Media’s Role In Body Images Essay

In our society, we tell little girls to love and to be true to oneself. As they grow up, this message begins to disappear because our culture contradicts this idea. As girls enter the world, they are already confined with how the media set unrealistic standards for the female population. This leads girls to harm their own body, including eating disorders such as bulimia, and anorexia. The most prominent cause of these acts is advertisements. Advertisements are everywhere and they have the power to promote, sell, encourage, and give unrealistic ideals of the common people. Advertisements and media images have a negative effect on the way women view their body image which leads to self-harm.

Politicians are the most persuasive people in the world. During an election, the most successful politicians are those who use Aristotle’s three appeals (Logos, Pathos, and Ethos) effectively. By not only establishing themselves with voters, but also appealing to voters’ emotional side and using evidence to support the effectiveness of their political platform. As a politician persuades voters, an author must similarly persuade their audience. For an author to persuade an audience, the author must use the three appeals effectively; in which, when observing the works of Nicholas Carr, Alexis Madrigal, and Rev. Billy Graham respectively, it is shown that all three authors use one of the appeals effectively.

The media has become a powerful source for changes in our society. There are so many factors and reasons for our society changing. Today I find most people obsessively worried about their body image. We all have a body and at one time or another, we worry about it. Women and men are both being affected by media sources such as television, advertising, magazines, music, and video games; not to mention the photo manipulation that goes along with it all. Questions can be asked; such as, “Is this the way our society should be leaning [obsessing over our bodies]? What could happen from here? Are there any solutions?”

Before analyzing Red’s use of rhetoric, it is important to know the rhetorical elements of ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is defined as how the writer expresses their ethics, morals, and credibility to their audience. Ethos heavily revolves around the writer or speaker. The audience wants to know who the author is and what their views on the subject

For many years the media has been blasted as the cause of numerous negative events that continue to happen in our society. Anti-media supporters have placed the blame for increased violence in the nation on media’s exposure to violent entertainment shows and movies. Media’s promotion of the thin ideal in female models and actors as well as media’s use of very muscular male models and actors may perpetuate the idea that the average person should either be skinny or muscular. An average person who is not skinny or muscular may feel as though they are not living up to society standards which greatly effects their emotional self-esteem. However not every person encountered indicates they are negatively affected by media’s emphasis on skinny or muscular people.

Rhetorical analysis is looking at something such as an essay, newspaper, movie or advertisement and looking beyond the story, information and intended audience. To analyze the purpose behind what’s written or said, to discover the intended audience and why they are writing what they are writing. There are three parts of rhetorical appeal persuasion: Ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos or an ethical appeal. This is the audience’s perspective on what the author is writing and to decide how credible it is. Who the author is and if they are credible. Pathos or pathetic appeal is the writer's attempt at connecting with the audience through experiences or examples. It is directly connected to interests and emotions of the audience.

The rhetorical strategies of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are used in the media every day to persuade society. Whether it be for sales, politics, or everyday news, these three styles of persuasion influence how people are affected by the media. Pathos targets an emotional response. This causes viewers to accept or reject a claim or idea based on how it makes them feel. This is a very effective form of persuasion, however it can be incredibly manipulative.

What is the purpose of an argument? What is the point in arguing with someone? Well the point in argument is to inform, persuade, or to make decisions about the past, present, or future. An argument is not going back and forth just saying”yes it is” or no it is not”. In an argument you use logos by trying to convince the debater that something is right or wrong by giving logical reasons. Pathos in a argument you play the other person's emotion on themselves by creating an emotional connection. Ethos you convince the reader of your credibility or persuade them that you are a credible source. Ethos, Pathos, and Logos tie into media because the media is always telling people about what is going

The three classic rhetoric appeals include; ethos which can be related to the ethics and credibility, pathos which relates to the emotional side, and logos which appeals to the logic or facts about the situation. Olsson taps into the pathos appeal very well by including the stories of people like Jennifer McLaughlin. Since using personal testimonies gives a first person perspective of the treatment of a Wal-Mart employee, it shows how the working conditions can negatively affect someone like Jennifer McLaughlin’s homelife. Olsson’s use of logos also excels because by using important evidence such as former lawsuits and “union-busting” tactics used by Wal-Mart, she can easily back up her case. The ethos appeal is also strong for Olsson because she has a lot of prior experience working for big newspapers which can make her a reliable source. For example, she has written for Slate, the New York Times and the Washington Post and more. However, despite her impressive experience as a journalist, one could also point out that since she writes for more liberal publishers, she may already have a personal opinion and could write in a bias

Authors have many strategies when it comes to winning over their reader to their side on a topic even if it means that they will target their opponent to make them look bad. In the articles by Steve Greenberg and Michael Weinreb we will look at the way they try to get the reader to join into their opinion of the topic by appeal to the persons logos, pathos, and ethos. By doing looking at the articles and breaking them down we can see how the author makes his argument by using rhetorical strategies and logical fallacies.

Media holds such high standards in today 's society, and media as a whole has gotten so much power throughout the years. There are so many different forms of media in today 's world: newspapers, magazines, televisions, the hundreds of websites on the Internet, social media applications, computers, and novels. Media advertises thousands of different things, but something that has stayed consistent over the years is advertisement on body image. Media advertises a specific body type, pushes different dietary needs to achieve this body type and thus creating the standard of in order to be beautiful, this particular body type must be achieved. However, what advertisers seem to be neglecting is the effect their advertisements are having on its viewers. The constant push to achieve a certain body type has affected the health of thousands of people around the world, and directly affecting the eating disorder epidemic.

The media group that retouches images skews the “normal” body image of people through many of its outlets, including models in advertising and magazines, and actors in TV and movie productions. “The average model portrayed in the media is approximately 5’11” and 120 pounds. By contrast, the average American woman is 5’4” and 140 pounds” (Holmstrom, 2004). This statistic shows how the media manipulates consumers into believing that because they are not what the average model looks like, they are not living up to a certain standard which implies that they need to look like that to be beautiful. Another research fact that shows a similar concept is that, “In the United States, 94% of female characters in television programs are thinner than the average American woman, with whom the media frequently associate happiness, desirability, and success in life” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This association of female thinness and happiness, desirability and success makes consumers believe they must achieve this unrealistic thinness to achieve more ultimate goals and fulfillment in life. “The media also explicitly instruct how to attain thin bodies by dieting, exercising, and body-contouring surgery, encouraging female consumers to believe that they can and should be thin” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This idealization of thinness in the media is seen so much, and is extremely harmful to women’s self confidence and is often associated with body image dissatisfaction, which can be a precursor to social anxiety, depression, eating disturbances, and poor self-esteem (Yamamiya et al.,

The media has distorted people’s views on the way they look at their own body image. The media has shown what their ideal body type is, while leaving people to feel as if the average weight is not good enough. (Cardosi, 2006) We live in a world where people feel as if having zero body fat is the idea body type to have. Pictures of models for clothing stores, bathing suits, lingerie etc. all exhibit to this to be true. Body image is perceived to be negatively influenced by the media and the way that the media displays their models. Parents, teachers, adolescence and even children all find themselves to be comparing themselves based on what the media exposes. (Levine & Murnen, 2009)

Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women, and their bodies, sell everything from food to cars. Women's magazines are full of articles urging women to fit a certain mold. While standing in a grocery store line you can see all different magazines promoting fashion, weight loss, and the latest diet. Although the magazines differ, they all seemingly convey the same idea: if you have the perfect body image you can have it all…the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career. The media, whether TV, print, or Internet advertising, seems to play a huge role in influencing women of all ages; from adolescence and teens, to women in their twenties and thirties, as well as

Media such as the internet, broadcasting, and publishing is a way to express opinions and keep up to date with the latest fashion trends. While these trends continue to go on, new trends are thought of, the trends may be a little tricky to keep up with even for celebrities. While the thought of being perfect for society, cause many adolescents to breakdown for following the false beliefs of society. Some people may use the media to be updated on important news. On the other hand, others believe the media is a horrible setting, resulting in adolescent to do whatever it takes to become just like them, poisoning their minds to become something they are not. The media produces bad influences for body image and messes with adolescents’ minds.