Festinger's Portrayal Of Women In The Media

MEDIA THEORY Since women are depicted as extremely thin in the media, self-comparison to the images they are exposed to can lead to negative consequences. In relation to Festinger’s social comparison theory, when women find a difference in themselves compared to media images they are more likely to feel less satisfied with their weight and appearance. Irving provides evidence that there is a connection between women’s perceptions of their bodies and the media’s portrayal of women. In his study he found that when 8 women were exposed to images depicting thin women, they experienced a lower selfevaluation. According to Havighurst, “Accepting one’s physique is an essential feature of adolescent development. However, the pervasiveness of the thin ideal presented in …show more content…
The concept of body image consists of thoughts, feelings, and attitudes related to one’s own body. When these perceptions begin to get distorted, body image and eatingdisordered behaviors are seen. One reason women experience problems with their body image is because they are judged for thinness. The media is viewed as the most pervasive and powerful source in terms of reinforcing and transmitting the idea of the thin ideal to women (Tiggemann, 2009). Women respond to the images in media by comparing themselves to the thin images. By doing so they find they are lacking certain physical qualities and therefore form negative body dissatisfaction. According to researchers, “media portrayed images of the current beauty ideal, the hallmark of which is an ultra slender body, contribute to body dissatisfaction” (Stice, 2001). When one is repeatedly exposed to images depicting extremely thin women, this promotes an internalization of the thin-ideal body image for women and ultimately leads to body dissatisfaction. Through several content analyses there is evidence of the thin ideal presented on television, magazines and the Internet embodies the notion that “thin is normative and attractive”