idealized images of women in the media

*Modern idea of beauty and how it has changed over time
-cultural standard of beauty becomes personal standard
-ideal female body represented by media images is between 13% and 19% below expected weight of a women
-hip/waist ratio decreased from 1970 to 1990
-beauty used to be grounded in the reality of everyday bodies, then it transformed to the ideal female figure being almost prepubescent completely devoid of curves

*Why the pursuit to meet cultural beauty standards is endless and unrealistic
-most physical traits depend on genetic factors
-the images are airburshed, edited and cropped by graphic artists
-media contradicts reality and ideal body image

*What types of women are most vulnerable to idealized images in media
-misregulators
-appearance focused vs non appearance focused
-womens attitude affect media image internalization

*awareness of self-comparison to media images
-50%-70% of affected women misperceive their own weight-related appearance

*consequences of being vulnerable to media images
-eating disorders: chronic dieters, anorexia, bulimia (laxatives or vomit to purge)
-constant internal struggle
-media encourages people to make quick judgements based on superficial physical traits
-many women diet for cosmetic reasons rather then health

*Euphoric pleasure women get from reading magazines
-idealized images evoke euphotiv identification or perceived closeness with comparison target
-seeing the images creates fantasy (temporary euphoria)
-constant exposure of thin women inevitably causes women to subconsciously allow that image to become ideal and common
-serves as an example, or target, of how close they are to achieving that image
-these women have a false idea that if they strive for these unattainable goals they will have positive benefits
-a desire for a state of being that can never be achieved (fantasy)

*thin ideal dominates the media
-anything above size 6 is considered plus size
-media only show ordinary women as a tool to sell products by serving them as a comparison example
– voluptuous women are only represented in the porn industry
-beautiful women typically promote products serves or activitives causing viewers to think they themselves will be more attractive if they have those items