Body Image & Gender Representation APPRECIATION PART II

Cultivating Beauty

Cultivation Theory - As a person watches more of some sort of TV, he/she becomes cultivated into the television program view of social reality… Gerbners theory shows that such change is gradual and slow in evolving in individuals. Gerbner believes there are two processes that reveal evidence of media cultivation.

Cultural Understandings… Our beliefs are influenced most about things we have the least first-hand knowledge of. –Stereotyping –Messages about different countries and cultures

Cultural Studies of Media For cultural studies, media culture provides the materials for constructing views of the world, behavior, and even identities. Those who uncritically follow the dictates of media culture tend to "mainstream" themselves, conforming to the dominant fashion, values, and behavior…. Television, film, music, and other popular cultural forms are thus often liberal or conservative, or occasionally express more radical or oppositional views (Douglas Kellner, UCLA, 1995)

Beauty and Body Image in the Media Images of female bodies are everywhere. Attractive Womenand their body partssell everything from food to cars Why are the medias standards of beauty so different than the norm?

The Economics of Body Image How does the thinness message get across? The average North American girl will watch 5,000 hours of television, including 80,000 ads, before she starts kindergarten. By the time she is 17 years old, she has received over 250,000 commercial messages through the media.

The Economics of Thinness The diet industry is worth $100 billion a yearof that approximately $33 billion is advertising revenue. The barrage of messages about beauty and thinness tells women that they are always in need of adjustment and that the female body is an object to be perfected. 69% of girls in one study said that magazine models influence their idea of the perfect body shape 75% of "normal" weight women think they are overweight 90% of women overestimate their body size.

Beauty and Body Image in the Media According to a 2005 study: Over 3/4 of the female characters in TV sitcoms are underweight, and only 1 in 20 are above average in size.

Men Vs. Women All family sitcoms virtually all sitcoms now are about a fat guy with a hot wife. Rick Marin, former NYT television critic Father Eats Best. New York Times, November 24, 2004 King of Queens According to Jim

Image of Couples of Different Weights Whether the images are real or animated, the message is an overweight man can have a happy family life, but an overweight woman is destined to be alone... According to Jim Still Standing Family Guy

Beauty and Body Image in the Media Researchers report that womens magazines have 10 and ½ times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than mens magazines do. Over three-quarters of the covers of womens magazines include at least one message about how to change a womans bodily appearanceby diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery.

Its not only a female issue…

Its not only a message of thinness, its a manipulated message of thinness…

How ethical is the photoshoping of images?

Implications of retouching? Is it creating a greater disparity between reality and fantasy? In a capitalist society, where we all benefit from market models, whats the problem? Can repurposing help us appreciate body image more? (knowtheNews - Knowrealbeauty)

TASK How would you, in this highly invasive media culture, help people realize and appreciate body image?