Advertising and Body Image

Hello! The information on this blog is on the behalf of my other group members (John, Jamie, Brian, and Jack) and our research question: What effect does advertising in the media have on men and women’s body image?  We felt that this topic was important, especially in today’s world, because people have started to take notice of how much of an influence the media has on the average citizen—something as simple as what to wear out of the house or what to eat for dinner probably has some connection to the media, more specifically advertising.  With all of this influence on the public, many people have started to compare themselves to the “perfect being” that advertisements often promote.  This can result in depression, low self-esteem and, most harmful, eating disorders due to one’s negative body image.  So, we are taking it upon ourselves to do some research to look at how one’s body image is altered by advertisements, most of these effects being negative.  We are mostly researching the terms “advertising” and “male/female body image” in order to see what information is out there for us to learn more about the effects of these advertisements.

The link below provides some information that applies to our topic and some of the ideal that the media presents through the media, as well as the subsequent effects on men and women.

http://www.healthyplace.com/eating-disorders/articles/eating-disorders-body-image-and-advertising/

Guys, how does this image make you feel? Do you feel that you could "match up" to this model? Unless you have Photoshop that works on real-life human beings....probably not.