Light Illusions

Lately, eating disorders and plastic surgeries have attracted the interest of researchers. They are concerned due to health complications, psychological issues, and the rapid increase of incidents. Theoretically based, in Susan Bordo’s essay, “Beauty (Re) discovers the Male Body,” she points out important and extensive examples of how the media has been affecting image obsession in many people. For example, she states, “There, the ‘progressive’ messages conveyed by giving the girls and women depicted great careers or exciting adventures is overpowered, I think, by the more potent example of their bodies. The plots may say: ‘The world is yours.’ The bodies caution: ‘But only if you aren’t fat.’ What counts as ‘fat’ today?” (Bordo 226). The author attempts to explain that the media, such as television, magazines, advertisements, weight and shape maintenance, and more play a negative role in pressuring many people to have the perfect body. This becomes a normal way of life, and people develop emotional and eating disorders problems that, in the long-term, cause death. The majority of people in today’s world are concerned about their appearance. It is a normal human thing, but some people have no limit when having an obsession with being perfect head from to toe.

Years ago, the world was extremely different than what it is today. There was no image competition, and the media did not pressure people to become thin and to develop eating disorders. Obviously, society has always valued beauty, but the media has gone too far today in pressuring people to obtain the ideal body. Many advertisements promote a stereotype of how people have to look, creating the habit of perfectionism and considering plastic surgery and eating disorders as an output for self-esteem and self-concept benefit. Bordo supports these facts when she found, “No I don’t think the business of beauty is without its pleasure. It offers a daily ritual of transformation, renewal. Of ‘putting oneself together’ and walking out into the world, more confident than you were, anticipating attraction, flirtation, sexual play” (Bordo 226). Bordo’s research confirms the media influence over people, and it shows society’s need for beauty and perfectionism throughout the world.

The media is responsible for telling society how they should look, and there are a few examples from television and magazines that prove these findings. For example, Bordo states, “Alicia Silverstone was taunted by the press when she appeared at the Academy Awards barely ten pounds heavier than her (extremely) svelte self in Clueless. Janeane Garofalo was the ‘fat one’ in The Truth About Cats and Dogs. Reviews of Titanic described Kate Winslett as plump, overripe, much too hefty for ethereal Leonardo DiCaprio” (226). These examples expose how the media pressures people to be perfect, as they positively promote a very thin woman and usually ignored the ones with greater weight. Further, the media shows the world of modeling, movies, singers, and more with an extreme slimness, mainly due to the competition between celebrities. This can cause society to think that being skinny is how they are supposed to look, which may cause them to have eating disorders.

Eating disorders are a direct consequence of the media’s obsession with being skinny. Bordo states in her essay, “Today, as many as a million men – and eight million women – have an eating disorder” (227). Since ancient times, food has been essential for the development of life, not only because food is one of the basics needs of all living being, but also because is a way continuous lifestyle. The term eating refers to the behavior of introducing food into the mouth and then the body will process it. However, when a person does not eat or throws up their food, the body will have no food to process, and an eating disorder can result.

In recent decades, the most common eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. There's even a pro-ana subculture - made up of people who are proponents of anorexia. Anorexia consists of the fact that the person stops eating or eats in small quantities, has an intense fear of gaining weight, refuses to maintain body weight above the minimum according to age and height, and it leaves the stomach the sensation of felling hungry. Loss of weight auto-induced by vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, and excess of physical activity are the most common behaviors of a person suffering from anorexia. Further, two types of anorexia have been identified. One is when a person loses weight by diets, abstaining from food or excessive physical activities, and the person does not use laxatives. In contrast, in the second type of anorexia, the use of laxatives, diuretics, and enemas are involved.

Additionally, the media can cause some people to develop the eating disorder named Bulimia. Bulimia occurs in a person who has already gone through anorexia and consists of overeating and then induces vomiting. Both are produced by an excessive fear to gain weight, and people who suffer any of these have a distorted self-image. The consequences of these disorders include dental problems such enamel loss enlargement of the salivary glands, pancreatitis, hematemesis, and digestive hemorrhage, which can cause a heart attack. Further, the abuse of laxatives causes imbalances in the body. In all, it is necessary to mention that these two illnesses cause serious consequences for the organs, even death if not treated on time.

While many people can develop anorexia and bulimia through other outlets, the media can definitely influence how we view our bodies. Being bombarded by images of skinny celebrities can take an extreme toll on our bodies and minds, and many people in society may develop mental and physical problems as a result of the media’s obsession on the thin. The examples previously given by Susan Bordo proves that the media is constantly criticizing those who are not perfectly skinny. As a result, a person can develop several health issues such as personality and family problems, depression, social dissatisfaction, lack of self-esteem, discrimination, and rejection towards overweight people. Further, being pressured by the media to be thin has also lead people in society to fear normally and may lead them to non-essential plastic surgery.

Both men and women constantly complain about body appearance. It is well known that men desire a body full of big muscles and women focuses on weight loss, as they want to have all the attractive parts of a woman perfect to the human eye. However, many reach the point of abusing products that the market has to obtain the perfect body. These products can include steroids, muscle gain weight powder, and pills to lose weight and suppress appetite.

Unfortunately, failure to have success in meeting the media and society’s expectations of the perfect body can lead people to having plastic surgery. It is the easiest procedure that exists in today’s world. The images that the media shows support an influence over many people, which causes the desperate option to have a certain surgical procedure done such as nose jobs, fake breasts, liposuction, liposculpture, and more to achieve perfection. In his investigation, Christian Nordqvist informs:

Plastic surgery has two branches, cosmetic surgery and reconstructive plastic surgery. Cosmetic surgery aims to improve the aesthetic appearance of a person, while plastic surgery may include this, or just the reconstruction (reconstructive surgery). Reconstructive plastic surgery aims to improve function; however, it may also involve trying to approximate normal appearance, but that is not its primary function. Reconstructive plastic surgery is often as simply reconstructive surgery. Some parts of the world completely separate cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery and term cosmetic surgery as elective surgery, non-essential surgery, surgery which the patient chooses to have; while plastic surgery is understood to mean surgery to reconstruct or improve after injury or illness. (qtd. in Nordqvist)

In this manner, the research determined that plastic surgical procedures help to change the appearance of a person or the reconstruction of a specific body part to make people satisfied. This satisfaction can be caused by wanting to live up to society’s expectations of being thin and perfect, which is exactly what the media tells us every day.

According to Mayo Clinic, the risks of the extensive branch of what plastic surgery offers are not limited. Plastic surgery complications can be fatal. Physical appearance and mental health are related, from psychological discomfort to neurotic disorders and sometimes personality problems. Also, the unhappiness with the body image generates psychological damage such as, low self-esteem, anxiety, social interaction, sexual problems and eating disorders. A few examples of the complications than can occur during plastic surgery are nerve damage, which involves most commonly the legs and feet giving as a result of the partial or complete loss of movement, infections, blood loss and/or death, as well as noticeable skin scars (Mayo Clinic). If these complications are not bad enough, many people need to have future surgeries to help fix these complications or to maintain their new appearances.

Unfortunately, when a person has a cosmetic procedure, it needs to be either maintained or replaced. Further, while these procedures are not fixed, people can develop temporary self-esteem problems and depression that would get cured with another procedure that in the long-term will create a vicious circle. For example, a woman may get new breast implants because the media is now saying that her current size is not the latest standard of beauty. However, in some cases, the vicious circle reaches a point where it cannot be fixed again, and society can no longer rely on plastic surgery to lift their feelings.

While many people claim that they feel pressured to be thin due to what they see in the media, research has proved that the media does not influence the way that we see ourselves. In society, people are bombarded with messages all day through television shows, internet reports, and stories in magazines. However, just because the media displays these images does not mean that people are going to change the way that they look to resemble these images. For example, if a female sees a skinny model in a Versace advertisement, the chances are that the female is not going to be influenced to become skinny in order to look like the model. The lack of change is due to our self-esteem. If people have high levels of self-esteem, they will just disregard the messages that are being sent to us through media outlets and maintain the current way that they look.

Further, the media does not pressure people to be thin since not all models, actresses, and singers are thin. For example, Adele is one of the most popular singers in the world, and she is a larger woman according to weight and height guidelines. Adele is frequently in the media, and she is always praised for her voice and she is never criticized for her weight. Further, Keenan Thompson is a famous actor, and he can also be considered to be overweight by guidelines set forth by medical experts. However, Thompson is a famous Saturday Night Live cast member, and he is highly respected despite his size.

Additionally, the media does not influence people to develop eating disorders and to get plastic surgery. First, Anorexia is not caused by the media. Just because we see models and celebrities on television and in magazines that appear to be rail thin does not cause us to starve ourselves to be skinny. Instead, Anorexia is a direct result of a dysfunctional family unit. Grange et al. found that “particular styles of interaction among family members are not only unique to eating disorders but also they play a specific role in the etiology or the maintenance of illness behavior” (1). For example, if a woman was neglected and abandoned during her childhood, she may grow up to have poor self-esteem and other mental health issues. This lack of self-esteem may lead her to begin to starve herself. The end result of being skinny will be increased attention from her family and friends either good or bad, which is exactly what she was striving for when she stopped eating.

Then, the media does not cause people in society to develop Bulimia since Bulimia is a result of a pattern of behavior. Bulimia involves eating large quantities of food and then purging the food so that the stomach cannot digest and store it. The end result is typically some euphoric feeling of pleasure, which will cause the person to repeat the behaviors to keep obtaining the high that they are looking for. Therefore, the media cannot be causing people to be Bulimic since the media is not displaying images of this pattern of behavior. Instead, people claim that the media is telling viewers that being skinny and fit is the standard in society, and then we choose to either ignore the messages or to accept and act on them.

Finally, the media cannot influence people to undergo plastic surgery procedures. Although there are television shows that portray plastic surgery procedures, none of these television shows tell viewers that they need to have plastic surgery in order to be thin and beautiful. Instead, most of the subjects in these television shows are scheduling surgery due to a medical condition or an illness. Further, in society, many celebrities are coming out and revealing why they had plastic surgery in the first place. For example, Angelina Jolie recently announced that she had breast implants placed into her body. Sadly, Jolie did not have the procedure done to enhance her breasts. Instead, she had the implants placed into her body since she had just had her breasts removed as a precaution for breast cancer.

The media does influence people in society to look a specific way, and it definitely causes people to develop Anorexia and Bulimia and to undergo plastic surgery procedures. First, being exposed to images constantly can influence the way that people see their selves. Although research has posited that the media does not influence the way that we see ourselves, Savukoski et al. found that the “media provides the model of a thin, even skinny, body that creates the image of beauty that can be achieved by skinny appearance. Media, indeed, maintains the excessive glorification of slimness and the idea of beauty resulting first and foremost from skinny slimness” (77). If people are repeatedly exposed to an image that does not match how they look, it can negatively affect their self-esteem. When a person’s self-esteem is low, he or she may be susceptible to these messages and feel that changing their looks will improve the way society views them.

Further, the media does pressure people in society to be thin, as many television shows and magazines make fun of overweight people. For example, Adele is constantly being bashed in the media for being fat. Also, Keenan Thompson’s size has always been an issue when he is being interviewed by reporters. While some critics praise the talents of these two celebrities, most reports focus on their looks instead of their gifts.

Next, Anorexia does cause Anorexia in women and men throughout society. Although author’s Grange et al. found that Anorexia was caused by dysfunctions in the family unit, Savukoski et al. determined that “Anorexia does start when an individual pursues meeting the demand of thin body created by the media and at the same time by society as well” (77). This research proves that Anorexia is a disorder that is a direct result of the media’s obsession with being thin. Further, Bulimia is caused by the media as well, as women fanaticize of an ideal body that is displayed through many media outlets. Women will begin to binge and purge their food in order to become thin, and they will now continue with this pattern of behavior to achieve the standard of beauty in society.

Finally, the media can cause people in our society to undergo plastic surgery procedures. Although some writers claim that people only get plastic surgery done if they have an illness or a medical condition, most women and men get the surgery to enhance their looks. If the media did not portray a standard of beauty on television, in newspapers, and in magazines, most people would not be able to walk into a plastic surgeon’s office with a picture of a celebrity or a model and want to look like the person in the picture. However, this is a common thing in our society, and many people die trying to achieve the media’s definition of what constitutes the perfect body.

In conclusion, the media causes people in society to develop eating disorders and to undergo plastic surgery. Films to the most insignificant television commercials have had a major influence on society over the last decade, as most people try to achieve the ideal body that is portrayed in media outlets. When a person continuously sees these advertisements, they can develop low self-esteem, which may lead to the onset of eating disorders as well as the abuse of plastic surgery. Although some writers claim that the media is not a direct cause of Anorexia and Bulimia since these disorders develop from dysfunctions in families and learned patterns of behaviors, research has proven that the media is the source behind these disorders. Further, people will get plastic surgery to mold their looks to conform to society’s definition of beauty and not because they are ill. Overall, if society would stop being superficial, favoring more of the interior self and accepting the way life created them, the media would not cause disorders and other factors in our society.

Works Cited

Bordo, Susan. “Beauty (Re) Discovers The Male Body.” Ways of Reading An Anthology forWriters. Eds. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s. 2011. 189-233. Print.

Grange, Daniel, James Lock, Katherine Loeb, and Dasha Nicolls. “Academy of Eating Disorders Position Paper: The Role of the Family in Eating Disorders.” International Journal of Eating Disorders 43.1 (2010): 1-5. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

Mayo Clinic. "Be Aware of the Risks of Cosmetic Surgery." Mayo Foundation for MedicalEducation and Research, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2013.

Nordqvist, Christian. "What Is Cosmetic Surgery? What Is Plastic Surgery?" Medical NewsToday. MediLexicon, Intl. 30 Jun. 2009. Web. 30 Sep. 2013.

Savukoski, M., Kaarina Maata, and Satu Uusiautti. “The Other Side of Well-Being- What Makes a Young Women Become an Anorectic?” International Journal of Psychological Studies 3.2 (2011): 76-86. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.