Entry 6

Here are couple key terms I have found through out my Annotated Bibliography. The concept of ideal body image directly impacts a person’s body image satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Satisfaction is a person’s body image being similar to the person’s concept of the ideal body image. One’s body image represents the physical ideal that one seeks to follow such as fashion models, celebrity, movie star, athletes, and fitness professional. Body dissatisfaction is person’s body image being different from the one’s perceived ideal body image and feelings of dissatisfaction of the physical appearance. People who are dissatisfied have negative self-perception and self -worth, in which can lead to many disorders.

More and more America is seen as a country with large people because of its social habits such as fast food and low exercise activities life style. Having advanced technology, Americans have easy access to entertainment from all over the world. They often see celebrities from different countries; moreover, the beauty from the East. The media is one of the reasons why body dissatisfaction has raised throughout the years, but also family and fashion pressures for women to be thin. The Western views of the woman’s ideal body portray a slimness, which most women cannot obtain. This slimness is also presented by the media to society as attractive, desirable and more successful than any other body shape. By seeing the ideal body constantly, people change their own perception of body image. As seen in society, there are more people with Body Dysmorphic Disorder, eating disorders, anorexia and depression (Glauber, Rhodes, Bryne, Fink & Grammer).

           

The modeling industry is another strong influence on developing ideal body image perceptions, in which have been projecting thinness as ideal for many years. The lean body type is the predominant body image sought in the hiring of models to market clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, and other products because of the superficially ideal thin body image conveyed in the print media and supported by the popular demand. Americans are in constant contact with media advertisements from the food, fashion, and cosmetic industry. However, over time changes in anthropometric measurements, including BMI, of the idealized female body have declined significantly, which is opposite the increasing body size of American women. Frequent exposure to magazine articles about dieting and fitness are associated with the increased levels psychosocial distress among adolescents. Body dissatisfaction is enhanced when the media promotes unrealistic body images through their marketing efforts. The chasm between media-defined ideal body image and realistic body size continues to widen. Individuals should be conscious of their exposure time and reaction to the media's influence toward their development of their ideal body image. BDD typically appears during adolescence and young adults, and it can coexist with other mental disorders.