Body Image- Aaron Petroff

think the reason that the media is pushing the "stick thin" figure, is because we are increasingly becoming fatter. If they advertised being fat as being attractive, the public would not have to try anything new or different because they are already becoming fat. But because we are becoming fat, the media wants to advertise something we are not becoming, so we will buy the products to become that way. Basically, I would bet that as soon as we start slimming down again, the media is likely to advertise being a bit chunky as the new beautiful thing, so we will buy products that will help us look this way. I think it is all a marketing ploy to get us to buy new products, even if the products are not realistic.
The media portrays their idea of “beauty” as a person who is far beyond what is actually possible. What the public does not know about the pictures in the magazine is that most of the models are airbrushed much more than we originally thought. We think maybe they are touched up but in fact they may look completely different in person. When girls see a supermodel, or guys see another guy in a fitness magazine, we naturally desire to look like them. We have been conditioned to think that the people in the magazine are perfection, so we would like to be like them. This thinking tricks consumers into believing that if they buy that Tommy Hilfiger shirt, they may suddenly look like the model, when this is not the case. On a deeper level, this thinking also leads people to extremes when they are trying to achieve a certain look. Both women and men may develop eating disorders, they may drastically change their lifestyle, and may stray from being themselves, all in an effort to look like another. In Canada alone there are over 50,000 women suffering from anorexia or bulimia. While not as many men suffer from the disease, there is a certain portion of men who have this problem.
In “Killing Us Softly,” the speaker explains how some advertisements have created “models” who have eyes from one person, the nose of another, lips of another, etc… This means that our idea of perfection may not even be attainable. I think that the speaker was correct in saying how representing a human as an object, not a human, will soon lead to violence. It is easier to justify violence or mistreatment towards an object than it is to justify it for a human. All of these problems that I have listed are directly related to advertising. It is not to say that the advertisements don’t serve their purpose, they usually help sell the product. But the ads can also have a very negative, destructive effect on those who view them. It is not fair to expose men and women to impossible ideals of “perfection.” It is not fair to make them think that they can achieve these looks if they buy the product, and it is not fair to make them think that if they don’t fit the image, they are less than perfect. The speaker also pointed out how women and men are portrayed differenty in their advertisements. Women are very passive, and not too active. Men are portrayed as very active and in your face. It shows the inequality that the media is creating between men and women.
Overall, the world would probably be a better place if advertising were illegal. There would not be so many insecurities among our people, and we would all be happier for it. But with the dehumanization, misconceptions, and overall unrealistic elements of advertising, this will never be possible. Women will always be made objects, men will always feel bad when comparing themselves to the muscle men of the Calvin Klein ads, and most people will spend a good portion of their young lives trying to become somebody that they will never be able to become.


Grabe, Shelly. "The Role of the Media in Body Image Concerns Among Women: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental and Correlational Studies." Psychological Bulletin 134May 2008 460. 31 May 2008