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H 2 > Introduction Humankind has always been aware of the existence of beauty. As our species has grown intellectually and socially, the standards that constitute beauty have changed to suit our culture. Females, in particular, are given more focus than males when it comes to appearance (Jackson, 1992). For instance, cosmetics cater almost exclusively to women and while they are considered a luxury, they have come to represent more of a grim necessity for females (Hansen & Reed, 1986). In the Western civilisation of North America, the concept of what constitutes beauty has transformed from the curvy and voluptuous looks of Marilyn Monroe to the sickly thin figure of supermodel Twiggy. The most recent concept of the ideal female has moved farther away from the realistic, to a look that has become unattainable to the average woman.
This image of impossible beauty is constantly being presented to women through the media. In drastic efforts to harmonise with the modern notion of beauty, many women have developed negative and self-destructive habits and beliefs in regards to their own bodies.
Both disorders involve self-destructive conduct that develops from a goal to lose weight. Anorexia is characterised by starvation dieting, excessive exercising, the cessation of the menstrual cycle, and an intense fear of gaining weight. Bulimia, though marked by a similar fear of weight gain, is distinguished by episodes of binge eating and purging by vomiting, excessive exercise or with the aid of diet pills (Dittrich, 2001). The fact that the majority of models and beauty contestants would meet one of the medical criteria of anorexia - that body weight be 15 % below a "normal" weight - serves to prove that society embraces an unhealthy body image. In 1990, a direct relation was found between exposure to media and the incidence of eating disorders. The increase in eating disorders over time has coincided with the decrease in ideal female body weight, as portrayed in the media.
In 1992, women's magazines were found to have 10. 5 times the amount of advertisements promoting weight loss than men's magazines. This ratio is identical to the sex-ratio reported two years earlier for eating disorders (Kuehnel, 1998). The North American culture's thin beauty ideal pressures many women to resort to self-destructive and painful behaviours.
Breast augmentation enhances the size and shape of a woman's bust by inserting saline-filled implants behind the breasts. Other procedures include testicular and pectoral implants, inserting implants into the calves, removing skin from the buttocks, thighs or breasts to give them a "lift", abdominoplasty (commonly called the "tummy-tuck"), rhinoplasty, and phalloplasty (lengthening the penis by cutting ligaments, or thickening it with fat). Cosmetic surgery encompasses many serious risks to the health and life of the patient. The reason why some women choose to take such risks may lie in the fact that the ideal woman, says Dr.
Blake Woodside, director of inpatient eating disorders at the Toronto Hospital, is one who has a "totally flat figure except for large breasts, which is physiologically impossible" (Driedger & De Mont, 1994, p. 4). Drastic as cosmetic surgery seems, it may be the only way for an average person to measure up to society's standards of beauty.
Her obsession with looking strong and thin eventually damaged her endocrine system and she can no longer produce the hormones her body needs to adapt to stress. Kim Alexis states that all supermodels, even Cindy Crawford or Claudia Schiffer "could point out some bodily feature with which she's not happy" (McFarland, 1999, p. 43). Supermodels are not alone in the fact that they feel pressured to look a certain way and are often dissatisfied with their appearance. In a society where excessive weight carries the stigma of a lack of intelligence, unpopularity, and laziness (Stephens & Hill, 1994), no one wants to fall into the category of obesity.
In fact, in a 1997 survey, 89 % of female respondents indicated that they would like to lose weight (Dittrich, 2001).
After taking the pills for three months, Gilmore developed Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH), a deadly disease that kills most victims within a couple of years. For years manufacturers of diet pills have been discovering links between their products and diseases like PPH and heart valve problems. Unfortunately, diet pills like Ponderal and Redux have already caused dozens of Canadians to develop PPH and other heart and lung problems (Sawa, 2001). Already, the quest for a perfect body has cost some their life.
A recent study indicates that over half of all high school seniors have had sexual intercourse and approximately one quarter of these students become infected with an STD each year (Stone, 2001). Females on television are more likely to be very attractive, wear skimpy or sexy clothing, have fit bodies and be the object of another's gaze than males. In music videos, a medium highly tapped into by impressionable adolescents, male performers are more common and most women were portrayed condescendingly (Signorielly & McLeod, 1994). In television and movies, rape is often depicted as a crime of passion, and not of violence.
Sexual assault is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States and date rape accounts for 70 % to 80 % of all rape crisis centre contacts (Stone, 2001). All of this reference to sexual activity, with little relating to safe sex or STD's, and with the abundance of scantily clad women on television, the message is clear that females are expected to be seduce males and dress "sexy." The double edge of this sword is that when a woman is dressed in this manner and is sexually assaulted, her credibility is destroyed.
These self-destructive behaviours and negative emotions generated by the media will not cease until society revamps the concept of what makes a woman beautiful.
Cosmetics, Fashions, and the Exploration of Women. New York, NY: The Pathfinder Press. Jackson, Linda A. 1992. Physical Appearance and Gender: Sociobiological and Sociocultural Perspectives. Albany, NY: State University of New York. Kuehnel, Deborah J. "Media/Advertising, " Addictions & More, 1998, web > McFarland, Ginger E. "Beyond Beauty, " Today's Christian Woman, July/August, 1999, web > Signorielle, Nancy and Douglas McLeod. 1994. "Gender Stereotypes in MTV Commercials: The Beat Goes On, " Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Winter 1994, Vol. 38 Issue 1, p 91.
Stephens, Debra Lynn and Ronald Paul Hill. "The Beauty Myth and Female Consumers: The Controversial Role of Advertising, " Journal of Consumer Affairs, Summer 1994, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p 137. Stone, Jennifer. 2001. "Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media, " Pediatrics, January 2001, Vol. 107 Issue 1, p 191. Wolf, Naomi. 1991. The Beauty Myth. Anchor Books, NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
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