Media Representation of the Perfectly Unattainable Body

Presentation 3

   

     In "Hunger as Ideology" by Susan Bordo and Maggie Wykes/Barrie Gunter's "Conclusion" from The Media and Body Image, the construction of the ideal body and its damaging, psychological effect on women is at the heart of what fuels consumers' insecurities and obsession with perfection. These constructions take place in the form of editing which distorts reality, idolization which encourages women to compare themselves and doubt their self worth, and publicity that promotes eating disorders and sets an unhealthy parameter on women's diet. Designed to be far from reality, all women seen in magazines, TV, and movies share the same feature of slenderness, which has become the answer to everyone's problems, the key to success, and that one thing women strive for endlessly in their quest for the impossible perfection portrayed in the media.

    Perfection is chased at a literal price, as well as, at the cost of a woman's peaceful well-being, with media successfully evoking the insecurities of females from a young age and exacerbating their layers of self-doubt as adults. What results is a constant addiction to controlling diets to achieve the edited bodies on magazines, to the point of starvation and even death. No woman is safe from the bombardment of "rules"on femininity, communicated through the  publicity that surrounds them, setting limitations on all aspects of their lives. Being thin becomes an obligation that if not achieved, threatens their shot at being happy and successful. Everything produced by the media essentially is an"information blizzard" where "the images and messages refer to each other rather than to any external reality empire" ( Gunter and Wykes, 208). It makes happiness impossible to achieve because what women strive for does not exist, resulting in a perpetual consumption and depletion of money, health, time, and confidence.

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."

 By: Vanessa Rodriguez and Mikhail Valentin