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Amber Evans

Dr. Cassel

English 1201. 107

29 April 2019

Unrealistically Damaged

When we look at how attached to our electronic devices we are, do we know just

how much of that time is being spent on social media? There is an over abundance of

options such as twitter, snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. All of which are being over

used and the adolescents are being strongly influenced by their daily encounters.

Whether it is a tabloid post of the latest trends whether that is large breast, smaller

nose, or even fuller lips. These are all just the latest in the string of reasons adolescents

today are becoming more body conscience and going to drastic lengths to meet the

latest standard of beauty. Just how much of an adolescent’s opinion of their own body

image affected by social media? Whether it is a little girl who only dreams of being a

princess or a transgender youth who craves being accepted, there is something to be

said for the audience this topic speaks to. When is enough just going to be enough and

everyone can be comfortable being just who they were meant to be. Born with their own

beautiful flaws and accepted for those same differences. Unfortunately, there is that

stigma that there will always be something new that is beautiful and because of

everything being so readily available it appears this will only continue to be an issue.

Children, pre-teens, and teenagers always seem to be up to date with the latest

electronics and social media. These same electronics and apps have taken over, what

in my day was the mean girl in school. The bullying is being made easier and kids are
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being affected even earlier with body conscience ideas and opinions. This has become

an even larger issue because it is not only causing medical concerns, but also having

social, emotional, and psychological effects. These effects range from depression,

eating disorders, and body dissatisfaction. Looking at these effects, just how much does

an adolescent’s opinion of their own body image depend on their social media?

Before there was this social media frenzy we had beauty pageants which only

added to the unrealistic standards of beauty. In 1980 was when some of the pageant

contestants and even winners began speaking out on this issue. Ann Simonton who

was,

at the time a prevalent model on such covers as Sports Illustrated swimsuit

edition, Cosmo, and Covergirl amongst the most popular. Ann came to the realization

that the “modeling industry was promoting and unattainable standard of beauty for

women.” While viewers looked at models as beautiful they themselves complained

about their own body image. This was due to the fact even their own photos were being

airbrushed making them have feelings of not being good enough. In 1981, a year after

she initially began to organize a protest of the Miss Santa Cruz Pageant, the protest

was so successful it brought to light all the dark secrets of just what the cost of this

unattainable beauty was. Ann and Nikki Craft created a float that was adorned with

women wearing sashes with words of empowerment and what was looked at as

inappropriate, examples included “Miss Behavin’, Miss Understood, No More Profits Off

Women’s Bodies, Myth California: Never Again Uncontested, Miss Chevious, Miss

Ogony” (Anderberg). There were also women throwing up inside of toilets. This was an

experience that led to so much awakening in the eyes of viewers. The protesters were
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out in masses surrounding the auditorium with numbers in 250. The pageant was

eventually moved to San Diego, but the protesters were not detoured “they followed in

busloads” (Anderberg).

With the emphasis today being on how many followers a person has on social

media sites like Instagram, twitter, snapchat, and Facebook more and more girls are

being affected with body dissatisfaction. There have been studies on just this topic that

showed an increase in Facebook involvement specifically showed the more friends a

person had the stronger their desire for thinness (Tiggeman & Slater).

In 2014, more than 160,000 teens ages 13 to 19 had cosmetic minimally

invasive procedures such as chemical peels, injectables and laser skin

resurfacing and more than 63,000 had surgical ones, such as nose reshaping or

breast augmentation, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

(Schaefer)

With standards constantly changing whose to say that what is beautiful today will

remain beautiful tomorrow. Because of this, girls going through these drastic measures

so young only feeds into their low self-esteem. Social media has built in filters and apps

which are allowing people to alter their images to be more appealing. The attention

these same images are receiving are only telling the girls that their own image is flawed.

According to Glenn Wilson author of “The Evolutionary Psychology of Mating and

Dating: In the Brain of the beholder? The Principles of Beauty and Sex Appeal,”

standards of beauty are determined by evolutionary biology. His viewpoint is that what

we find as beautiful is mostly attributed to different aspects of our features that relate to

babies. Women are often referred to as baby, babe, or babes. These baby features
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“…are smooth, pinkish skin, large open eyes, full lips, and small chin” (Wilson). The

views of what is attractive have changed over time ranging from pale skin being a sign

of beauty in the Elizabethan era, to sun tans being beautiful since the industrial

revolution, and even cultural difference where some cultures embrace thicker woman as

beautiful and others think thin women who look young are beautiful (Wilson). Because

of the ever-changing philosophy of beauty, it is hard to tell just what is beautiful, but

depending on your culture, and surroundings it is not hard to decipher. In Western

society, we focus solely on outward appearances such as how thin someone is, how

young they look.

There was a study conducted at York University by Jacqueline V. Hogue, and

Jennifer S. Mills, showing how social media engagements with peers affect body image

in contrast with their engagement with family. It found that although girls were

interacting with family through the same social media methods they were more likely to

compare themselves to their peers. This comparison resulted a more negative body

image. With social media being the main point of contact for anyone and everyone to

keep in contact today these studies and results are disheartening. To know that social

media has such an impact on girls lives to the point of them getting eating disorders and

even plastic surgery just shows the true impact of society. Today we are solely focused

on what we can change in ourselves instead of nurturing the body we were given.

What has changed from the time you were an innocent child to the point of an

adolescent who is so consumed in the now? Our entire lives evolve around what

compliments we can get from social media. Whether it is placing so many filters on your

photos you wouldn’t be recognized in a missing persons poster, or it is the responses

you receive from your quote on quote friends. Adolescents today have become their

own paparazzi. There is no lack of images and uploads, but the effect of these

situations created lasting effects. When we have pageant queens speaking out about

the injustices in the system it only began to crack the surface of the problem. Creating a

visual argument about bulimia and putting it on display really showed not only parents

but even those involved in the pageants how serious the issue has become.

Figure 1: For their 60th anniversary Barbie has released new dolls which are more
inclusive and more realistic to todays women and their body shapes and images while
still promoting the differences in each one.

It has even become a debate lately of the weight and images being portrayed in

modeling as well as the infamous Mattel Barbie. The tried and true blonde hair blue

eyes barbie is no longer the standard and Mattel has embraced different ethnicities,

body shapes, skin tones, and even hair types. They have even launched inclusive

barbie dolls with barbies with disabilities to bring awareness to the beauty in everything.
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This body positive movement has spoken volumes to the younger generation. This

movement can possibly even improve the opinions of the younger generation when

moving into adolescence by becoming okay with just who they are. We need to teach

acceptance and not focusing on the exterior because no two people are going to be the

same even twins have differences.

The more social media is being used the more it has become apparent that our

adolescents are being influenced by everything online. The dangerous Kylie Jenner lip

challenge to help you get fuller lips which caused bruising, torn skin, and even lip

tenderness. There is also no lack of filter options online, but because of that

adolescents are imposing on themselves unrealistic expectations. Kayleen Schaefer

wrote it best, apps can change practically everything about your image, but it is only

temporary. There is no amount of cosmetic surgery that can make that image

completely accurate. This only further draws the line of just how dangerous social media

is and how the encounters our adolescents and youths are experiencing damages their

own self-concept.

Today is the best day to start making a change. With the amount of diversity

throughout every part of the world beauty standards are truly in the eyes of the

beholder. In recent years there have been more organizations forming to promote this

same idea. The protest from the Miss Santa Cruz pageant in 1981 was only the

beginning. Today there are far more negative influences on adolescents and those in

general with negative body images of themselves. There are however multiple

organizations like the Be You campaign, dove campaign for self-esteem, Project heal,

Mind on Media, who want to make the difference. The Be You campaign promotes
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one’s own self-awareness and tells you to embrace who you are and all your quirks.

Dove sponsors the campaign for self-esteem which promotes understanding of media’s

influence on body image and encourages one to overcome the anxiety that can be

caused because of it. Project Heal helps by supporting those with eating disorders and

helps them overcome their internal battles. It is a non-profit that relies on donations from

supporters as well as those who purchase their products to help the cause. The one

that surprised me the most was the Mind on Media initiative. It was created by girls

ranging in age from 8 to 15 years old. The purpose is to make those involved see who

they are and what they have to offer and not focus on their looks (Gallivan, p.25-27).

I want to leave you with this final thought, when a group of individuals teaches

inner beauty and embracing all that is different and unique about one’s self there is a

greater power. There are infinite possibilities when there is no box placed around what

is beautiful. There is no right or wrong way to be as the be you movement says just be

you. It is all you know how to be. With so many organizations speaking out on the taboo

from media whether it is online, in magazines, or on television there is a change

coming.
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Works Cited

Schaefer, Kayleen. "Girls Are Taking Drastic Measures to Achieve the Perfect

Instagram Snap."Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/ZDPKRV953665122/

OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=facd823d. Accessed 10 Apr. 2019.

Originally published as "Girls Are Taking Drastic Measures to Achieve the Perfect

Instagram Snap," Teen Vogue, 20 Oct. 2015.

Anderberg, Kirsten. "The Images of Beauty Are Unrealistic and Hurt Women." The

Culture of Beauty, edited by Roman Espejo, Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing

Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/

EJ3010659211/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=85a452a7. Accessed 10

Apr. 2019. Originally published as "Radical Body Politics for Women," off our

backs, Nov.-Dec. 2004, pp. 54-55.

Wilson, Glenn. "Standards of Beauty Are Determined by Evolutionary Biology." The

Culture of Beauty, edited by Louise I. Gerdes, Greenhaven Press, 2013.

Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com

/apps/doc/EJ3010659230/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=0c74d933.Access

ed 10 Apr. 2019. Originally published as "The Evolutionary Psychology of Mating

and Dating: In the Brain of the Beholder? The Principles of Beauty and Sex

Appeal,", 25 Jan. 2010.

Hogue, Jacqueline V., and Jennifer S. Mills. “The Effects of Active Social Media

Engagement with Peers on Body Image in Young Women.” Body Image, vol. 28,

Mar. 2019, pp. 1–5. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.11.002.

Tiggemann, Marika, and Amy Slater. “Facebook and Body Image Concern in

Adolescent Girls: A Prospective Study.” International Journal of Eating Disorders,

vol. 50, no. 1, Jan.2017, pp. 80–83. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/eat.22640.

Mee, Emily. “Barbie is 60 today here’s how the doll is becoming more inclusive: A plus-

size doll and the first hijab-wearing Barbie are some of the attempts to make the

toy more representative.” Skynews, 8 March 2019. https://news.sky.com/story/

happy-60th-birthday-barbie-how-the-sex-symbol-doll-became-inclusive

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Gallivan, Heather, R, PsyD, LP. “Teen, Social Media, and Body Image.” Park Nicollet

Melrose Center, 2014. https://www.macmh.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/05/

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2014.pdf