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Loving A World That Is Unlovable: The struggle with body Image.
The world today portrays a false image to women; that to be beautiful or attractive, they
must look a certain way. You can pick up a magazine off a shelf at a store and there is always a
very thin woman on the front cover showing to be a sex symbol. Most front covers also have
recommendations on how to diet to lose a lot weight quickly. These magazines “tell women to
focus on their physical, outside attributes and rarely mention the importance of being smart or
sophisticated” (Sparhawk, J.M, 2003).
In the research paper ‘Body Image and the Media,’ Julie Sparhawk states that several
studies have been done “indicating woman’s body image, self-esteem, and eating patterns are
affected negatively” when the media portrays a specific body image. She also states that in some
cases this can cause eating disorders in woman (Sparhawk, J.M, 2003).
A study at Brown University was done on normal weight woman, during that study
74.4% of the woman stated “they thought about their appearance all the time,” it was stated that
researchers believed if people with “preoccupation with appearance and body dissatisfaction
can put people at greater risk for engaging in dangerous practices” (www.brown.edu/campus-
life).
Several different factors fall into place when we talk about body image. Society gives us
this idea of what woman should look like. Woman can get very fixated on their idea on what
society has given them on what our physical appearance should be. Women that begin to become
fixated on societies idea of physical appearance then begin to compare themselves to others
around them. According to Brown University both negative and positive ideas are shaped by
these factors (www.brown.edu/campus-life). It was stated in ‘Self-esteem in a broad-spectrum
approach for mental health promotion’ that perspective studies have been done “highlighting low
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Loving A World That Is Unlovable: The struggle with body Image.
self-esteem as a risk factor,” according to this article, one with low self-esteem can be
considered a risk factor for both “physical and mental health” (Mann, M, Hosman, C, Schaalma,
H and Vries, N; 2003).
The women who become fixated on their body image are most likely to be the ones that
have eating disorders and depression issues. They will turn to laxatives, bulimia and anorexia to
help lose weight, so they feel like they are fitting into society’s ideas of a “perfect woman”.
Causing sever health issues and psychological issues with women.
According to the paper “Body Image and Self – Esteem Among Adolescent Girls” a study
was done on self-esteem, this paper confirmed that women’s “self-esteem was significantly lower
than men’s.” The same study showed that it is greater with children starting at the age of 16
(Clay, D; Vignoles, V.L; Dittmar, H.; 2005).
As we here in the media, bullying is becoming worse in our schools today and girls feel
like they need to fit in, a lot of young girls get teased about their weight. According to an article
by NYC girls project, “80% of 10 year old girls are afraid of being fat” During this same article
they state that the challenges are “media presents images that tend to portray a narrow standard
of beauty” (www.nyc.gov/html/girls/html/issues/issues.shtml). During a study that was done in
2010, NYC girl’s project states that “60% of girls say they compare their bodies to fashion
models and 31% of girls admit to starving themselves to lose weight”
(www.nyc.gov/html/girls/html/issues/issues.shtml).
During a study of female students, “86% reported an eating disorder by age of 20” and
during the same study “25% of college-aged women engage in bingeing and purging for weight
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Loving A World That Is Unlovable: The struggle with body Image.
management.” In females the death rate from anorexia is higher than most causes of death that is
associated in women (www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-
statistics/). As we have read body-image seems to be a very big issue with school aged kids from
middle school through college.
One Interesting fact that we read in “Media that Objectify Women” is, researchers had
found that in Fiji women did not “exhibit symptoms of eating disorders until they were
introduced to western television.” (Krawczyk, R., 2013). Krawczyk stated in his paper that
Levine and Murnen had reviewed evidence and it was concluded that media does relate to
negative body image (Krawcyk, R., 2013). The Bible talks about guarding our eyes in Psalms
119:37, “turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy way” (KJV).
There is definitely truth in the Bible, look at Fiji, they were not worried about self-image until
they begin to watch television.
The media portrays a very un-realistic view and seem to be doing a good job at trying to
state that the women in our society need to be thin to fit the role of a beautiful woman/girl.
Michelle Grose talks about a campaign in a paper that she wrote called “Individual Body
Satisfaction and Perception.” This campaign by Dove called “Real Beauty” was to show that
woman of any shape, size or height can be beautiful. The Dove website encourages “Real
Beauty” workshops for woman and teens as well as their mission “to further the idea that real
beauty comes in many shapes, sizes and ages” (Grose, M; 2009).
Woman seem to forget and are not often reminded, that beauty is in “the eye of the
beholder” not because another person views us differently. We are teaching our younger
generation that you must follow what the media and magazines are telling us to be beautiful,
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Loving A World That Is Unlovable: The struggle with body Image.
when we are constantly stating that we are fat or ugly because we do not live up to societies view
of beautiful. Our younger adolescents are watching us, so they begin to think this un-realistic
view of beautiful and begin to believe, this is the way they need to be. This in return causes our
children to binge eat and have issues with bulimia and anorexia. Women need to follow the
campaign by Dove and recognize ‘real beauty’ comes in all shapes and sizes.
When did society get so lost in the concept that thinner is better? Not all women that are a
little thicker are unhealthy. Why are we a society of followers, instead of a society of strong
leaders? We must love ourselves and believe in us. God did not create anything ugly, fat, out of
shape or unordinary. Each of us was made brilliant, beautiful and perfect. The only one that
matters is God himself and He said in Genesis 1:1 “God saw all that he had made, and it was
very good” (NIV).
In conclusion, we must guard our eyes from the media and advertisement that states that
we must portray an un-realistic image. We must believe in ourselves and love ourselves first and
remember that God created all things good according to his word. Next time you see a very thin
woman on the front of a magazine or in the media, remind yourself that they are probably very
un-healthy and unhappy. Be happy with yourself and you will love the way you look.
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References
Brown University. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2016, from https://www.brown.edu/campus-
life/health/services/promotion/nutrition-eating-concerns-eating-concerns-and-body-
image/body-image
Clay, D., Vignoles, V. L., & Dittmar, H. (2005). Body Image and Self-Esteem Among Adolescent
Girls: Testing the Influence of Sociocultural Factors. Journal of Research on
Adolescence J Research on Adolescence, 15(4), 451-477. Retrieved March 04, 2016,
from http://demoiselle2femme.org/wp-content/uploads/Body-Image-and-Self-Esteem-
Among-Girls.pdf
Eating Disorders Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2016, from http://www.anad.org/get-
information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/
Grose, M. L. (2009, May). Individual Body Satisfaction and Perception: The Effect of the
Media's Ideal Body Image on Female College Students. Retrieved March 04, 2016, from
file:///C:/Users/jrollins/Downloads/Michelle_Grose_Masters.pdf
Health Education Research. (2003, March 30). Retrieved March 04, 2016, from
https://her.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/4/357.full
Holy Bible KJV: Kids study Bible: King James version. (1994). Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan.
Psalms 119:37
Krawcyzk, R. (2013, April 12). Media that Objectify Women: The Influence on Individuals'
Body Image and Perceptions of Others. Retrieved March 04, 2016, from
http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5908&context=etd
NYC Girl's Project - The Issues. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2016, from
http://www.nyc.gov/html/girls/html/issues/issues.shtml
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Sparhawk, J. M. (2003, August). BODY IMAGE AND THE MEDIA: THE MEDIA’S
INFLUENCE ON BODY IMAGE. Retrieved March 04, 2016, from
http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/lib/thesis/2003/2003sparhawkj.pdf
The Holy Bible: New International Version. (2005). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Genesis 1:1
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