A Review of the American Obsession With Body Image

Millions of Americans I women and men I have a secret obsession. They're obsessed with how they look, who wouldnåt like a flatter stomach? They worry that their thighs are too flabby, their breasts are too small, their arms are too scrawny, their face is too chubby, their body build is too small I any body part can become the focus of this obsession. Quite obviously, most people care about how they look. I have found that most of these insecurities are a prodigy of media: television, magazines, dolls, action figures, and so forth.

Surveys have shown that many of us are dissatisfied with some aspect of how we look. In the survey I conducted I found a few answer about the body image society paints for today s world. Todayis body image is set by the way Hollywood wants it.

The imagels of health and beauty portrayed by doll and action figures are unrealistic or impossible to achieve because the human body is not created to look like Barbie or GI Joe.

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We develop our ideas of health from school, home, and media; Dhomel being the most accurate portrayal. Many people think that a healthy body is firm, proportioned, and slim. Everyone agreed that one can attain a health body by simply eating properly and keeping active. Many also said that Hollywoodis new ultra-skinny look is not attractive at all and. This can effect any child or adult Every year Barbieis waist gets a little smaller and her bust a little larger.

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Toys do have an effect on a childis perception of health and beauty. Children often learn by examples. Mattel is making millions a day because every girl in America has a Barbie. Changing the appearance of Barbiels size 2 waist and D cup bust would benefit Americals young women. Changing the way young boys perceived muscles, perhaps by decreasing the massive size of GI Joels muscles, would also lower the usage of steroids and other muscle building drugs. I went to a local Target and examined a few popular doll and action figures. These toys had many things in common.

Each item was flawless, no acne, love handles, double chins, thunder thighs- NOTHING. In fact these so-called Dhuman-likel dolls were perfect! Yet, one thing was wrong, I could not find one person that resembled Cheerleading Barbie or Surfboarding Ken in the entire Target store. If one wanted to look like any of the dolls on those shelves they would most likely spend many years at the plastic surgeons office because it is not realistic for the average body to do it alone by eating right and exercising. IDolls might be planting in boysi minds a template for a he-manis body that cannot be attained without engaging tin obsessive behaviors to build muscle and strip off fat, and then augmentation those efforts through the consumption of drugs like human growth hormone and anabolic steroids. It has been proven that if Barbie was real that she would not be able to reproduce or even stand up because of her unnaturally thin body.

Sadly enough these dolls and action figures tell those who play with them that beauty lies in labs of steel,I clear skin, and dangerously thin or unattainable muscular bodies. The methods to which people to go to change their body can often be physically and mentally dangerous. People go to great length is pursuit to alter their bodies. Dieting pills, excessive exercising, eating disorders, surgeries and Imuscle supplementsl are among many popular modes to changes onels appearance. Doctors have always accented the dangers of muscle-building drugs. These harmless drugs suppress sperm production and raise the risk of heart attacks, strokes, liver disease, not to mention increase an increased chance of getting cancer. It has been proven that some dieting pills have caused heart attacks and even death. All of these methods are becoming more common everyday, but the dangers remain a threat to living a healthy life. Because of societyls portrayal of beauty, we are lead to think that we're not pretty enough or sufficiently handsome. If we do not resemble Barbie or Ken many strive to get that often impractical look. Who wouldn't like smoother skin, more attractive eyes, a flatter stomach? If we could look better, most of us would. Indeed, most of us try. We need to change to way a normal body is depicted.

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Updated: Jan 11, 2024
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A Review of the American Obsession With Body Image. (2022, Sep 20). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/a-review-of-the-american-obsession-with-body-image-essay

A Review of the American Obsession With Body Image essay
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