Date of Award

5-4-2006

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Sociology

Abstract

The ideal body image is shoved in our face all over the place through advertisements and the media. Normal concerns about the way we look have turned into obsessions through the rise of the mass media. "It has been estimated that young women now see more images of outstandingly beautiful women in one day than their mothers saw throughout their entire adolescents" (Rogan 1999). I hypothesize that the media overall has negative affects on body image of women and men, particularly women. "Up to 90% of the female population diet at some point in their lives, but only 16% of the female population is obese" (Ogden, 1992). Furthermore, one in every ten women has an eating disorder. So, who profits from the mass media and how men and women's body image is portrayed? "The average American sees 3000 advertisements per day and spends 3 years of their life watching TV commercials" (Kilbourne, 2000). Not only does the mass media create the need to be thin and to look a certain way but also then industries, such as the dieting and fashion industry, profit by responding to the "need." It is a vicious cycle and by making women, and men, feel inadequate they then promote the idea that dieting will make you thinner and more content with your life (Ogden, 1992). In my thesis I have gathered research from various sources not only so I can understand a little more clearly why it is I believe that the media affects us but also so other people who read this can too.

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