Interpretations of a “perfect” Body

Fernando Ramos

ENG 109

Prof. Cortina

28 January 2016

Interpretations of a “Perfect” Body

        Body image is the mental appearance of one’s own body. You hear people every day saying “I’m too fat” or “I’m too skinny.” People are not satisfied with the way they look because they see celebrities with the “perfect” body image. People are brainwashed by all this media going around, showing what a “perfect” body should look like. Barbie dolls also portray the “perfect” body image of a human being. Do you believe that there is a “perfect” body in this world? I believe that there is no perfect body anywhere and people should be who they are because there are so many views of how people look at you, that there will always be criticism. Body image is influenced by media, which is viewed in everyday society with different type of judgement.

        People are convinced by media what natural beauty is and what role models to pick. In the article, “The Natural Beauty Myth” by Garance Frank-Ruta, it talks about how media has changed the way people think natural beauty is. Frank-Ruta said, “It was argued that the evil images presented to women by the fashion industry were part of the broader plan of beauty magazines to make women feel bad about themselves and thus buy products for self-improvement.” This shows how magazines try to portray bad images in order to get women to buy products for self-improvement and make themselves feel better. There is no such thing as natural beauty if it involves products because that is not your natural bare body image. In the article, “Body Image, Media, and Eating Disorders”, Jenifer L. Derenne and Eugene V. Beresin, talks about how body image has been determined by many factors, including politics and media. In the article it said, “The media inundates them with mixed messages about what is sexy, making it difficult to choose a role model.” They cannot even choose someone close to them like family to be their role model anymore because they would rather pick someone who looks sexy, wishing they could be like them one day.

        People are blinded by the media using technology, which has evolved over the years and it affects people’s view of body image. In the article, “Body Image, Media, and Eating Disorders”, it said, “The reality is that most magazines airbrush photos and use expensive technology to correct blemishes and hide figure flaws.” This quote explains how media uses technology to change the way a person looks and people still believe it is real. People believe that everything in the TV is true and reliable. In the same article it said, “Reality shows such as “The Swan” and “Dr. 90210”, which feature plastic surgery and major makeovers, have been criticized for promoting unhealthy body image.” These shows display how people now in day get  plastic surgery which makes them look better and that is because technology has evolved, helping people change what they want on their body. People shouldn’t get plastic surgery because they might regret it after or it could end up going wrong, that you would have to get surgery again.

        It is not only women who are affected by body image but also men. In the article, “How Men Really Feel About Their Bodies”, it talks about many different reasons why men are also insecure about their body image. In the article it said, “So men, like women, are swimming against the age current. This might explain why from 1997 to 2001, the number of men who had cosmetic surgery increased 256 percent.” This shows that men want to keep looking young and are scared to age. Men are scared because if they start aging they feel like getting old will make them be less attractive and unable to get as many women. In the article, “Never Too Buff”, talks about how men want to gain more muscle and consume steroids in order to get big. In the article it said, “Pope and his colleagues gave the test to college students and found that on average, the men wanted 28 lbs. more muscle--and thought women wanted them to have 30 lbs. more.” This demonstrates how guys want to gain more muscle because they think women want big muscular guys. Guys want big muscles but some want to go over the average by using steroids because they feel like they are not buff yet. In the same article it said, “The book argues that many men desperately want to look like Adonis because they constantly see the "ideal," steroid-boosted bodies of actors and models and because their muscles are all they have over women today.” Men are always thinking that their muscles are the only thing they have over women which is a bad thing. Men feel more superior if they have strong arms but the only way they think they could achieve it is by steroids.