The social issue that I will be focusing on is anorexia and body image. This issue affects mostly girls as well as a small percentage of males that are affected by body image. Body image effects girls as young as three years old. The main cause of this issue is the pressure to be perfect from examples such as models in the media.
Body image is a problem that affects young girls in many ways, lowering their self-esteem and comparing themselves to models that aren’t necessarily healthy. The reason why body image effects a young age group is because when a younger audience see movies and see pictures with models and actresses that are considered to be “perfect” girls tend to idolize them and aspire to be like them. What they don’t know is that sometimes modeling agencies and fashion companies when they put pictures in magazines or billboards they sometimes alter the images with technology to make the models look: skinnier, thinner and trimmer.
Anorexia is one of the most common eating disorders. Scientifically named anorexia nervosa is when a person doesn’t eat in fear of weight gain. People that are anorexic want to prevent weight gain or to loose weight. They usually don’t think there is wrong with their eating habits. People with jobs the stress body size usually suffer from anorexia like ballet dancers, models and gymnasts.
On shows like Toddlers in Tiaras on TLC, a show where young girls 3 and up perform in pageants where they are judged in various categories. The girls are dressed in big expensive outfits that are in some cases too provocative for children their age groups. The contestants wear fake teeth (called a flipper) that make their smile prettier. Which is unnecessary for their age since they are at the stage of development that their teeth fall out and new ones grow in. Also they wear hair extensions, pounds of make up and sometimes go to tanning salons. All of these things that are not needed for them to look beautiful. The parents of these children are putting the idea into their heads that the reason why they have to do all of these things before a pageant is because they need to be changed with products. The contestant get all dolled up, which is like saying they put on suits of fakeness. On the show they don’t show the girls ever talking about not wanting to put any of the fakeness or being uncomfortable with their bodies but I think from the film that they don’t play their has to be clips where a girl really doesn’t want to have to change herself to be on this show, all they probable want is to have fun.
Another cause of false body image in the younger age group I think may be the looks of certain dolls that they play with such a Barbie. Barbie’s measurements if she were a real girl are 5’10 and she would weigh 110. These are common measurements for a model. Barbie, is she were real would be so thin that her organs would eventually collapse because of her lack of fat. Girls tend to use Barbie as a model because that’s what they see runway models looking like, tall and skinny. So they think that’s what there supposed to be tall and skinny, just like Barbie’s.
I think that body issue is a really important issue because trying to be perfect and have a “perfect body” is sometimes unhealthy and you face many risks by falling into an eating disorder like anorexia and bulimia. These disorders can sometimes lead to death. Being perfect and having a body like a models isn’t worth risking your life for. The pressure to be perfect can be stopped if we learn to love who we are and how we look.
Sources:
1. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S44-4241-0-2642&artno=0000318835&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Body%20image&title=Skinny%20and%20Scared%20of%20Weight%20Gain&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
2. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S44-4241-0-2642&artno=0000318029&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Body%20image&title=Barbie%20Doll%20Tattoos%3A%20Is%20New%20Doll%20Appropriate%20for%20Kids%3F&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
3. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S44-4241-0-2642&artno=0000316078&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Anorexia%20nervosa&title=Beyond%20Thin&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
4. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S44-4241-0-2642&artno=0000314363&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Anorexia%20nervosa&title=Kids%20Too%20Afraid%20to%20Eat&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
I think that you did a wonderful job touching on all your thoughts and what you believed. I agree that putting the image of a "perfect" model/actress in a young child's head is unhealthy and bad. In the end, they grow up and they want to change themselves even more because of this image that they've looked up to since they were young. I liked the connection to the TLC television show. Great blog post.
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