Body Image in America
By Kaitlyn Berta.
Introduction
Body image standards in America have always been unreachable and unrealistic. Society decides what is accepted as attractive, which for generations has triggered insecurities, mental illnesses, suicide, depression, bullying, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, low-self esteem, anxiety, shaming, and bondage. Why can’t everyone be beautiful and confident in their own skin? The influence body image has on America is powerful and will continue to cause damage to people until we accept diversity.
Beauty in the Past and Present
Since the beginning of time, humans have had their preferences on appearances. In Ancient Egypt, a woman had to have a slim figure with narrow shoulders and a tall waist to be considered attractive. Whereas, in Ancient Greece, the female ideal was full-figured, plump, and with fair skin. The Han Dynasty China praised the pale skin, narrow waist, and petite body in Asian women, which is still the ideal in their society. During the Italian renaissance, the size of a woman was linked to her husband's wealth, so full hips with a heavy stature was the goal. The Victorian Era had a similar movement but over time, the waist-cinching corset rose in popularity and women strived to have an hourglass figure.
The early 1900s was a defining time when the US fashion and media industry celebrated the Gibson Girl: slim, tall, narrow-waisted, wide hips, and large bust. This pen-and-ink illustration was said to be the personification of the feminine ideal of attractiveness, which, ironically, was created by a man. Girls who fit these standards were positively used in magazines which usually linked to trendy fashions, styles, and healthcare. By the 1960s, high fashion began adding new ideal features like long legs and small busts. Towards the end of the ’70s, the media and fashion industry began encouraging the athletic body type, then the diet, exercise, and supplement craze began. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison wrote in a paper in the Journal of Communication in 1997, "The highest reported prevalence of disordered eating occurred during the 1920s and 1980s, the two periods during which the 'ideal woman' was thinnest in US history.” When the 2000s hit, a very desired body image goal was placed by Victoria's Secret models. They all included slim thick, healthy figures with flat visible abs and prominent thigh gaps.
The fashion industry has since stuck with the Victoria's Secret body and most models all over America fit this standard of beauty. Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of women. In fact, recently, some brands recruited 'plus-size' models, however, these women are the size of an average woman. Unfortunately, this proved that designers and brands aren’t genuinely trying to be inclusive but rather just doing it for marketing, attention, and praise. The media and fashion industry portray skinny people as healthy and fuller people as unhealthy, however, this is not the case. The standard weight for a model ranges from 90-120 lbs which is considered underweight and has just as many health risks as being overweight. We can see this agenda is pouring into the younger generation with statistics from healthresearchfunding.org, that declare, around 42% of first through third-grade girls want to be thinner.
The Weight Loss, Diet Control, and Procedure Industry
According to womenio.com, the third biggest insecurity in women is weight. The weight loss and diet control industry is now worth a record high of 72 billion dollars. Millions of Americans get involved with supplements, fitness apps, diet programs, and gym memberships to lose weight for the right reasons. However, weight loss in Gen Z has been found to be done for the wrong reasons, with the goal of becoming more physically attractive. This is leading to extreme diets, bulimia, and anorexia. In female college students, the rates of anorexia are high, reaching up to 24%. The National Eating Disorders Association reported that 95% of individuals who suffer from an eating disorder are aged 12 to 26 with anorexia being the third-most-common illness among teenagers.
Gigi Hadid, a model who represents the fashion industry and maintains a wanted physique, doesn’t warn of the effects of her diet and lifestyle. People have seen how her diet is crazy and unrealistic. There are many cases of encouraging bad eating habits and diets like the K-Pop Industry which has been known for years to make their idols follow extreme diets. Many have come out speaking on the torture of their contracts and how it lead to disorders and illnesses. These examples are promoting a specific body shape that very few can obtain which is leaving a poor impact on our society.
Plastic Surgery is becoming common, especially in this generation. People as young as 16 can have procedures to change their facial structure. Kim Kardashian's brand is built on her artificial body. She is an icon that sends a message of what beauty is supposed to be. Ironically, she exchanged her natural beauty for a plastic body. Beauty in our society is finding an escape through procedures so that you can feel beautiful, instead of finding the beauty within yourself that you already obtain. The Botox numbers are increasing as well because in our society, looking young is beautiful and aging is displeasing. If the fashion industry and media would stop choosing what is beautiful, people would feel accepted and happy in their own skin without wanting to change themselves.
The Mental Effects of Body Image
Besides the ph
ysical, there are mental effects of body image. A leading cause of depression has to do with appearance; people aren’t happy with themselves, feel inferior, or even have body dysmorphia causing this effect. A song released in early 2022, called Funny Fat Friend by Maddie Zahm, discusses the life of being the ‘fat friend’ and dealing with insecurities. A line says, “They can’t relate to how I’ve drawn out in sharpie where I’d take the scissors, If that’s what it took me to look in the mirror” she expresses so perfectly the effects of depression and insecurity in body image, as well as, bringing light to mental harm and self-shaming. Usually, anxiety and low-self esteem attach themselves to depression which in some cases can lead to suicide. Especially, when a person is dealing with bullying as well, it can be diminishing. In 2017, a 13-year-old girl by the name of Rosie Avila, hung herself after relentless bullying. She left several notes, one of which revealed verbal abuse where they would call her ugly, a whore, make fun of her teeth, and more. She even apologized for “being ugly” and asked for no photos to be shown at her funeral. Any mental illness regarding body image will start with insecurity. And where is insecurity rooted? – in society’s expectations. Kaylee Pofahl, in her article, America the Beautiful: A culture obsessed with body image, speaks out about how her own life experience has revealed to her how America, “manipulates and distorts how we feel about ourselves and how we treat our bodies.”
Diversity and Acceptance
Just recently
, there has been a shift in fashion and media towards celebrating diverse bodies. Of course, the media can influence negatively but lately, many people of all different backgrounds have been coming out and embracing their differences. Our bodies do not define us but rather help us find the defining parts within ourselves, such as how we know ourselves and identify our core values. Even Barbie the #1 brand of Mattel, has broken their traditional “perfect” Barbie and has re-built its brand on Barbies of all heights, sizes, disabilities, colors, expressions, and uniqueness. This new acceptance isn’t just a trend but a defining time in society.
The media has different areas that are reaching for diversity. Celebrities like Rihanna and Beyonce, the owners of Fenty and Ivy Park, use models featuring realistic body types of all sizes and ethnicities to represent the everyday woman and not the fake Kardashian curves. Furthermore, Peer Health Exchange has created an app called selfsea, which provides first-person videos of teens talking about issues including body image, sexuality, mental health, and more, to reach out to people struggling with these topics. As Beyonce once said, “It’s important for women and men to see and appreciate the beauty in their natural bodies.”
Conclusion
It is time to stop putting limits and expectations on beauty and explore what beauty really is to oneself. We can use the power body image holds to our advantage and influence society for the good. A healthy body image is important in growing to be the best version of yourself which is why it is essential to learn that you must never compare yourself to absolutely anybody. Beauty comes in all forms and it is found in many different ways. Being content and finding joy within yourself is what will take you places. Society has taken ages to make peace with the idea of diverse body types but all bodies are different, no two the same, built specifically for you. Embrace your size, whichever one it may be, because size is just a number sewn into a label. Together we can make all body images celebrated and realistic.