Sites 1 Wesley Sites Professor Rand English 1103 25 October 2012 A Dinner Discussion: Medias Affect on Body Image

The dinning room of the grand old house was bright and spacious. The walls were a cream in color and were covered in beautiful oil paintings of landscapes and the wilderness. In the center of the grand room sat a large mahogany dinning table covered in a snow white sheet and gleaming silver platters waiting to be loaded with steaming hot, delicious, foods. Around the table sat all manners of people: some doctors, magazine publishers, and at the head of the table a rather corpulent man wearing a purple coat over a fine black suit. The man sitting at the head of the table smiled as the waiters filed in from the kitchen depositing their savory loads upon the platters in the middle of the table. He looked around at his guests and surveyed their expressions. Most of them seemed rather bored and uninterested in the cuisine that lay in front of them. Unsatisfied by his guests disinterest the man made a decision, Well then what shall we talk about over dinner? His guests mumbled amongst themselves for a few moments until one of them finally spoke up. Well I recently read about how media is negatively impacting peoples view of their own bodies, said a meager voice that belonged to a thin frail older woman sitting at the far end of the table.

Sites 2 The smile on the hosts face grew into a large grin before he joyfully announced, That is a great idea! Well talk about the medias effects on body image and whether they are positive or negative. As the group began eating the first course one of the doctors, a tall fit man named Dr. Reese, began the discussion on the dinner topic. I believe that a statement I read in an article on the Internet a while back points out something I find to be very interesting. Look at all of the television shows these days. You rarely see an overweight or unattractive person, and it's pretty hard to find someone less than perfect on the so-called reality television shows. In fact, most of the women on these programs wear a tiny size 3, which as far as the general public goes, is probably borderline anorexic. But, when we see these people, we take a look at ourselves, and decide that we do not fit the criteria for beautiful, and start taking action. (Fuller)

That is an excellent point Dr. Reese. I my self read a similar article that stated, In 2002, researchers at Kenyon College in Ohio examined the results of 25 studies that all asked women of different ages to look at magazines photos of thin models or TV commercials that included ultra-thin actresses. Across all 25 studies, women reported feeling less satisfied with their bodies after viewing these advertisements. Even more alarming, women less than 19 years old were especially vulnerable to feeling bad about their bodies after viewing these images. Although not surprising, this conglomeration of studies puts scientific evidence behind the idea that exposure to the medias unrealistic representation of the ideal body causes women to feel worse about themselves, (Muscatell),

Sites 3 said the other doctor of the group, a skinny blonde who appeared to be in her early 30s and was known as to her friends as Eliot. At this, Calvin J. Smith, who was a producer for a fashion magazine, put down his fork and knife and joined in on the conversation, Well Dr. Reese and Dr. Eliot I dont mean to be rude but I dont believe that images of enhanced bodies are hurtful, I simply believe they are images of ideally what could be. Mr. Smith! exclaimed Dr. Eliot. How on earth can you say that? I get more and more cases of anorexia and other disorders every year! The images that the media is portraying of the perfect human being are putting stress on todays youth and causing real issues! Mr. Smith rolled his eyes and then resumed eating his food, which only served to enrage Dr. Reese. Mr. Smith do you not understand just how much the media does affects these young people? When Mr. Smith said noting Dr. Reese stood up and pulled a small green book out of the bag that was sitting behind his chair. Heres some food for thought Mr. Smith, Dr. Reese opened the small book and began to read, Clearly, most women today have bodies that fall far shot of the standard glamorized by our media and culture (Gimlin 5). When Dr. Reese had finished reading Dr. Eliot reentered the conversation with renewed fury.

Sites 4 That is exactly what I was talking about earlier! The media makes young people male and female alike feel bad about their bodies and then they resort to things such as anorexia and bulimia to name a few. Dont be foolish Dr. Eliot the media can not be blamed for the action of its viewers. It is simply there to entertain inform and advertise. If it is really hurting so many people then they should stop paying attention to it, said Mr. Smith with a cold chuckle. At this the host entered the conversation for the first time, Now Mr. Smith I dont wish to take sides but I would like to point something out. The media is everywhere so your statement about avoiding it was very uneducated. Exactly what I was saying before, exclaimed Dr. Reese. An article I recently read said it best, Today in our culture, the thin ideal is portrayed in every avenue of the media. Magazines, television shows, movies, commercials, etc. portray attractive women as being extremely thin.(Kovar) It is inescapable! Every where we look we are shown images that have been altered and edited and they make us feel like anything but perfection is ugly when in fact this perfection is unachievable. This comment enraged Mr. Smith who countered with the statement, What are you saying, that the media is telling people exactly how they should be? And if so, do you really think that is feasible? Actually, Mr. Smith, that is exactly what we are saying! replied Dr. Eliot matter of factly. In fact, Mr. Smith I do believe I read in an article quite recently that, The media can alter perception of what people believe is normal and this includes what a "normal" body type or weight is.(Schuller) Dr. Reese added.

Sites 5 Mr. Smith, now thoroughly defeated, meekly replied, But even if that were so you cant believe that the media would do this on purpose. I just cannot bring myself to believe that the people I work for would ever purposely print something that harms people. Again the corpulent host spoke up, Well whether done on purpose or accident it would appear that it does indeed have an effect that is quite negative. Agreed, replied all of the other members sitting around the table, except for the now crest fallen Mr. Smith. Ah, dessert! said the host happily. Now what part of our topic havent we explored yet? Well we havent fully discussed how movies and such might affect our view of body image, said the meek voice that had originally chosen the topic. Excellent idea Mrs. Bumb-garner, But I believe a change of scenery would do us all some good. How about we take this little dinner party into the sitting room? replied the host. Yes that would be delightful, agreed Dr. Eliot. The small group got out of their chair and made their way through the old house to the front sitting room that over looked the dimly lit street. When they were all comfortably reseated in old Queen Anne styled chairs, the conversation on the modified topic began. Dr. Reese cleared his throat before beginning, Now perhaps you are all getting tired of me saying this but I recently read an article about how certain aspects of movies effect how we view body Image. It stated that,

Sites 6 More controversial, perhaps, is the subtext beneath the plethora of attractive entertainers. Turn on any television show, flip through any magazine, go to any movie and if you do happen to come across someone who doesn't fit into the narrow mold of what is considered good looking, chances are that person is presented as either the "bad guy" or, more probably, the "nerd." (Sexton) The host swallowed the bit of dessert in his mouth before saying, That is quite an interesting point. Looking back on all of the movies I have seen, the bad guy has usually been unattractive in some shape, way, manner or form. Yes, so even in movies they align a certain body type with being bad, it just isnt right, said Dr. Eliot. Well I suppose that is going to be it for the night, said the host with a sigh of content. Yes, I believe we have imposed on your hospitality to long. Thank you sir, said Dr. Eliot with a smile. Dr. Reese stood up, Wait, we have not yet come to a conclusion on our topic tonight. The host smiled, Ah quite right. I suspect that all of us agree that media, including movies, television shows, and the like, all cause us to have a negative view of our own bodies. Everywhere we look we see the perfection of others and thus feel inadequate. This causes a great deal of sickness and heartache and should be stopped, unfortunately I dont believe that it ever will be.

Sites 7 Mr. Smith stood up, Yes I see now just what the media does to people. Im sorry my friends but I must go. Good night all. Thank you so much for hosting this little dinner party and thank you for inviting me. The host smiled, Think nothing of it. I was glad that all of you could make it. Goodbye for now. Well have to do this again some time. Goodbye, all of the guests said in unison as they exited out the front door. Their host, tired and weary from the nights events, climbed the winding staircase and went to bed.

Sites 8 Works Cited Fuller, Justin. How Media Affects Our Body Image. Healthy Living. Ed. Jason Young. N.p., 28 May 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. Gimlin, Debra L. Body Work: Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture. Berkeley: University of California, 2001. Print. Kovar, Allie. Effects of the Media on Body Image. Vanderbilt University's Health Psychology Website. Ed. David Schlundt. Vanderbilt University, 30 Apr. 2009. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. Muscatell, Keely. Cant Get No (Body) Satisfaction: Media Effects on Body Image. Psychology in Action. N.p., 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. Schuller, Melissa J. Media and the Perception of Beauty. Applied Social Psychology. Applied Social Psychology, 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. Sexton, Timothy. The Media and Influence on Body Image and Beauty. Yahoo Voices. Yahoo, 6 Apr. 2006. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.

Sites 9 Wesley Sites Professor Rand English 1103 6 November 2012 Inquiry Project Reflection 1. The most interesting thing that I learned in this inquiry process was that in movies the bad guy is usually aesthetically unappealing. I suppose that I always knew this to be true but I never really paid attention to it in the past. One thing is for certain I will always look for it in movies now. 2. The main thing that I struggled with in the writing process was fitting all the information and discussion on the information into my paper, because I wrote my paper in the short story genre instead of the more common essay style. I overcame tis by using the characters in the story to voice my opinions and the arguments that would be presented against my opinions. 3. My inquiry question didnt so much as change over time as it did modify. It went from a broad topic to the final topic, which was much more focused on medias influence on us rather than media and celebrity influence on us. 4. It is important to look back at a historical view of my topic because it gives me a good idea of how the issue has evolved over time. 5. Yes, I do believe that my analytical and evaluation skills have improved because of this project. This project has taught me how to effectively evaluate sources and their validity to what I am researching, something that I believe will greatly help me in the future when I have to do research on other topics, in other classes.

Sites 10 6. The thing I am most proud of in this project is that I was able to make it creative by writing it in the short story genre. This allowed me to enjoy the writing process while also being able to include valuable information. 7. If I had more time to do research I would like to know more about how the media impacts childrens view on body image whether it be on their own or others.