Summary
The mass media, because of its depiction of unrealistically sexy and beautiful body images has had a negative effect on the way people look at beauty. It has resulted in lower rates of self-esteem and it put more pressure on people, especially teens to strive to look more beautiful. It also says that these images of beauty are unrealistic and are unhealthy.
Critique
The media does not really distort our perception of the human body. People just have different interpretations of everything that is being depicted in the media. The article claims that the normal body is being perceived as ugly while the unhealthy is perceived as beautiful. The statement directly says that being beautiful is or can be unhealthy. This sort of implies that getting the body you want through unnatural methods such as liposuction is unhealthy. This translation is however wrong. Taking for example liposuction; it is a medical procedure in which body fat is being siphoned out of a person’s body but this is not what you would call unhealthy. Truth is, being fit is a healthy habit and having liposuction or corrective surgery is not all that bad. Some people say the people should be content with the way they look and corrective surgery, breast enhancements, liposuction, etc. should never be considered. One should always strive to look better since this affects how one carries himself/herself.
The media’s representation of the human body is not meant to inculcate a sense of reduced self-esteem among young people. It just shows what is beautiful because it is what the people want to see. They want to see beautiful people and the beautiful people portrayed in the media are not unrealistic. The article is generalizing that all beautiful people being shown in the media has unnatural beauty, that their beauty is a product of the latest beauty treatments or corrective surgery. Not all models or perfectly beautiful people have undergone corrective surgery to get the face or body that they have. There are a lot of models out there who have never sought beauty from medical means. The article should look at it from another angle or rather look at it a lot deeper. Many people, even those that may already be classified as beautiful still want to change the way they look. Also, many if not all people want to change something about the way they look and sometimes, the only way to do this is by the unnatural means.
The article is also quick to say that the media which portray these images are unscrupulous. When Cosmopolitan or other similar magazines publish an article about freaking out on getting fat, it is not meant to “obsess about body fat in a negative way”. What I can say is that they are simply publishing what their audience wants to read. Since an increased level of attention is now being put on health concerns, fat has become a much hated thing since it contributes to heart disease and hypertension. That kind of article may speak about looking good but it also talks about being healthy. While fat is not ultimately evil since people do need fats, too much of it is not good and this is what articles like these would like to emphasize. Wanting to look more attractive is only natural and this is no obsession.
