Reality television shows and there effects on body image in society.

Reality television shows affect society and the idea of a real body image and life style. Television shows like The Hills, The City, Gossip Girl all use asperational characters who live the life style of the rich and famous. These shows have major affects on society because these watchers relate themselves to the TV stars that portray certain desires - like power, influence, traveling, survival, body, beauty and satisfaction.

The audience becomes convinced that this is the lifestyle that they have to live, to be happy and they strive to live up to the expectations that the Tv shows has made for them. Studies show that these reality television shows have distorted the views of “real” reality.

Each television star fits the same criteria of being wealthy, skinny, fashionable and sexy. This affects teenagers that are still developing because they feel thats how the must look to be accepted. This eventually leads to problems like anorexia or bolemia which many teenagers in America face. These reality TV shows are shaping society to be so obsessed with appearence, teenagers feel like they must strive to be like the star idol and eventually turn to dramatic outcomes.

Insecurities

After reading Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy I really can't believe how girls can be so insecure about their image and body. In a nutshell this poem told the story about a young girl that always felt insecure about herself, despite the positive things going for her.

Botox, plastic surgery, and even suicide are no just solutions to feeling better about yourself. Confidence in yourself and the way you look is key to living a happy life. No one is picture perfect and there shouldn't be a standard that everyone should aspire to look like. We are each individuals that look different and that is what the standard should be.

SELF IMAGE

I believe that good self-esteem and body image is rooted directly to positive behavior. People who have confidence in themselves don't get caught up in others worthless opinions and harmful thoughts. For example, many women rely on their weight for their " happiness." This could be detrimental to their mental health. Constantly putting yourself down, can tear a person apart. Some ways to stay away from this is, learning to respect and appreciate yourself, not comparing yourself to others, stopping negative thoughts, and participating in activities that are beneficial to self-satisfaction.

Tyra Re-Defines Beautiful.

So today I was watching Americas Next Top Model and it was obvious that Tyra had gained a little bit of weight. It was so inspirational to watch that she was still so fierce and confident, I did some research on how she felt about her new body and I came across her encouraging bathing suit speech.
After some tabloid criticism and a paparazzi photo of Tyra Banks wearing a swimsuit, she returned fire -- by proudly posed in a swimsuit for Peoples magazine. And on her popular talk show, wearing nothing but high heels and a swimsuit, she gave a powerful speech targeting people who have hurtful things to say about women's bodies.
Her message seems to be that she still feels hot, and she's thankful for her great support system and ample self-esteem. If she didn't have this, she said on the air, she would probably be starving herself right now. The most impressive thing about all of this is that Tyra seemed to be fighting back not just for herself, but for all women.
I was amazed to watch Tyra not only stand up for herself but also for girls like me who don't fit the skinny criteria. She was justifying that beautiful doesn't always mean thin, and that's something that our society has morphed into what is necessary to be accepted.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body dysmorphic disorder is a condition that involves obsessions, with how you look on the outside. People with BDD might focus on what they think is a facial flaw, but they can also worry about other body parts, such as short legs, breast size, or body shape. Just as people with eating disorders obsess about their weight, people with BDD become obsessed over an aspect of their appearance.
People with BDD may worry their hair is thin, their face is scarred, their eyes aren't exactly the same size, their nose is too big, or their lips are too thin.
BDD has been called "imagined ugliness" because the appearance issues the person is obsessing about usually are so small that others don't even notice them. Or, if others do notice them, they consider them minor. But for a person with BDD, the concerns feel very real, because the obsessive thoughts distort and magnify any tiny imperfection.
Besides obsessions, BDD also involves compulsions and avoidance behaviors. A compulsion is something a person does to try to relieve the tension caused by the obsessive thoughts.
It's extremely upsetting to be tormented by thoughts about appearance imperfections. These thoughts intrude into a person's awareness throughout the day and are hard to ignore. People with mild to moderate symptoms of BDD usually spend a great deal of time grooming themselves in the morning. Throughout the day, they may frequently check their appearance in mirrors or windows. In addition, they may repeatedly seek reassurance from people around them that they look OK.

Media

I think that the media overreacts to situations and blows things out of proportion. This manipulates audiences views and opinions. Magazines, T.V. shows, and movies, urge women and men to lose weight, have a certain " look", and dress a certain way. This completely influences how people feel about themselves and influence body image.

The Facts Are Scary...

I was nearly startled when I read these statistics on the web. I've never realized how big of an issue self-esteem really was. It is really heartbreaking to read that almost half of 9 to 11 year old childern go on a diet because they think they need to loose weight. It's quite disturbing to see how much of an influence the media can have on such young children. Something needs to be done to educate women on the importance of being healthy and how eating disorders have the ability to destroy you and your body.

• One out of 4 college aged women has an eating disorder.
• 46% of 9-11 year olds are sometimes or very often on diets.
• Underweight males have body images just as negative as overweight women’s body images.
• If Barbie was a real woman, she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
• A survey of formally fat people revealed they would rather be blind or lose a limb than be fat again.

All of these facts were provided by Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention, Inc.