Body advertising affect women and men

[E_7]

Hi all,

I found this cool website while searching for the State with less body advertising (no luck in that area yet), and here is some info from there that I wish to share:

Girls are major consumers of media, and they receive and engage with these messages every day. T**he average child or teen watches 3 hours of television per day, and the numbers are higher for African-American and Latino youth. When various media (chat rooms, email, websites, music, etc.) are combined, children use media 6 hours and 32 minutes per day. **[Nielsen Media Research, 1998]. The proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harming girls’ self-image and healthy development. There are serious cognitive and emotional effects, as well as consequences for mental and physical health. [APA, 2007]

The number of teen-focused magazines increased almost fourfold, from 5 in 1990 to 19 in 2000, and most teens regularly read magazines. [Mediamark Research, 2005]
Body dissatisfaction is common for teenage girls and is associated with dieting and unhealthy weight-control behaviors. **The idealization and pursuit of thinness are seen as the main drivers of body dissatisfaction, with the media primarily setting thin body ideals. [Hill, 2006]
In a study of 112 female undergraduates, exposure to thin-ideal advertisements increased body dissatisfaction, negative mood, levels of depression, and lowered self-esteem. [Bessenoff, 2006]
In a longitudinal study of adolescents, frequent reading of magazine articles about dieting and/or weight loss was associated with weight-control behaviors and other psychological outcomes 5 years later. [Van den Berg et al., 2007]
**

Sexism and Stereotypes of Women

Throughout United States culture, and particularly in mainstream media, women and girls are depicted in a sexualized manner. We are surrounded by these media images and messages. Media content responds to demand and is a reflection of culture, but it also contributes to it. [APA, 2007]

• Objectification of the female body teaches girls and women that they are valued primarily for their looks, reinforcing the need to pursue attractiveness. [Moradi et al., 2005]

• **Objectification also encourages girls to look at their bodies rather than attend to their feelings. It teaches them to treat their bodies as objects to be decorated and made desirable for others; as they mature into adolescence, such looking becomes sexualized. [Lamb, 2002; Lamb, 2006; Tolman, 2002]**

• Forty-nine articles were coded from current U.S. video-gaming magazines, resulting in 115 coded characters. This content analysis of video game magazine articles investigated how characters are portrayed, focusing on gender differences. Males were more likely to be heroes and main characters, use more weapons, have more abilities, and be more muscular and powerful. Females were more often supplemental characters, more attractive, sexy, and innocent, and also wore more revealing clothing. Understanding these video game messages is an important first step in understanding the effects games and magazines may have on behavior and attitudes. [Miller and Summers, 2007]

The Thin Ideal

Media-portrayed images, especially those presented in the context of advertisements for dieting and weight-altering products, promote the idea that body shape and size are flexible, and that achieving the thin ideal is relatively easy. [Brownell, 1991]

• The average size of the idealized woman (as portrayed by models), has become progressively thinner and has stabilized at 13-19% below healthy weight. [Garner et al., 1980]

•    ** Appearance anxiety increased after viewing advertisements featuring idealized images. Participants’ body shame increased after exposure to idealized images**, irrespective of advertisement type. [Monro and Huon, 2005]

•     **When girls begin to view fashion models and celebrities as icons, it is called media internalization. **This internalization refers to the extent to which an individual invests in societal ideals of size and appearance (thin ideal for girls and muscular for boys) to the point that they become rigid guiding principles. [Thompson et al., 2004]

•    ** Media internalization is a risk factor for body dissatisfaction, dieting, negative affect, binge eating, and increases in eating-disorder symptoms.** [Vandereycken, 2006]

Source: about-face.org/educate-yourself/get-the-facts/

Cosmetic Surgery

General Facts

**Given that most images in everyday media are computer-manipulated to create completely unrealistic bodies, it is no wonder more and more people are turning to cosmetic surgery to get the body the media portrays. **And since the images’ creation is artificial in the first place, it follows that no one can attain this body through natural—or healthy—means.

Source: about-face.org/educate-yourself/get-the-facts/facts-on-body-image/

Thread open to discussion or entertainment.

 

[pianistclare]

What kind of state???

 

[E_7]

What kind of state???

I also want to know. I’ve been seriously traumatized living six months in Miami, FL. I panic. It is impossible to not encounter those ads. I have symptoms of PTSD for that matter. I wonder which cities are free from that. So far here in MD, I haven’t seen one ad like those. Neither in Somerville/Boston, MA. I wonder about Austin and other cities.

 

[Maximilan_Kolbe]

I also want to know. I’ve been seriously traumatized living six months in Miami, FL. I panic. It is impossible to not encounter those ads. I have symptoms of PTSD for that matter. I wonder which cities are free from that. So far here in MD, I haven’t seen one ad like those. Neither in Somerville/Boston, MA. I wonder about Austin and other cities.

In MD, it seems to be mostly used car dealerships and banks endorsed by the Ravens and Orioles. Not too much on body image, though I rarely watch live TV and skip most commericals (thank you DVR and Roku).

 

[Convert_in_99]

I also want to know. I’ve been seriously traumatized living six months in Miami, FL. I panic. It is impossible to not encounter those ads. I have symptoms of PTSD for that matter. I wonder which cities are free from that. So far here in MD, I haven’t seen one ad like those. Neither in Somerville/Boston, MA. I wonder about Austin and other cities.

You’ve had similar threads to this, and my answer remains the same. Sin. It’s everywhere. You can’t escape it simply by moving to another state. It’s a sad state our country is in, but it is what it is. We can pray, we can make the small changes we can in our own families and possibly even our local communities, but to get back to a purer and less provocative nation as a whole would take a miracle. It’s that far gone, as is made clear to those of us with eyes to see it. Stay where there is work for your husband and the best opportunities for you and your child. There are no more “decent” places in our country. You are searching for something that no longer exsists.

 

[pianistclare]

See a counselor. If one has a good self image, simply seeing ads that you believe are sinful should not cause a panic attack. The average person can simply look away and not be disturbed by this. It’s awful yes, but if I impacts your daily functionality as an adult this is a very serious problem and not to be ignored. Moving won’t help. See a physician.

 

[pensmama87]

You’ve had similar threads to this, and my answer remains the same. Sin. It’s everywhere. You can’t escape it simply by moving to another state. It’s a sad state our country is in, but it is what it is. We can pray, we can make the small changes we can in our own families and possibly even our local communities, but to get back to a purer and less provocative nation as a whole would take a miracle. It’s that far gone, as is made clear to those of us with eyes to see it. Stay where there is work for your husband and the best opportunities for you and your child. There are no more “decent” places in our country. You are searching for something that no longer exsists.

Honestly, I don’t think it ever did, though there are times and places that are better than others. In the US today, I think coastal areas are going to be worse, as those are where the media production “hubs” are.

One quaint aspect of where we live are the evangelical billboards, though it’s by no means limited to here. Also, most of the stores I frequent cover up scandalous magazine covers.

I think it matters a lot more what’s in your own home. My kids usually have 2 hours or fewer of screen time each day, it’s all commercial-free, and vetted by me and DH. As they get older, it’s very unlikely they will be permitted their own devices and they will not be permitted to use media devices unsupervised.

Things are by no means perfect, but we as parents still run our own homes. Holy people have lived in every era under all conditions. We may need to be more vigilant, but I don’t think running in fear is the right answer.