Human Psychology and Self-Image
Human Psychology and Self-Image
Have you ever seen a popular women’s magazine that doesn’t target self-image? Probably not. Media seems to make real life extremely unrealistic. I mean how many people actually weigh about 100 pounds, that are totally healthy and in shape? Not many. In today’s society, women are always constantly worry about weight and the way they look and it’s all because of television, magazines, movies, and so on. The media tends to form a set image of how a person should look or act. To me, this only makes people weak.
What type of girl do you picture when you hear “cheerleader”? Yep. Someone a lot like the cartoon character Brittany from MTV’s hit show Daria. –ditzy, jumping, screaming, and helpless when it come to doing much of anything else. We also have stereotypes of what a beautiful woman is supposed to look like. How familiar is the description: 5’7”, long blond hair, blue eyes, super skinny? Besides the fact that most women aren’t built like that, this ideal version of beauty leaves out anyone whose family tree doesn’t go back to a Northern European Country. Most people are left out of this fairy princess stereotype that is all over TV. Think about it.
Why are we so obsessed with fat? It seems like you can’t get through a single day without somebody complaining about being fat or comparing weights or talking about being on a diet. Most of the time it’s the girls who look perfectly fine. Doesn’t this get just a little bit old? Think of all the things we could be talking about –world peace, fighting starvation, or hey, even math homework –but instead we waste all this time making a show of how much we hate our bodies all due to the set image of media.
Even though media is constantly trying to convince us that what we really need is to be stick-thin and covered in expensive makeup and clothes, why do we feel so much pressure even within our groups of friends to go on and on about fat this and fat that? It’s because of four main reasons. Number one, it’s a reason to cover for something else. Number two, you may feel pressured while in a group that talks about fat constantly so you find yourself doing the exact same thing. Number three, you’re looking for a compliment. And finally...