Today we discussed advertisements and their affect on body image. Below are two different scenarios. Feel free to comment on either, and if you wish, post link to some advertisements that have interested you (must be appropriate).
Option 1:
Fourteen-year-old Beth is increasingly voicing
dissatisfaction with her body. She often says “I wish
I had ” – fill in the blank with “straight hair,”
“flat abs,” or “a smaller nose.” Her mom says, “Honey,
you are so beautiful as you are! Be happy with what
you’ve got!” but she feels she’s running out of ways to
convince her daughter to accept her appearance. Once
Beth announced to her mom, “As soon as I turn 16, I
want a nose job for my birthday!” Her mom said, “What?
Where’d you get that idea?” “The girl on Sweet Sixteen
got one,” she said. Beth’s mom believes her daughter’s
obsession with appearance has stemmed from images
of celebrities and models in the media. She is worried
about Beth’s focus on looks and plastic surgery.
>> What can mothers do and say to help their daughters
be comfortable with their bodies?
>> How do you think the increased visibility and
normalization of plastic surgery and quick fixes (diet
pills, exercise equipment, etc.) in advertisements influence
young women?
Option 2:
Max, a junior in high school, has been a star of the
wrestling team for the past two years. His parents understand
that wrestling involves weigh-ins and strength
training, but lately Max has been changing. Sometimes
he refuses to eat altogether, while other times he eats
a lot in one sitting, or pigs out on junk food. His body
seems to have swelled up with strength. He likes to
work out while watching ultimate fighting competition
shows, which include “no holds barred” type fighting.
His dad senses something might be wrong because of
Max’s eating habits and body change, but he sometimes
wonders if it’s just a combination of wrestling with
adolescent hormones and growth spurts.
>> How might Max’s exposure to advertisements play a role in
his body image and behavior?
>> How can Max’s dad approach him about his eating
behaviors?
>> Who else can Max talk to about his eating habits and
self-image?
I Dont think mothers can tell there daughters anything that would help them except who they are... sure they can say ur beautiful and gorgeous and all that stuff, but mothers are suppose to say that.. The girl should just except who she is and theres nothin she can really do about it... sure she can get plastic surgery but it can come out looking worse then it already did before.. -Nash93-
ReplyDeleteoption 1
ReplyDeletewell theres not much her mother can do, i mean at the beginning feelling her daughter that she is beautiful works fro a while, but it really is up to the girl, she need to accept who she is and no one else but her can do that. her mother can be a good example and love herself and be proud of her self and the girl will take that, cuz moms are role models and if they dont like them selves and imply that they dont, that shows that the child can 2
i think that it has a big influence on girls, girls always compare them selves to everyone else and therefor think everyone is comparing them too.
they have this huge pressure, on trying to look good for boys, and right now the media is telling them that boys pay more attention and like skinny perfect girls, so that is what they want to do. and the fact that more famous ppl are being more open about plastic surgery, this shows that the famous and beautiful girls fix them selves up to look good then they are going to have to, cuz what boys like is getting more and more fake, thats what they give their attention to so thats what girls need to do.
<3 xoxoxo 41magnum xoxoxo <3
WEll I think Her Mom Doesn't have much choice because she is under the influence of the product..
ReplyDeleteBut at least what she could do is just keep on complimenting her daughter that she is beautiful for who she is until she accept her self for who she realy is..and maybe tell her that those comercial are just lying the are just all about bussiness and the want to make money only..and maybe she should try and talk alot bad stuff about the commercial so her daughter could realy hate that commercial and compare her self to any of other stuff and just accept her self for who she is
Well with advertisements or media today they give out an image the "whats hot or not".If your not then your not what society is looking for.This is the reasom for many young ppl to try and change something that didn't need fixing because we can't all be the same and if we were how fun would that be?none. but this could be whats bothering or pushing Max to not eat then eat large amounts.He probably does what most of us do...see whats on tv and then them selves and wants to change something.
ReplyDeleteMax's dad may want to go about it slowly if it's something that may really be bothering his son.For one thing maybe start off one day with a compliment then maybe ask him how he feels he looks.If max doesn't tell his father the truth it may lay within his eyes.
Max's can talk to any school teachers about his problems and they would try to help him.He could call kids help phone(1 800 668 6868) he could talk about anything comfortably and not worrie about his problems being heard.
it's to bad we have a world so consumed with looks and beautie we should all love our selves for who we are and not what we look like for true beautie lies in your heart not in your waist sizes or tan...
<3Cheese<3
Will comment tomorrow ... to tired
ReplyDeleteox-ButterFlyGirl-xo
I don't think that Beth's mother can do anything else but tell her daughter that she is beautiful. Beth is in the "i need to be perfect" mind of frame.
ReplyDeleteBeth is under the impression that she must be that perfect looking girl like in the movies, but it is all fake in the movies.
Beth is probably just going thorough a stage in her life and it will pass sooner or later.
TTYL
Signed,
Girl With A Passion
Beths momther can't really do anything else but keep telling her daughter she is beautiful and complementing her daughter. Until Beth realizes that she is beautiful no matter what, no one can really change her mind except herself.
ReplyDelete*BluePowerRanger*
Option 1
ReplyDeleteIn today's society there isn't a passing day that a girl or guy wishes they looked differently,the truth of the matter is that no one can ever look perfect except if u have the money to change so, but it isn't right to change your appearance just because you dislike it. I think the only thing Beths mother can do is to keep telling her daughter everyone is unique and not to change everything on your body you don't like.
And today its unbeleivable how we strive to fit perfection,and celebrities don't help with this. And its just going to keep getting worse as years go by.
-The Black Power Ranger-
Option One.
ReplyDeleteHer mother could raise some very good points such as "Most girls don't look like that and they still are getting dates. You need to have more confidence." or even (Though I'm not sure this one would work) "In the long run, looks don't matter. Do you really want someone to like you for how you look and only how you look?" or "They're not real. It's all airbrushed and a bad plastic surgery mix up is worse than staying the way you are."
Good points, though they may not work perfectly. She could also name people who are very close to Beth that like her how she is right now, without all that "perfections".
I think some things parents can say to their daughters is that not every one is the same. That were all built differently. SOme are smaller, thinner, taller, bigger, muscular etc... but that most of the girls on tv don't even look that way most of the time. All her mother can do is just tell her she's beautiful and try to get her to see that no one is like that.
ReplyDeleteI think plastic surgery and quick fixes (diet
pills, exercise equipment, etc.) in advertisements influence
young women very much because young girls see them on tv and how perfect they look and how much the guys seem to like them that they want that. They want to do anything to be like that. Girls who arent happy with them selves would do incredible things to try to portray the "right" image. Maybe its jus a faze but soon or a later it will pass and she'll come to accept herself where she's at but no matter how many come to accept that more and more are not and its just going to keep happening as the "perfectionist" image comtinues.
-red roses-
There's not a whole lot Beth's mother can say or do to keep her daughter out of this mindset. With celebrities modifying their bodies so frequently and the media portraying it as "making oneself beautiful". Beth is falling under the influence of fake beauty. No one is born perfect and that should be something she learns in life. But it will be difficult with the increase popularity of plastic surgery, diet pills, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think that mothers can only tell there daughters how pretty they are for so long. at some point they are gong to think that what ever they see on tv is right and thats how it is suposed to be.
ReplyDeletethe media as a big effect on how and what people think about them selfs these days.
people and getting sugery is just crazyness i think it should be for people that are in fires or things like that.
*JOE dirt*
well since their are weigh-ins he would have to be a specific weight, so that would cause him not to eat or gorge on food if he becomes underweight for his class.he can probably be walking down the street and see one of his favorite fighters on a banner advertising a muscle enhancer that may not be very healthy for him.as for his father, he should approach his son about his eating habits as well as self image before it gets the best of him.if max is seeking more advice he can always ask his coach for more information.
ReplyDeleteThere's not a whole lot more that Beths mother can do to help her. The media and celebrities have a big impact on the way people see themselves. They want to look like the people they see on T.V or read about in magazines. Mothers should keep on telling their daughters that they are beautiful the way they are and nothing needs to change.
ReplyDelete-RedPowerRanger-