Running Head: MEDIA and a DRIVE for THINNESS

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Drive for Thinness

Running head: MEDIA AND A DRIVE FOR THINNESS

Media and a Drive for Thinness

Angela Ley

MinnesotaStateUniversityMoorhead

Abstract

Media and a Drive for Thinness

In 2006, there were over 16 million cosmetic procedures performed nationally to alter one’s image (American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 2007). Of these procedures, 146, 240 tummy tucks were performed, an increase of 133 percent from 2000. During the same year, there was a 420 percent increase in Botox procedures and a 55 percent increase in breast enlargements. These statistics are noteworthy, but they aren’t shocking considering the stereotypical image of what a woman is supposed to look like according to media influences.

The media has portrayed an unrealistic picture of what women should look like. At one time women were expected to be strong and help contribute with heavy duty chores (Derrene & Beresin, 2006). Heavy duty chores consisted of hand washing clothes, cooking, cleaning, sewing, childcare, and other household maintenances. In order to keep the house warm a women had to carry fifty pounds of coal or wood a day. Throughout a year, a women might carry over thirty-six tons of water from a pump, well or spring (Mintz, 2006). Change from this has occurred since the 1900s when women were expected to appear thin, fragile and pear shaped as shown in magazines (Silverstein, Peterson, & Perdue, 1986). Today, the media falsely portrays women through airbrush and computer technologies that erase flaws (Derrene & Beresin, 2006). The women portrayed in media are often ultra thin, successful and tend to take the lead roles (Borzekowski, Robinson & Killen, 1999). This is appealing to people in society today but can put them in jeopardy of various health risks.

Media, Others, and Me

The pressures of perfection come from a wide range of sources including family, peer influence and the media (Park, 2005; Derenne & Beresin, 2006, McCabe, Riccardelli & Ridge, 2006). Although family and peer influences are important contributors to the drive for thinness, for the purpose of this study I will focus on the how the media influences women.

Girls are exposed to the media at a young age. A 1994 survey found 40 percent of 9 year olds had already been on a diet (Derenne and Beresin, 2006). Commercials advertise beautiful, rail thin characters such as Barbie. If Barbie was real, she would be 7’2’’, have a 40” chest, and a 22” waist. A real female is 5’2” tall, has a 35” chest and a 28” waist (Croll, 2005). Only 1 out of every 100,000 would turn out to be that thin (McCreary & Sasse, 2000). And this is just the beginning of girls comparing themselves to unrealistic role models. As they go through puberty they continue constructing a body image of themselves.

Typically, adolescents look at themselves, do a self evaluation, and construct a view of what they would like to achieve according to their evaluation. This construction is often impossible to achieve (Borzekowski & Bayer, 2005). Becker (2002) examined the impact of Western television and the way it influenced behaviors of Fijian adolescent girls. Her study showed televisions’ impact on patterns ofdisordered eating. Becker referred to it as a landmark studybecause it was the first to examine patterns of disordered eating before and after extended periods of television exposure in a society with no previous experience. Previous attempts to link media exposure to eating disorders were limited due to persistent exposure of media and eating disorder prevalence in Western societies. Fiji was the chosen site because of its extremely low prevalence of eating disorders and lack of television exposure until 1995.

The participants that took place in the study were evaluated before and after viewing Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place. The results showed change in attitudes about dieting, weight loss and their perception of beauty. One woman stated, “I think all those actors and actresses that they show on TV, they have a good figure and so I, I would like to be like them…since the characters on Beverly Hills 90210 are slim built my friends come and tell me that they would also like to look like that. So they, they change their mood, their hairstyles, so that they can be like those characters…so in order to be like them, I have to work on myself, exercising and my eating habits should change (p.10).” Although participants were influenced by the study, they expressed concern around the idea of teenagers adopting Western customs and expectations on the appropriate amount of food to eat.

Just as youth and adolescents experience pressure to conform to media’s ideals, so do college women. According to Cahill & Mussap (2007), the media affects college women in that it adds to their feelings of anger, anxiety, depression, body dissatisfaction, and desire to lose weight. Although college women have these feelings about traditional forms of media (television, magazines), there are other sources. The internet is a fairly new form of media that has introduced us to digital manipulation. “The Digital Revolution has extended the ability for fake bodies to be falsely created on a computer screen” (Reaves, Hitchon, Park & Yun, 2004, p.144). An individual can use technology to duplicate, cut and paste images to create an image that is perfect. With the use of digital manipulation one can stretch women’s torsos and legs, take out fatty areas and grow muscles where there aren’t any (Reaves, Hitchon, Park & Yun, 2004). When college aged students were asked how they felt about the use of digital manipulation they were interested that the alteration of images took place. However,they also felta sense of deception or a belief that the practice is unethical and makes people seem different from what they actually are (Reaves, Hitchon, Park & Yun, 2004).

Within the realm of internet technology lies another sinister phenomenon. Pro-anorexia (pro-ana) and pro-bulimia (pro-mia) websites are on the rise. These sites are available via internet for women andprovide them a place to belong. Those who have the same views can share information about dieting and losing weight (Borzekowski & Bayer, 2005). Websites as these are harmful because they support and encourage anorexia and bulimia. They also post unusually thin photos of the “ideal” body weight, weight loss tips, and expression of feelings (Borzekowski, 2006). One site expresses feelings in a poem. An excerpt from it goes like this:

My stomach growls

It tries to tell me to feed it
But the other voice is so much stronger.
So much more persistent
"You're FAT"
"You're UGLY"
"You're simply not worthy of love."
It says this with a smirk
A small smile on its face because it knows
That I know… it's right (Anonymous, 2007)

Another internet site that attracts womeninterested in pro ana and pro mia isYouTube. Here pro anorexia and pro bulimiavideos are available online for any viewer to watch. One can attend to multiple photos of thin women and music simultaneously. After viewing a clip one can post messages on a blog with questions and statements and can rate the video on a 5 point scale from poor to excellent.

Consequences of Media

From the ways that young girls are influenced by Barbie, adolescents by television, and college women by the internet, the consequences of the media are clearly evident. The prevalence of eating disorders is increasing due to the unrealistic body image that’s portrayed in the media. Left untreated, eating disorders can lead to depression and/or suicide. Before depression and/or suicide are present, eating disorders can develop in women of all ages.

One of many eating disorders women experience is Anorexia Nervosa. People with anorexia fear becoming obese and will not allow themselves to maintain a healthy body weight (Matlin, 2008). Many women with this disorder look to pro-ana websites and view their disorder as a choice rather than an illness (Mulveen & Hepworth, 2006). Mulveen & Hepworth compared pro-ana sites with other fashion websites and found that those viewing pro-ana websites’perceived themselves as heavier, had greater negative affect, lower self-esteem, and were more likely to engage in social comparison. As far as behavioral outcomes of the conditions, those that viewed the pro-ana websites thought they should exercise more and watch their weight more closely in the future (Bardone-Cone & Cass, 2007).

As mentioned previously, another common form of eating disorder is Bulimia Nervosa. A person suffering with Bulimia tends to binge eat and use inappropriate methods of compensating for the binge such as vomiting, laxatives, and some even diet or exercise to an extreme in between binges. Bulimia typically is not as life threatening as anorexia but tends to be more difficult to treat (Matlin, 2008). It is more common among young women with an estimated 25 million affected by it (Park, 2005). While watching stars like American Idol’s runner up Katherine McPhee, or former Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler one wouldn’t think they had eating disorders until the media displayed them. But prior to exposure of their eating disorders one might think, “Wow, I wish I could look and be like her.”Generally, those who seek treatment for eating disorders report that skinny looking models from magazines were a motivational drive for them to become thin (Kalodner, 2003).

A third type of eating disorder that has not been studied as extensively is known as Binge-Eating Disorder. Those who have this disorder tend to eat large amounts of food and don’t use inappropriate means to rid themselves of the calories (Matlin, 2008). According to a Mayo Clinic website (2008), those with Binge-Eating Disorder tend to focus on body shape, weight and appearance, and messages from the media may strengthen some of the self-criticisms that are common with binge-eating. Derenne and Beresin (2006) reported that the reasons for the difference between society’s figure and the typical American body is “an interplay of media’s pressure to be thin, family eating and exercise plans, and a relative surplus of non-nutritious food (p.1) They also mentioned that dietary restrictions like self deprivation can lead to binging, weight gain, and worsening self-mage.

Not only is there an eating disorder crisis, but depression and eating disorders are said to have a co-morbid relationship. As disordered eating attitudes increase, so do depression symptoms. The risk factors of both can be body image dissatisfaction, low self esteem, and poor social support (Santos, Richards & Bleckley, 2007). The risk factors of both eating disorders and depression are starting points for more serious consequences of these diagnoses. Eating disorders and depression can lead one another to co-occur. Both of these diagnoses can eventually escalate to suicide. Keel et. al. (2003) performed a study containing 246 eating disordered women over 12 years. Of the 11 that died, 10 had anorexia. Suicide is the leading cause of death among those who have anorexia (Denoma, J.M. et. al. 2007).

A Combination Approach

The consequences of the media are often found through several theoretical perspectives. The combination ofSocial Comparison (Festinger, 1954), Objectification (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), and Cultivation Theories (Gerbner et. al, 1994) providestrong evidence of how the media impacts women, the views they have of themselves, and those around them. Festinger (1954) stated that individuals strive to improve themselves, compare themselves to others, and selectively compare themselves with those that are similar. Often throughout media, women’s bodies are sexualized as thin, beautiful and used to sell things(Hesse-Biber, Leavy, Quinn & Zoino, 2006). Fredrickson & Roberts (1997) proposed that women’s bodies are viewed as objects that are to be used by another. Social comparison and objectification theoryare strong theories that help explain how media induces a drive for thinness, but cultivation theory really hits the nail on the head. Cultivation theory(Hesse-Biber, Leavy, Quinn & Zoino, 2006) tunes in to the idea that the more media an individual is exposed to, the more likely that individual will conform to the unrealistic ideal body type that is continually depicted. Media that was once unrealistic and unnatural seems real and legitimate. As people continue to expose themselves to this fairytale they will begin to believe that it’s real and actually attainable (Hesse-Biber, Leavy, Quinn, & Zoino).

Summary

Women are exposed to media at young ages. This trend continues through adolescence and onto college years. For certain women this influence can lead to significant body alterations, eating disorders, and/or mental health risks. Social Comparison, Objectification, and Cultivation theories provide a strong explanation for why women react to media with a drive for thinness. Given findings within the literature, I hypothesize that increased exposure to media increases women’s drive for thinness. I also hypothesize that college women’s exposure to the media will increase their distorted views of their own body weight and that of their peers.

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