents.

Plastic surgery is commonly used as a ‘quick fix to correct physical flaws. It’s psychologically and physically unhealthy for individuals and society as a whole.

Pressure from All Sides

By the emphasis placed upon outer beauty, going so far as to include major surgery in multiple points of the body to attain it can be counterproductive. Young persons, girls, in particular, constantly compare themselves to the images they see on TV and in their favorite magazines as well as hear the comments of others around them who also hold these impossible standards are at great risk for serious problems. “Research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked with depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls” (“Beauty and Body Image”, 2009).

This problem is made worse by the fact that many mothers contribute to the problem without even realizing they’re doing so. “Many mothers have their unresolved issues about weight and body image that inadvertently interfere with their ability to help their daughters create a healthy sense of their bodies” (Bartell, 2008).

The problem has been traced through almost every age group, beginning with a very young girl’s just starting social interaction at kindergarten and extends well into adulthood without help. “One out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control – including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting. The pressure to be thin is also affecting young girls: the Canadian Women’s Health Network warns that weight control measures are now being taken by girls as young as 5 and 6” (“Beauty and Body Image”, 2009).

That otherwise educated women are seemingly falling into this trap of body image indicates both the depth of the issue as well as the emotional content it involves. When these girls reach 30 and notice a few wrinkles, they are so deeply entrenched in looking good for an increasingly shallow public, plastic surgery becomes a relatively easy decision.

Long-Term Repercussions

The media world depends to a large extent upon the money it receives from advertisers to stay alive, but these advertisers depend to a large degree upon selling their products. The best way to sell a product is to ensure that the product is something that will be needed perpetually, that there will always be some kind of demand for the product. A very effective technique in doing this is to set an ideal that is nearly impossible to achieve and then selling products that are geared toward bringing someone closer to this ideal, as has been done in the dieting and cosmetic markets.

“Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight” (Jean Kilbourne, media activist, cited in “Beauty and Body Image”, 2009). This is only started with the portrayal of women in the media which is also the source for everyone else to form their ideas of what the ideal female body should look like. Thus, friends, boyfriends, parents, and others all add to the pressure for girls to attain, regardless of how impossible it might be, the shapes and forms represented in the media. These widely apparent examples of how women portrayed in the media represent an impossible ideal to which ‘normal’ girls are constantly compared has also been proven to have the potential for long-term psychological and physical problems.

Media Matters. It’s not Just Subtle Innuendo

Because the modern-day ideals have established impossible standards of beauty and lifestyle, reality shows have evolved as a pseudo means of evening up the odds. Weintraub (2004) quotes Extreme Makeover creator Nely Galan regarding the reasons she started her reality show. “You know, women are always saying, ‘Oh, if I had a personal trainer and chef like Oprah or liposuction like actresses do …’ well, and we’re going to give them that.”

Some of these shows, Extreme Makeover and Fox’s The Swan included, provide complete personal makeovers that include liposuction, plastic surgery, and a host of other services.

One person who participated in Extreme Makeover and is extremely happy with her results said: “she had been unhappy with her extremely broad, flat nose and very full lips. But, as an African-American, the last thing she wanted was to ‘come out looking white’” (Weintraub 2004). A youngish black woman, slightly overweight and without a clear complexion, is, in today’s society, not as likely to be associated with the same level of wealth, popular and desirable as the somewhat younger, slender, clear-complexioned blonde girl standing next to her, given that both women are appropriately attired for the occasion that brought them together. The danger of falling too much into line with these external perceptions in the development of the identity is that it becomes quite easy to lose a sense of self in this identification and making it more difficult to adjust to inevitable life changes. (Seid, 1994)

TV Lying? Say it Isn’t So

Critics of these shows discount the professed counseling and other therapy offered as meaningless coatings on the real issue at hand, which is “getting you that new body, the one that will make all your friends and family, at last, see you as being ‘hot’ (Gibbons 2004). Doctoral candidate Angela Dancey points out that these shows work to deny they are about the appearance by including talk of psychotherapeutic and inspirational tales of rebirth, “but what you’re seeing and what they’re saying is very different.” (Weintraub 2004)

Aging Appearance Issues. The Psychology of Aging

As people age, they pass through numerous important life stages that shape who they are and how they will develop in later years. Identities formed during early and middle childhood into adolescence are profoundly affected by the social expectations they receive through the images and messages sent through various media channels.

When identities are formed and valued based almost exclusively upon how well the individual matches the external social ideals of appearance and material possession, this identity can become seriously threatened with the unavoidable issues associated with aging. The external perception of older women can be quite damaging to the older woman’s sense of identity. She has little desire to associate herself as a woman over the age of 65, yet if she is a woman over the age of 65, or for some reason appears to be a woman over this age, then several common associations attach to her as a result of social biases. According to Troll (1984), the older a woman becomes the more restricted in her abilities and capabilities she is perceived to be.

While younger women might be perceived as having a wide variety of potential characteristics and attitudes, the older woman is associated with only a few possible identities. “The most detrimental aspect of bias is that the objects of that bias share the attitudes of the other members of their society, tending to stereotype, distort and look down upon themselves” (Troll, 1984, p. 1).

Media and Aging

The typical stance taken by advertisers and the media in general regarding older people has been to de-emphasize their role in daily living, turning the focus away from the elderly and back onto the youth. This is because it has been perceived that the youth have more money to spend now, more potential to gain more money to spend later, and can potentially be turned into a lifelong consumer no longer needing to be wooed to the product or company before purchasing.

For a majority of television history, old age has been seen in negative terms, as a time of life dominated by decline, frugality, and isolation from greater social spheres. One study analyzed several documentary television programs about their depictions of older people and discovered that most cases illustrated a negative impression of what it meant to age, even when negativity was not the intention. “The usual public affairs special about old people in the community is likely to focus on the visible elderly who have multiple health losses” (Davis & Davis, 1985).

In contrast, fictional representations of older people were found by the same study to present more than 90 percent of its older characters as healthy, economically active, and adventurous – particularly when compared to their younger counterparts. The reason this image has not seemed to communicate to the greater public is believed to be a result of a tremendous underrepresentation of older people as compared with younger people in the media and the severity of real social issues that affect the small percentage of elderly who fall into the negative categories of poor, ill and/or disabled. (Seid, 1994)

Conclusion

The current media fixation with specific physical ideals undoubtedly influences the way people perceive themselves. The most common ideal holds that the ideal appearance includes long hair, manicured nails, tanned skin, and a small frame.

Women who are bombarded with images of these ideal young women eagerly copy their styles using hair extensions, silicone nails, and fake tans, and even plastic surgery but the effort of changing the form of the body is often more time-consuming than the now-culture can tolerate. The only way to adequately combat the flawed associations that have developed in our modern culture regarding the importance of fitting into a stereotyped ‘Barbie doll’ type image to retain some sense of personal worth is through alterations of the images presented by the media that has so skilfully skewed our sense of worth in its dangerous direction.

Reinforced by the ideas and activities of their parents, surrounded by role models that have little more than looks in their favor and still leading fabulous fairytale lives as depicted on television and having these concepts reinforced by the skillful manipulations seen in reality shows, teenagers have little option but to believe that the ideal form, carefully constructed in the plastic surgeon’s chair, is the only way to acceptance and happiness in today’s world.

The idea that beauty may buy oneself happiness is a popular myth perpetuated through such practices, but proof that it is a lie can be found everywhere. As women continue to spend more and more in pursuit of an image they will never achieve and even the most beautiful women admit to being miserable in their personal lives, it becomes more and more clear that the true path to happiness must lie in the development of the self.

In the end, it is society as a whole that determines what the ideal human form should look like, and therefore it is the responsibility of the adults to determine whether physical measurements should define the quality of the individual or if attention should be redirected to more realistic and less superficial attributes. The concept that youthful appearance automatically means youthful feelings, youthful energy, and youthful desirability is widespread and helps to drive the body as a commodity concept.

It is the responsibility of society at large to put an end to the concept of the body beautiful as a major commodity in our culture and to focus attention on more lasting goals and pursuits. Opting or even considering plastic surgery is harmful psychologically and sociologically speaking. It is a symptom of a larger societal ill, one that cannot be cured with a trip to the surgeon.

Works Cited

Bartell, Dr. Susan S. “Help Your Daughter Create a Healthy Body Image.” Focus Adolescent Services. (2008). Web.

“Beauty and Body Image in the Media.” Media Awareness Network. (2009). Web.

Davis, Richard H. & James A. Davis. “Television’s Image of Age.” TV’s Image of the Elderly: A Practical Guide for Change. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. (1985).

Gibbons, Sheila. “TV Makeover Shows are Prime Time Madness.” Women’s News. (2004). Web.

Seid, R.P. cited Fallon, P., Katzman, M.A. & Wooley, S.C. (eds). Feminist Perspectives on Eating Disorders. New York: The Guilford Press. (1994).

Troll, Lillian E. “Poor, Dumb and Ugly: The Older Women in Contemporary Society.” Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. (1984).

Weintraub, Joanne. “Makeover Shows Selling Fairy Tales.” Journal Sentinal TV Critic. Live TV & Radio. (2004). Web.

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