The Perfect Body Synthesis Essay

In today’s society, if you are a female and are not extremely thin, or if you are a male and you are not muscular there seems to be a problem. All of the advertisements cause people to perceive that “normal bodies are not culturally acceptable” (Source E). There is no doubt that the media cause a lot of people to feel bad about their bodies.

Today’s models have unrealistic characteristics. Since the 90’s, the perfect body has been set at “5’10 in height and 110 pounds in weight” (Source F). “These weights are 13-19% lower than the average North American woman” (Source F). “Magazines and television shows [are] serving up ads [that] celebrate the waif look by portraying pencil-thin models” (Source A). It is no wonder that so many people are not satisfied with the way their bodies look.

Brumberg “reports that 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies at age thirteen [and] this grows to 78% by…seventeen” (Source B). Mundell’s studies show that “10 year olds…were dissatisfied with their own bodies after watching a music video” (Source B). According to a “study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute”, 40% [of 9 to 10 year old girls] have tried to lose weight” (Source B). In source D, the cartoon shows two girls deciding no to talk about their bodies anymore. After the girls decide to do this, they have a hard time coming up with something to talk about. It is as if the media has pushed the unrealistic view of what a woman should look like so hard that it is all that women can think about.

Because of unrealistic views of the perfect body, many women are scared of being overweight. “The national Eating Disorders Association estimates that 91% or 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat and between 5-10 million girls and women…are struggling with eating disorders” (Source A). Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that “one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control-[such as] fasting, skipping meals…and self-induced vomiting” (Source G). Teen magazine reported that “35 percent of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet and that 50 to 70 percent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight” (Source G).