Eating Disorders in Modern Society
“Just at the time that girls begin to construct identity, they are more likely to suffer losses in self-esteem” ("The Facts About Girls in Canada"). Women face many challenges in society, a number of which are concerned with one 's self-esteem and body image. Body image has a large impact on women, especially thought who are particularly sensitive about weight and thinness. Many people consider skinniness to be a mark of beauty, however, women who are not considered skinny often fall under the category of unattractive. Women who are not necessarily thin feel self-conscious because they do not fall into society’s typical archetype of a beautiful, thin woman, a stereotype that is based on media and pop culture. …show more content…
Eating disorders cause a detrimental impact on those effected, however, they have become a wide spread phenomenon in modern society, especially among females because of an exaggerated focus on body image.
Media has shaped a society in which an eating disorder can easily be developed due to the obsession with being skinny and how access to this information has become so easily distributed. The consumption of media has become highly prevalent in society due to the continuing developments of modern technology. In turn, media has become more accessible than ever, causing certain negative factors to arise, such as an unhealthy mentality concerning body image. Main stream, American media, in particular, is riddled with the over repetition and commonplace image of a thin woman which causes the circulation of the belief that a woman must be skinny to be considered attractive. Some studies reveal that when a young girl consumes more television, the higher the likelihood of her finding appearance to be significant ("11 Facts About Body Image"). This bias towards thin women is due to a lack of variety in pop culture roles. Almost all of the most famous and popular women in the media are thin. A thinner figure …show more content…
This is because women who consume a larger amount of mainstream media consider sexiness and overall appearance to be of greater importance than those who do not consume as much ("11 Facts About Body Image"). This ideal can begin to develop from as early as the age of nine years old. Puberty begins around the age of nine for most girls, and due to the ever changing state of their bodies at this point, girl’s confidence also begins to decline to cause a lack of self-esteem. Statistics show that “in Grade Six, 36% of girls say they are self-confident, but by Grade Ten this has plummeted to only 14%” ("The Facts About Girls in Canada"). This is because as girls experience puberty and begin to enter into adolescence, their confidence starts to lower sharply and they experience higher rates of depression ("The Facts About Girls in Canada"). Many self-confidence issues among young girls are concerned with weight and skinniness, for example, “in a BC study, 60% of girls who were actually too thin said they were too fat” ("The Facts About Girls in Canada"). In addition to the development of these sentiments which cause self-doubt and a feeling of inadequacy, another study reveals that “in Grade Six, boys and girls report the same levels of depression—about 25% says they feel depressed at least once a week. However, by
“Just at the time that girls begin to construct identity, they are more likely to suffer losses in self-esteem” ("The Facts About Girls in Canada"). Women face many challenges in society, a number of which are concerned with one 's self-esteem and body image. Body image has a large impact on women, especially thought who are particularly sensitive about weight and thinness. Many people consider skinniness to be a mark of beauty, however, women who are not considered skinny often fall under the category of unattractive. Women who are not necessarily thin feel self-conscious because they do not fall into society’s typical archetype of a beautiful, thin woman, a stereotype that is based on media and pop culture. …show more content…
Eating disorders cause a detrimental impact on those effected, however, they have become a wide spread phenomenon in modern society, especially among females because of an exaggerated focus on body image.
Media has shaped a society in which an eating disorder can easily be developed due to the obsession with being skinny and how access to this information has become so easily distributed. The consumption of media has become highly prevalent in society due to the continuing developments of modern technology. In turn, media has become more accessible than ever, causing certain negative factors to arise, such as an unhealthy mentality concerning body image. Main stream, American media, in particular, is riddled with the over repetition and commonplace image of a thin woman which causes the circulation of the belief that a woman must be skinny to be considered attractive. Some studies reveal that when a young girl consumes more television, the higher the likelihood of her finding appearance to be significant ("11 Facts About Body Image"). This bias towards thin women is due to a lack of variety in pop culture roles. Almost all of the most famous and popular women in the media are thin. A thinner figure …show more content…
This is because women who consume a larger amount of mainstream media consider sexiness and overall appearance to be of greater importance than those who do not consume as much ("11 Facts About Body Image"). This ideal can begin to develop from as early as the age of nine years old. Puberty begins around the age of nine for most girls, and due to the ever changing state of their bodies at this point, girl’s confidence also begins to decline to cause a lack of self-esteem. Statistics show that “in Grade Six, 36% of girls say they are self-confident, but by Grade Ten this has plummeted to only 14%” ("The Facts About Girls in Canada"). This is because as girls experience puberty and begin to enter into adolescence, their confidence starts to lower sharply and they experience higher rates of depression ("The Facts About Girls in Canada"). Many self-confidence issues among young girls are concerned with weight and skinniness, for example, “in a BC study, 60% of girls who were actually too thin said they were too fat” ("The Facts About Girls in Canada"). In addition to the development of these sentiments which cause self-doubt and a feeling of inadequacy, another study reveals that “in Grade Six, boys and girls report the same levels of depression—about 25% says they feel depressed at least once a week. However, by