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Teenage Girls, Self-Esteem, The Media and the Development of Eating DisordersMay 08 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Cultural ideals shape the way we think we should look, and can damage self-esteem and lead to eating disorders.
Yesterday I wrote about the development of a child's self-esteem (take a look at http://www.epinions.com/content_1453170820) I had mentioned that if a child does not develop a healthy sense of self that they may develop a psychiatric disorder such as depression, anxiety or an eating disorder. This editorial is going to focus on the effects of low self-esteem on teenage girls and it's contribution to the development of an eating disorder. The definition of low self-esteem is believing that you are unworthy, incompetent, and/or inadequate. Many teenage girls who have not developed a healthy sense of self enter their adolescence believing exactly that....they do not measure up...something is wrong with them. Quite a few of these girls will develop an eating disorder. Eating disorders are complex conditions that arise from a variety of factors, including psychological, interpersonal and social issues. Media images that help create cultural definitions of beauty and attractiveness are often seen as being among the factors that contribute to the rise of eating disorders. Media messages creaming "thin is in" help create a context within which teenage girls learn to place value on the size and shape of their body. To the extent that media messages like advertising help our culture define what is beautiful, the media's power over the development of self-esteem and body image can be incredibly strong. A teen girl who already has low self-esteem may be bombarded with images of perceived perfection and beauty on a daily basis, thus further eroding her already damaged self-esteem. Cultural ideals have shaped the way we think we should look throughout history. Lets take a walk down history lane. In the 1890's the ideal woman was plump with a pale complexion. This represented wealth, an abundance of food and a refined, indoor lifestyle. In the early 1900's the corseted, hour-glass look was in. In the 1920's the flatchested, slim-hipped flapper was idealized. In the 1950's and 60's the full-figured shapes of Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield were followed by the gaunt Twiggy look. In the 70's and 80's perfection was a taller, thinner look with no visable body fat and highly toned by hours of working out. In the early 90's we were jealous of waifs like Kate Moss. Now the look is narrow hips, and large breasts (a rare combination without the help of implants). Our ideal changes constantly. What kind of message does this send to a teen with fragile self-esteem. It tells them that most likely the look that they have now is not good enough. What's a teen girl to do? She cannot escape these images. The media is a teenagers main source of information about women's health issues: . 90% of all girls 3-11 have a barbie doll, an early role model with a figure that is unattainable in real life. . Women's magazines have 10.5 times more advertisements and articles promoting weight loss than men's magazines. . The average teen watches 3-4 hours of TV per day . A study of 4,294 network Tv commercials revealed that 1 out of every 3.8 commercials send some sort of attractiveness message, telling viewers what is or what is not attractive. The average teen sees over 5,260 attractiveness messages per year. . 69 % of female Tv stars are thin. What most girls do not think about is the reality of those messages and images. Body features in the media are enhanced with props, lighting angles, and computer techniques. Shapes and sizes are altered. Blemishes, wrinkles and freckles are edited out. Body features from photos of different people are edited together to create the perfect image. So basically young girls, especially those with damaged self-esteem spend their lives chasing an ideal that really doesn't exist naturally. So what can we do to help combat the influence of the media on our teenage girls and the development of eating disorders? Attend to their self-esteem right from birth.(see my last epinion). A young girl with a healthy sense of self is less likely to fall prey to the media's lure of perfection. I also think it is important to talk to your daughters about the media and it's unrealistic messages. Explain to them that these ideal are, in fact, unattainable and they are beautiful just the way they are. As I stated in my last epinion, you can only do what you can do.  |
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