Research: Body Image and the Media

Laura Galloway

Macy

English 12

14 March 2012

Body Image and the Media

The smell of sickness and disinfectants burn your nose, walking down the hall you hear a commotion behind you, turning around you see the double-doors burst open and a group of doctors running a stretcher rush by. On the stretcher you see what looks like a skeleton; a second glance shows you a young girl, a girl who is dying. The young girl on the stretcher has an eating disorder, a disorder that will end her life before it even begins…

There are countless reasons why a person develops an eating disorder, but in this essay the focus will be on how the media affects people’s views of body image. Although Hollywood provides great entertainment to people all around the world, the effects it has on society and ideal body image are devastating, as seen in its impacts on different age groups, the actors and actresses involved in it, and how it has been known to lead many to anorexia, bulimia, and obesity.

Most of society thinks that an eating disorder is simply not eating food or throwing it up after eating, but what an eating disorder is and what they involve are far denser than just a few skinny girls. The editor of the Eating Disorders Sourcebook agrees, stating, “Eating disorders are complex, chronic illnesses largely misunderstood and misdiagnosed. The most common eating disorder – anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder – are on the rise in the United States and worldwide” (Matthews 3). Part of the problem with eating disorders is the media. While watching TV or waiting at the theater for a movie to start, audiences are bombarded with images of beautiful actors and actresses, who are skinny, happy, and rich. Commercials about losing weight through pills, exercise, and drinks draw those watching in like a moth to flame. The Eating Disorders Sourcebook continues,

The idealization of thinness has resulted in distorted body image and unrealistic measures of beauty and success. Cultural and media influences such as TV, magazines, and movies reinforce the belief that women should be more concerned with their appearance that with their own ideas or achievements. Body dissatisfaction, feelings of fatness, and drive for thinness has led many women to become overly concerned about their appearance. Research has shown that many normal weight and even underweight girls are dissatisfied with their body and are choosing inappropriate behaviors to control their appetite and food intake. The American Association of University Women found that adolescent girls believe physical appearance is a major part of their self-esteem and that their body image is a major part of their self-esteem. (Matthews 9)

The idea of body image has been defined by Hollywood and the culture of media. It makes people of all different ages and background think they’re inferior and that they need to change in order to fit in. The media has forever changed what people will think of themselves and their bodies.

People of all age groups watch Hollywood movies, so all age groups are subject to the influences associated with body image and the media. Children as young as seven years old are experiencing the feelings of inadequacy when viewing movies or TV shows that show beautiful skinny actresses and actors having exciting, wonderful lives (Renki 2). As they view those actors and actresses having such great lives, the children begin to think that being skinny will make their lives better as well. One might not consider that a child thinks of themselves as fat or overweight, but in reality very young children can contract eating disorders if enough negative influences surround them. The statistics given in the article written by Margaret Renki state,

42 percent of kids in first through third grades wish they were thinner, 81 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of becoming fat, 51 percent of 9 and 10-year-old girls say they feel better about themselves when they are on a diet. Numbers like these are red flags for experts. And perhaps the most worrisome news is that it’s not just overweight kids who are restricting calories. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, significant numbers of normal weight and underweight kids are also dieting. (Renki 3)

The statistics given are quite startling. It shows that almost no child thinks of themselves in a good light, why then do we allow Hollywood influences to show them and tell them that they’re imperfect? In the article “Starving for Attention” the author tells her audience, “Once considered a risk only for wealthy, high achieving teenage girls, eating disorders such as anorexia (and more rarely, bulimia) are becoming increasingly common among children” (Renki 2). The author also talks about the dangers of eating disorders in children when she states,

Eating disorders are dangerous at any age, but when one isn’t recognized in a

child, or when treatment comes too late, the effects can be catastrophic.

Children have a lower percentage of body fat, which means they get much

sicker much faster that adolescents and adults. And because their bodies and

brains are still developing, the most severe cases can permanently affect their

development – limiting growth potential, damaging vital organs

(particularly the heart, kidneys, and brain) – even when the eating

disorder is eventually successfully treated. (Renki 2)

When Hollywood presents actors and actresses who have an eating disorder in a predominant role in a movie, children turn them into heroes and often try to be just like them, which in some cases can lead them to an eating disorder. Although very scary to think that small children have eating disorder, obviously they’re not the only age at risk. Teens and young adults is the age group that is most commonly associated with eating disorders.

Teens and young adults are at the highest risk for eating disorders (Matthews 5). With stress from school, jobs and home life, the pressure to look your best is even greater. Teens have to deal with peer pressure not only at school but also during a regular pastime: in front of the TV screen. In the documentary film THIN, the stories of many girls with eating disorders are shown and told. One girl named Brittney was younger than 15 when she developed an eating disorder. These are the words the film used to tell her story, “Brittney has had an eating disorder since she was 8 years old. In the past year she dropped from 185 to 97 pounds. When she arrived at Renfew [a center for women with eating disorders], she had a low heart rate, hair loss, and liver damage” (Greenfield). In the end Brittney had to leave the center due to financial reasons, she never recovered from her disorder… stories like Brittney’s are heart breaking. A similar heart wrenching story is that of Polly Williams, another woman at the eating disorder center, she was around 20 years old in the film. Polly was at Renfew for recovery she had anorexia and was extremely unhealthy, she never fully recovered and today’s still has eating disorders. When interviewed about her arrival to the center she stated, “I tried to kill myself after a fight over two pieces of pizza. Obviously that’s not the whole reason but that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” (Greenfield). Both women were young adults dealing with eating disorders, they were pressured into looking “perfect,” seeing girls in magazines and in the movies and on TV made them feel inferior. In order to look the way they thought they should they took on a motto mentioned in the film, “THIN. If it takes dying to get there, so be it.” (Greenfield). The influences that Hollywood and the media have on children, teens, and young adults are devastating to societies self esteem and idealization of body image. But what about the actors and actresses in Hollywood, how are they affected by the media and their body image?

Hollywood also has a great influence on the actors and actresses who work of it. Because of the numerous characters an actress or actor portray while working for Hollywood, they must constantly change what they look like; in many cases this has lead them to eating disorders. In the article “How I Beat Anorexia” one actress talks about how she developed anorexia:

because I've had firsthand experience with being caught up in the whole

Hollywood body thing. When I got the job on Ally McBeal, it was

because I was healthy and attractive at my natural weight. But every single day,

you're basically in fittings, constantly being measured. Plus, I thought by losing

weight, it would be one less thing I had to think about-when it came to award

shows, I didn't have to worry about if I would fit into a sample size. I got caught

up trying to maintain that. (“How I Beat Anorexia” 1)

The diets that actors and actresses go on to either fit a role of to fit into the latest designer dress are usually extreme and very addicting. Once an actor or actress start a diet they find it hard to break it once they’re role is over or they’ve already fit into their new outfit. Even when it becomes hazardous to their health, the actors and actresses are still addicted to their diets and can’t quit. In the article “How I Beat Anorexia” the author agrees when she states, “Many times the hardest part for actors and actresses is getting out of the habit of an eating disorder. It’s hard for anyone to break an eating disorder but when your job is to look perfect all the time I’d imagine the task is even greater when it comes to ridding one’s self from an eating disorder” (“How I Beat Anorexia” 1). In some cases actors and actresses are told they must gain weight in order to obtain a role in a movie. After the job is over and it’s time to find a new role, it becomes difficult for the person to break the habit. Many actors and actresses have become overweight and obese because of roles they had to play and had trouble getting skinny again after, which either lead to anorexia and bulimia or binge eating; both are very dangerous eating disorders and can lead to death if not treated. On top of trying to get jobs and fit into roles, actors and actresses must also contend with the paparazzi. The paparazzi’s job is to take pictures of Hollywood’s most famous and make a good story out of it, this often means pictures that hurt the actors and actresses personally or hurts their career. In an interview one actress recounts some of her run-ins with the paparazzi, “Alley says that paparazzi shoot her from lower angles to make her look bigger and contends that some photos have been doctored. ‘I’m forever walking around in grocery stores and people go, ‘you don’t look that fat! How did you lose that weight so fast?’’ she says. ‘I haven’t lost a pound’” (Tauber 2). The paparazzi are always taking pictures of actors and actresses that either makes them look overweight or extremely underweight. Those pictures are then printed in magazines and tabloids for the whole world to see. The pressures of trying to book roles in Hollywood, keep fans, look good for award shows, and deal with the tabloids and the paparazzi, are more than enough to push an actor or actress over the edge and into an eating disorder.

Most of society presumes that they know what the different types of eating disorders and their consequences, but in reality many people’s knowledge about eating disorders only scratches the surface. The easiest way to describe anorexia is to say that it is a disorder that someone develops when they restrict calories and eat very little or no food at all until their body begins to shut down. A more in-depth description is given in The Eating Disorders Sourcebook when it states,

Anorexia nervosa is a physiological illness characterized by marked weight loss,

an intense fear of gaining weight even though the patient is underweight, a

distorted body image and amenorrhea… Complications of anorexia nervosa are

numerous, involving almost every organ system, although most complications

may be reversed when a healthy nutritional state is restored. (Matthews 45)

Although the quote above says that most health problems caused by Anorexia, the person affected is never quite the same as they were before the disorder. Anorexia is a disturbing and troubling disorder that hurts everyone involved. The media is the cause for many people to lose self-esteem and develop an eating disorder is a sad fact that has yet to be resolved. Another eating disorder similar to anorexia is most commonly called bulimia, or bulimia nervosa, a well known definition for bulimia is when a person eats a meal and then purges the food out by vomiting before they can digest it. The Eating Disorder Sourcebook defines by stating,

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder. It is characterized by binge eating (eating large amounts of food in a short time) followed by self-induced vomiting and/or laxatives. Although most bulimics have a normal weight, they feel a lack of

control over their eating behavior. After binging, they induce vomiting or use

laxatives or diuretics because they are fearful of becoming overweight. They often feel

their lives are controlled by conflicts about eating. (Matthews 59)

People who have bulimia basically give up their lives because they are only able to focus on what they’re eating and how to get rid of it; the bulimia consumes their lives. When a person feels like they can’t lose weight but they don’t want to stop eating the person often will resort to bulimia. The media constantly promoting commercials about diet pills and different food programs put a lot of pressure onto those watching them. When someone can’t get a hold of those kinds of diets, resorting to bulimia seems like the easiest solution to them. Anorexia and bulimia are both serious eating disorders that are developed out of desperation, a desperation that the media is somewhat responsible for. The media has caused many people (including actors and actresses) to resort to anorexia and bulimia, but it has also caused other eating disorders ones that don’t cause people to be extremely skinny.

When people think about how the media affects body image people usually focus on how it makes girls feel fat and makes them want to become skinnier; but in some cases, it has the opposite effect. When Hollywood promotes an actor or actress who is overweight and/or obese children and young teens can develop a hero type connection to them which means they’ll want to be just like them. In the show called Huge, which airs on ABC Family, overweight and obese teens attend a “fat camp” where they are encouraged to lose weight so that they can live a healthier lifestyle. Instead of using the show to promote healthy living, it makes the camp look like the bad guys and those fighting to stay overweight look like the good guys; so instead of promoting kids to be healthy its teaching kids that it is okay to be at an unhealthy weight (Seibel). Shows such as that set a bad example for children, it is okay for kids who are at a healthy weight to know that they’re perfect the way they are, but when kids who are overweight and are unhealthy and are told that they’re fine the way they are, it can be damaging to their health. One of the eating disorders that a person can develop when they are subject to influences such as that is called binge eating. The Eating Disorders Sourcebook states, “Binge eating disorder (BED) is the newest clinically recognized eating disorder. BED is primarily identified by repeated episodes of uncontrolled eating. The overeating or bingeing does not typically stop until the person is uncomfortably full” (Matthews 5). In many cases the overeating caused by the binge eating disorder causes its victims to become overweight and can eventually, if it’s not caught and treated, it can lead to obesity. The Harvard’s Men’s Health Watch states,

In less than 40 years, the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. has increased by

over 50%, so that two of every three American adults are now overweight or

obese. Even worse, the obesity epidemic is rapidly spreading to our children…

all in all, obesity and overweight account for nearly one of every 10 American

deaths. (Harvard 5)

The statistics given above are astonishing, and rapidly increasing. Soon even more people will be overweight or obese, which will lead to more deaths caused by being obese. Obesity is a very serious problem that needs to be solved, and the media isn’t helping. Instead of promoting shows like “Huge” they need to be doing more to promote healthy weight.

Body image and the media have always been and will always be intertwined. Hollywood is either promoting an extremely skinny person or extremely overweight. The media will always affect societies ideas on self esteem and the body image, and people will always trying to follow the latest styles and trends set out by Hollywood. The media has lead many people to anorexia, bulimia, and obesity, including people from different age groups and the actors and actresses who work for Hollywood. At some point Hollywood and the media will have to face the reality of what they do to the people and the eating disorders they have caused. But for now the media will continue to set the standards for ideal body image.

Works Cited

Greenfield, Lauren, dir. Cutler, R.J. Greenfield, Lauren, producers. Thin. HBO Home Box Office. 2006. DVD.

"How I Beat Anorexia." People 66.15 (2006): 63. Middle Search Plus. Web. 7 Mar. 2012.

Jackson, Kathy Merlock. “Body Shots: Hollywood and the Culture of Eating Disorders.” Journal of American Culture. 34.3(2011): 304-305. Acedemic Search Premeir. web. 25 Feb. 2012.

Matthews, Dawn D. Eating Disorders Sourcebook. Detroit, MI. Omnigraphics, 2001. Print.

President and Fellows of Harvard College. “Obesity in America: What’s Driving the Epidemic?” Harvard Men’s Health Watch. Health.Harvard.edu. Feb 2012. Web. 13 Feb 2012.

Renki, Margaret. “Starving for Attention.” Parenting School Years. 23.6(2009):72. Master FILE Premier. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.

Seibel, Deborah Starr. “Size Matters ‘Huge’ Highlights Struggles of Girls at a Weight Loss Camp.” NYPost. 27 June 2010. Print.

Tauber, Michelle Cagle, Jess Gee, Allison Singh. “Big Star.(Cover Story).” People. 62.6 (2004); 84. Master FILE Premier. Web. 16 Feb 2012.

(Sorry for the weird spaces, it copied like that and i couldnt change it :/)

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