The Die In Diet: How North American Ideas Of Beauty Harm Women Essay, Research Paper

IntroductionHumankind has always been aware of the existence of beauty. As our species has grown intellectually and socially, the standards that constitute beauty have changed to suit our culture. Females, in particular, are given more focus than males when it comes to appearance (Jackson, 1992). For instance, cosmetics cater almost exclusively to women and while they are considered a luxury, they have come to represent more of a grim necessity for females (Hansen & Reed, 1986). In the Western civilisation of North America, the concept of what constitutes beauty has transformed from the curvy and voluptuous looks of Marilyn Monroe to the sickly thin figure of supermodel Twiggy. The most recent concept of the ideal female has moved farther away from the realistic, to a look that has become unattainable to the average woman. This image of impossible beauty is constantly being presented to women through the media. In drastic efforts to harmonise with the modern notion of beauty, many women have developed negative and self-destructive habits and beliefs in regards to their own bodies.

Eating disordersEating disorders are classified as mental disorders, which are understood to have multiple roots, including depression, low self-esteem, sexual/physical abuse history and a perfectionist attitude. While all of these elements are important to consider, the cultural and societal aspect is arguably one of the most significant factors to observe. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are two of the most recognised eating disorders in North America. Both disorders involve self-destructive conduct that develops from a goal to lose weight. Anorexia is characterised by starvation dieting, excessive exercising, the cessation of the menstrual cycle, and an intense fear of gaining weight. Bulimia, though marked by a similar fear of weight gain, is distinguished by episodes of binge eating and purging by vomiting, excessive exercise or with the aid of diet pills (Dittrich, 2001).

The fact that the majority of models and beauty contestants would meet one of the medical criteria of anorexia – that body weight be 15% below a “normal” weight – serves to prove that society embraces an unhealthy body image. In 1990, a direct relation was found between exposure to media and the incidence of eating disorders. The increase in eating disorders over time has coincided with the decrease in ideal female body weight, as portrayed in the media. In 1992, women’s magazines were found to have 10.5 times the amount of advertisements promoting weight loss than men’s magazines. This ratio is identical to the sex-ratio reported two years earlier for eating disorders (Kuehnel, 1998). The North American culture’s thin beauty ideal pressures many women to resort to self-destructive and painful behaviours.

Cosmetic surgeryThe four most common cosmetic surgery procedures are liposuction, laser skin resurfacing, facial rejuvenation, and breast augmentation (Browning Jones, 2000). Liposuction involves surgically removing unwanted fat from the body. Laser skin resurfacing removes the top layer of skin from an area, resulting in less pronounced lines and wrinkles and smooth skin tones. Facial rejuvenation surgically manipulates the face in order to give it a more youthful appearance. Breast augmentation enhances the size and shape of a woman’s bust by inserting saline-filled implants behind the breasts. Other procedures include testicular and pectoral implants, inserting implants into the calves, removing skin from the buttocks, thighs or breasts to give them a “lift”, abdominoplasty (commonly called the “tummy-tuck”), rhinoplasty, and phalloplasty (lengthening the penis by cutting ligaments, or thickening it with fat).

Cosmetic surgery encompasses many serious risks to the health and life of the patient. The reason why some women choose to take such risks may lie in the fact that the ideal woman, says Dr. Blake Woodside, director of inpatient eating disorders at the Toronto Hospital, is one who has a “totally flat figure except for large breasts, which is physiologically impossible” (Driedger & DeMont, 1994, p. 4). Drastic as cosmetic surgery seems, it may be the only way for an average person to measure up to society’s standards of beauty.

Poor self-esteemFormer supermodel Kim Alexis has largely been considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, but even she has moments of insecurity. The constant pressure to look a certain way seriously affected her self-esteem, she said in an interview. At the age of seventeen, Kim Alexis was a fit and healthy athlete, who gave little thought to her figure. She was devastated when she was told that she would have to lose fifteen pounds and began to starve herself. As a result, not unlike other models who “diet” to maintain their image, she stopped menstruating for two years. Her obsession with looking strong and thin eventually damaged her endocrine system and she can no longer produce the hormones her body needs to adapt to stress. Kim Alexis states that all supermodels, even Cindy Crawford or Claudia Schiffer “could point out some bodily feature with which she’s not happy” (McFarland, 1999, p. 43).

Supermodels are not alone in the fact that they feel pressured to look a certain way and are often dissatisfied with their appearance. In a society where excessive weight carries the stigma of a lack of intelligence, unpopularity, and laziness (Stephens & Hill, 1994), no one wants to fall into the category of obesity. In fact, in a 1997 survey, 89% of female respondents indicated that they would like to lose weight (Dittrich, 2001).

DrugsAccording to Frances Berg, the editor and publisher of the Healthy Weight Journal, smoking is a common method of weight loss being employed by today’s youth (Dittrich, 2001). Now, for the first time ever, the smoking rate of girls well exceeds the rate of boys. At least half of the reason for this vault in numbers has been attributed to the desire of the females to control their weight. Through the emulation of the thin and ideal females in the media, 25% of these female smokers will die of a disease caused by smoking.

The dangerous chemicals and additives of cigarettes are not the only drugs threatening desperate dieters. In 1992, Ann Gilmore began taking diet pills. After taking the pills for three months, Gilmore developed Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH), a deadly disease that kills most victims within a couple of years. For years manufacturers of diet pills have been discovering links between their products and diseases like PPH and heart valve problems. Unfortunately, diet pills like Ponderal and Redux have already caused dozens of Canadians to develop PPH and other heart and lung problems (Sawa, 2001). Already, the quest for a perfect body has cost some their life.

The sex factorIn much of the media aimed at adolescents and young adults, there is an abundance of sexual imagery and reference, with most of it aimed at females. In all mediums of media, sexual messages are becoming more explicit in dialogue, lyrics and behaviour. These sexual references are often unrealistic and inaccurate, and provide misleading information to the young people who observe them. A recent study indicates that over half of all high school seniors have had sexual intercourse and approximately one quarter of these students become infected with an STD each year (Stone, 2001). Females on television are more likely to be very attractive, wear skimpy or sexy clothing, have fit bodies and be the object of another’s gaze than males. In music videos, a medium highly tapped into by impressionable adolescents, male performers are more common and most women were portrayed condescendingly (Signorielly & McLeod, 1994). In television and movies, rape is often depicted as a crime of passion, and not of violence. Sexual assault is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States and date rape accounts for 70% to 80% of all rape crisis centre contacts (Stone, 2001). All of this reference to sexual activity, with little relating to safe sex or STD’s, and with the abundance of scantily clad women on television, the message is clear that females are expected to be seduce males and dress “sexy”. The double edge of this sword is that when a woman is dressed in this manner and is sexually assaulted, her credibility is destroyed.

ConclusionIt is impossible to exist in the modern North American culture and remain unaware of the unrealisable standards of physical beauty that are imposed on women. Through excessive exposure to “beautiful women”, the media has successfully aided in the destruction of women’s self-esteem, helped to develop eating disorders, boosted the use of drugs, encouraged more women to face the risks of elective surgery and promoted objectivity of women and promiscuity without regard to STD’s. By undermining women’s sense of self worth, the media has managed to create million dollar industries to help females cope with insecurities (Wolf, 1991). But self-esteem is not all that women are losing to the beautiful enemy. Some women are now losing their lives. These self-destructive behaviours and negative emotions generated by the media will not cease until society revamps the concept of what makes a woman beautiful.

ReferencesBrowning Jones, Inez R.N. “Information,” Cosmetic Surgery Resource, 2000, http://www.cosmeticsurgeryresource.com/cosmetic-surgery-information.htmlDittrich, Liz Ph.D. “About-Face Facts on eating Disorders,” About-Face, 2001, http://www.about-face.org/resources/facts/ed.htmlDriedger, Sharon and John DeMont. “Body Obsession,” Maclean’s, May 2, 1994, Vol. 107 Issue 18, p44.

Hansen, Joseph and Evelyn Reed. 1986. Cosmetics, Fashions, and the Explotation of Women. New York, NY: The Pathfinder Press.

Jackson, Linda A. 1992. Physical Appearance and Gender: Sociobiological and Sociocultural Perspectives. Albany, NY: State University of New York.

Kuehnel, Deborah J. “Media/Advertising,” Addictions & More, 1998, http://www.addictions.net/Media/advertis.htmMcFarland, Ginger E. “Beyond Beauty,” Today’s Christian Woman, July/August, 1999, http://www.ChristianityToday.comSignorielle, Nancy and Douglas McLeod. 1994. “Gender Stereotypes in MTV Commercials: The Beat Goes On,” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Winter 1994, Vol.38 Issue 1, p91.

Stephens, Debra Lynn and Ronald Paul Hill. “The Beauty Myth and Female Consumers: The Controversial Role of Advertising,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, Summer 1994, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p137.

Stone, Jennifer. 2001. “Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media,” Pediatrics, January 2001, Vol. 107 Issue 1, p191.

Wolf, Naomi. 1991. The Beauty Myth. Anchor Books, NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.