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ARP Rough Draft: The Media Creates and Fuels, but can also Inhibit Women Body Stereotypes
Introduction
Humankind may be lucky to have come out of the cave of ugly customs and actions such as racism and slavery, which form crucial parts of its past. However, it still lingers trapped in stereotypes and its weights. There is no aspect of life where stereotypes do not exist today. Politically, for a case in point, some races and tribes consider themselves to be superior; hence, should lead the others. Economically, there are some groups of people that are believed to be good in some businesses and not others. For example, contemporarily, Chinese contractors are perceived as the best in the world in building and construction. Lastly, socially, there are some groups of individuals that are believed to be friendly while others unfriendly or moral and others immoral. For instance, Ugandan ladies are thought to be so respectful with regard to their custom of greeting people while bowing to them or while going down with one of their knee.
Without ruling out the possibility that they may be beneficial, stereotypes, generally, hurt the society. First, they limit people to certain obligations by bringing them up as specifically designed for a particular gender or group of people. They also play a vital role in eliminating individuals’ personal choices in some matters of interest. In addition, stereotypes cause a lot of damage to people as most of the expectations attached to them are usually unrealistic. Nevertheless, whereas they affect both men and women, it is the later who are associated with the majority of them and who suffer the most from their effects according to Harper (112). There are so many things about women that are stereotyped, for example, their place and role in the society. However, the most trending subject of their stereotypes today is their body image and the general physical appearance (Wykes et al. 100). Because of the universal efforts towards their acceptance in the society, women’s body image suffers from a lot of stereotypes and according to many scholars and authors, the media is one of the main sources and facilitators of most stereotypes regarding women’s body image. While these claims are true, just to know that the media causes or facilitates the stereotypes and their consequences is not helpful in any way, but how it can be used to stop them. Therefore, one of the main concerns about women’s body image stereotypes in relation to the media today is how the media can be used to inhibit the stereotypes rather than enhancing them. There is no doubt that the media creates and fuels most of the women body image stereotypes, however, the same can also be used to inhibit and eradicate them.
How the Media has Influenced Women Body Image Stereotypes
Throughout ages, and especially in the 21st century, the media has propelled the conviction that slim women are more attractive as compared to the fat ones. In addition, according to Stice et al., the media has usually ranked the “light skinned women high in terms of beauty above the dark-skinned ones” (60). Among the ways through, which the media has been able to force these myths into the minds and hearts of the women and the general society is the roles it gives the slim and light skinned women and the fat and dark ones. In the press or mass media, for example, while most adverts and programs feature the slim and light skinned women, there is no role for their rivals, the fat and dark skinned. Even today, you are most likely to meet, for instance, slim and light skinned women in adverts of cosmetics such as perfumes and lotions while you may not bother to search for the fat and dark skinned ones as you are almost sure that they do not feature n those roles. Similarly, whereas the majority of the female news anchors and journalists with good voices are slim and light skinned, the fat and dark skinned ones are rare to find.
Another way through, which the media is fuelling women body image stereotypes is by what it displays in its platforms such as music shows, songs, and films as well as on social media (Harper, 145). In the majority of these mediums, the female characters are blonde with light skins. Look at the main actors in films and music artists such as Jennifer Lopez, for a case in point. Since they are superstars with the characteristics of being slim and light-skinned, they influence the belief of other women and the entire society of what is attractive as they associate the features not just with attractiveness but also with being celebrities.
The same case applies to modeling shows and affairs. According to Wykes et al., “99.9% of these dealings that have been shown on TVs and exists on online media platforms features and have been won by the slim and light skinned ladies” (187). From this case, you get an impression that fat and dark skinned women cannot model or make up good models.
Consequences of the Media Influenced Stereotypes on Women Body Image
The result of the above media influences about the physical appearance of women is that the media has changed the view of women of beauty and attractiveness. Presently, Wykes et al. argue that the majority of women “believe that being beautiful and attractive is characterized by being slim and blonde and light-skinned" as opposed to being dark skinned and fat (123). They suppose that they would only grab the attention of the contemporary men if they are slim and light skin.
As such, most of the world’s women that are dark and fat have been forced into taking risky decisions and measures in their bid of attaining beauty and attractiveness; hence, acceptance or fitting in the society (Wykes et al. 156). One of the cases worth mentioning in this connection is that most dark women have been using various therapies and medication in order to attain light skins. Somewhere else, fat women, including young girls have been abandoning food and enrolling on risky programs like the gym in their pursuit for slim bodies. In this regard, Polce-Lynch et al. (2011) purport that the issue of dieting and use of body make-ups and skin lightening chemicals has become one of the trendiest practices, which influence the behavior of women in the society today. On the other hand, Stice et al. have proof that “the bulk of the women who join up gym programs are pressed by the demand of the society to slim so as to be established as beautiful” (66).
Being slim, skin lightening and make-ups have basically been necessitated by the desire of the women to be like journalists, news anchors, models and artists they encounter in the media and television screens. From this fact, we understand why cosmetic industries and gym programs have been booming recently: there have been a lot of women believing in slim bodies and light skins as beauty; hence, going for them. The penetration of these myths into the hearts of women has been pushed mainly via social media and electronic media. The ladies are the most affected because of the fact that women have always been considered to be items of popularity and media display (Polce-Lynch 99). Usually, the fitness programs are intermingled with dieting processes to attain the desired body. The amount of efforts made by women in maintaining these looks and displays is actually draining because of the time and resources invested in while trying to achieve satisfactory levels. As such, it is a clear indication that women body image stereotypes are hurting to the society and particularly the women as the majority of them struggle and suffer besides wasting time and resources as they try to please the society.
According to Grabe, Ward, and Hyde, the spread of women body stereotypes “has also contributed to the issue of violence against the women” (89). The debate on the physical appearance of women subjects the society to perceive that in some way, men have control over the looks and dress of the females. As such, the beliefs make women not only inferior to men but also their subjects thereby denying them the ability to control their thoughts and beliefs. Grabe, Ward, and Hyde assert that the “most horrible violence that has been done to women has been the recognition and acceptance of the beliefs and myths”; hence, stereotypes about their bodies (101). According to this author, to women, this form of violence is worse than even physical assault such as beating or subjecting them to hard conditions.
Since the majority of the world’s women believe that they ought to look like the models and superstars they encounter in the media, fostering acceptance of the natural body and physical appearance of women is not easy and therefore, the society has a long way to go in suppressing and eradicating women’s body image stereotypes. Luckily, there is where to start from and a few ways to start with.
How the Media can be used to Inhibit Women Body Stereotypes
The first step toward solving a problem is to understand and appreciate its source or root-cause as well as its mechanism and repercussions. In this context, the media is the cause and facilitator of women body image stereotypes. However, in various ways, we can manipulate it to suppress and inhibit the myths; hence, make it be the solution to the problem. The main general idea entails striking the appropriate balance between the use and the role of the slim and light skinned women and the fat and dark ones in the media.
Using fat and dark-skinned women in adverts
Until today, most adverts whether in the press or online media platforms with women roles features the slim and light-skinned ones. As already seen, this is one of the reasons why the fat girls are slimming in the gym and using dieting procedures while the dark-skinned ones are "bleaching.” According to Grabe, Ward, and Hyde, if the media changed this strategy and “started using the fat and dark women in adverts,” the same way they got the society admiring blonde and light skinned girls is the way they will get them thinking that fat and dark are also features of beauty and attractiveness (122). As such, a balance would be created between these two groups of women and we may see less of the dark ones “bleaching,” dieting or going in the gyms or the slim ones eating well to get fat.
Giving the fat and dark-skinned women a role in news anchoring and journalism
Similar to featuring the fat and dark women in adverts, giving them roles in news anchoring and journalism will greatly help to revert the myths about the superiority of the slim and light skin women and the inferiority of the fat and dark ones in terms of beauty (Wykes et al. 201). With these people in these roles, women and the general society will also start appreciating their physical appearance as beautiful and attractive; hence, will see the majority of the women start sticking and maintaining their natural body images as fewer fitness programs, make-ups, and dieting procedures will be used.
Showing movies, music and other TV programs where the protagonists, main characters or heroes are fat and dark women
Women love to attract the attention of people and particularly men. While they would do anything and use any means to ensure that the society concentrates on them whenever they appear, they would not be comfortable and fail to act when every movie, music and TV program is featuring people with physical characteristics, which are opposite to them in the prominent or prestigious roles (Grabe, Ward, and Hyde 134). That is just how exactly most of the fat and dark women have found themselves in gyms and “bleaching;” it is because all of the movie, music and other TV programs’ celebs are slim and white skinned. As such, to change this belief and make the fat and dark skinned women accept their physical appearances as attractive, the media has to introduce or at least feature these affairs that associate the fat and dark women with fame or heroics.
Featuring modeling shows with fat and dark women participants and winner
It is understandable that such shows are rare or few to be precise. However, they are not totally inexistent. The media, for example, TVs can search in their libraries the few such dealings, where fat and dark women participated and even won (Wykes et al. 199). In doing this, the media will create a belief that fat and dark people can also model or make good models; hence, they are beautiful and attractive. The result will be that most of the women will start accepting their physical appearances being proud as also beautiful as their slim and light skin counterparts.
Conclusion
Up to this far, it is conspicuously evident that the media does not only create but also fuels women body image stereotypes. By featuring programs and shows with participants such as journalists, news broadcasters, singers, actors and models as slim and light skin, the media has created a myth that being slim and light skinned is what is beautiful and attractive. The belief has not only “reduced” the personality and self-esteem of the fat and dark-women but has also hugely hurt them as it has forced them into time and resource wastage as they seek to achieve the slim bodies and light skins through gym and dieting procedures and skin “bleaching” respectively. However, while the media creates and fuels these women body image stereotypes, it can also solve it and the main idea entails also using the fat and dark women in programs, which are today flocked by their slim and white counterparts. With possibility, it is, therefore, safe to argue that the media creates and fuels, but can also inhibit women body stereotypes.
Work cited
Grabe, S, L.M Ward, and J.S Hyde. "The Role of the Media in Body Image Concerns Among Women: a Meta-Analysis of Experimental and Correlational Studies." Psychological Bulletin. 134.3 (2008): 460-476. Print.
Harper, Kate. Girls' Sexualities and the Media. , 2014. Print.
Polce-Lynch, Mary. "Adolescent Self-Esteem and Gender: Exploring Relations to Sexual Harassment, Body Image, Media Influence, and Emotional Expression." Journal of Youth and Adolescence. (2001): 225-244. Print.
Stice, E, E Schupak-Neuberg, HE Shaw, and RI Stein. "Relation of Media Exposure to Eating Disorder Symptomatology: an Examination of Mediating Mechanisms." Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 103.4 (1994): 836-40. Print.
