Thai 1 Billie Thai Professor Ditch English 1134 ‘Standard Beauty in Media Today Inoday's American society, media as affected both men's and women’s perspectives on what the ideal body type is for a man and woman. Because of the media and how society view’s men and women, maintaining an appropriate ideal body type for both sexes is ‘seen as true beauty. In an Old Spice advertisement, the company persuades their audience to purchase their new body wash by guaranteeing that one will smell like a man. Also, in a ‘Skechers advertisement, the company promotes their new shoes called Shapes Ups and persue their aieneby having celebrity Kim Kardashian on the ove. Through the mei thee “ideal body ypes” that they play, lead men and women into Believing tht there are certain standards in what beauty isin society. Gender construction defines men by their ety mc ania win weed ta cry my der conto dhvn ish sh ona Mee in ‘women’s body image and behavior in a negative way. rw © LAA Old Spice is a well-known brand for male-grooming products that most men use., today. Their advertisement persuades their audience by stating “smel like a man, mai?and having a muscular and handsome man holding thir product. The males porayed as areal man from being shirtless, showing off his toned body, his facial hair, and his posture while sitting on the horse. By having a well-built and attractive male, the advertisement shows that this “ideal body type” is what defines a man, Ths ideal image that most men believe, show that real “men‘are muscular, have facial and body hair,” and have deeper voices (Collins 229). Real men also have “expansive postures and gestures {that} combine these qualities to insinuate that position 7 of secure dominance is a masculine one” (Devor 43). The physical attributes that are used to ‘describe real man is shown everywhere in the advertisement which persuades their audience to believe these gender-constructed norms. These atributes that define a man eause some men today to be insecure and unhappy with their own bodies, This could result to men changing themselves physically and mentally because they are not following these socially-constructed norms. |i? Behavior also plas a role on the ideal image of how a real man should act. Ina section of Paticia Collins’ “Hegemonie Masculinity and Black Gender Ideology,” she explains how a man acts and behaves versus how a boy acts and behaves. For example, she mentions that ‘a male engages in “sexual intercourse with a woman, [it] initiates them into manhood” (Collins 229), Society and the media today portray that in order to become like men, one must act and \ tehave like one. As for boys, they “are financially dependent on others, do no hold jobs and aze not expected to support any dependents” Collins 29). By comparing boys to men, the author portrays that “real” men do not act or behave like boys that have not been through manhood. “Another advertisement that communicates in terms of gender expectation isa / Skechers advertisement for “Shape Ups” that features the celebrity, Kim Kardashian, as a model for them. Shape Ups are a new type of shoe that supposedly helps with weight loss, toning of ‘museles, and improvement on body posture. In the advertisement, Kim is shown to be doing physical activities due to her outfit which brings out her beautbody curves. By using Kim Kardashian's beauty and attractiveness, she has set the standard on what beautiful woman should look like. Unfortunately, in study shown by the American Council of Exercise (ACE), Skechers wvThai 3 “Shape Ups” “do not help you exercise more intensely, burn more calories, or improve your ‘muscle strength and tone” (Mann). Even though the product is not effective, having an image of ‘a popular celebrity can persuade most women to purchase the item beeause they can have a body like Kim Kardashian, An interesting part ofthe advertisement is where it says, “Try these Kardashian-approved Shape Ups.” This message communicates to their audience by letting them know that there is credibility thatthe product works because of Kim Kardashian’s features that ‘makes her look beautiful and fit. The media has shaped women mentally and physically due to their ules and standard of beauty. Kim Kardashian defines what beauty i and sets the image of ‘what the ideal body type is for woman. What is this ideal body image? In a section of “Hlegemonic Masculinity and Black Gender Ideology,” the author explains how certain behaviors ‘and physical attributes define a woman, For example, when Collins mentions how “the presence of breasts, hips, a round booty, and the absence of muscles and facial/body hair become \ \\\.Q) important indicators of womanhood” (Collins 232). The author supports her claim by showing \p0 7) that females need to have these features in order to follow standard beauty norms. X (\ Although standard beauty norms focuses on physical appearances, beha ‘another important factor that defines how a women is supposed to act. In “Becoming Members of Society” by Aaron Devor, he explains the difference between masculinity and femininity and shows that these characteristies are what defines a man and a woman. In a section of the article, ‘women are clearly explained on how women are expected to act and behave due to the socially | constructed gender norms. For example, women’s behavior in today’s society is defined as “warm and continued relationships with men, a sense of maternity, interest in caring for children, ‘and the capacity to work productively and continuously in female occupations” (Devor 40). ‘These behaviors that are created from society affects women today because they think this is‘Thai 4 how a woman should act. What also defines a woman is through the “action which communicates [through] weakness, dependency, ineffectualness, availability for sexual or emotional service, and sensitivity to the needs of others” (Devor 41), The media and society has affected the way a woman should behave due to gender performances and expectations. (| y Body image that is shown throughout the mass mé ‘can have a negative effect on \\ ‘men today because of what they see and believe in. In media today, such as advertisements and ‘commercial, set the image of how a man should look like through physical appearances. For instance, society view men to “emphasize the size of [their] upper body musculature” and to show an illusion of physical power (Devor 43). The physical appearances that society expects, ¢ ‘men to have today, cause men to alter themselves in different ways just to follow these prescribed gender expectations. Ina study that was published by Seed magazine that featured )\ \" \ 184 students from San Francisco State University were researched on to see ifthe media had any >, negative affects through body image. Study show that within these 184 students, “the more media [that] these young men consume, (especially music videos and prime-time TV) the worse they felt about those real aspects of their bodies” (Noveck). From viewing the media and it's direct messages towards men, Men are mentally affected because they do not feel like they are" following these gender expectations. Furthermore, research has concluded that “such negative feelings impacted [a man’s] sexual well-being, in some cases leading to more aggressive and \ risky sexual behavior” (Noveck). Due to the media, men today are concerned about their own ‘bodies, so they will do what is necessary to look like the ideal body image. ‘Women today are focused in the media by displaying what true beauty looks like and ‘what the deal body image is. The media today emphasizes a women’s body through their curves and the size of their breast and butt. ‘can have a negative impact on women because there are‘Thai S ‘many ways to change a women’s body image. Although women are too focused on trying to change how they look, they do not realize the negative effects that could happen to their body. For example, study shows that after women receive breast implants, there is an “increased risk of Jcide among some women with implants” (Davis). Even though women are satisfied with their \ breast implants after receiving them, study also showed that after a couple of years, the satisfaction just fades. Changing a body image can be easly done, but women do not notice the \. negative effects that could appear later on in the future. Loren Lip worth, an assistant professor \)) =) of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, noticed that after receiving breast implants, the reason for losing satisfaction is because “it may be [a] psychiatric illness [that] gets worse later on, or that it may develop later on” (Davis). These negative effects will never appear on the ‘media because they want their audience to think thatthe ideal body type is to have bigger breasts and a bigger butt. It is just a matter of time where most women will change their own bodies to (9 follow these gender-constructed norms. ¢ Although the media can negatively influence a person’s perspective on the ideal body “type, it can also serve as a motivational boost to achieve the ideal body they see in the media. It is true that not all advertisements and commercial are a negative influence, there are also reliable |" cones too. Yes, showing off these ideal body images can help motivate people to work out, lose ‘weight, set goals for the future, but there are obvious negative side effects. Some of these effects ‘could be over-working the body, losing too much weight, side effects from implants, sudden diet change, psychological problems and much more. The amount of negative effects that comes from the media outweighs the possible positive effects that the media has. \/ N Gender construction of men and women in today’s society is being shown everywhere especially the media itself In both Old Spice’s and Skecher's advertisement, genderThai 6 ‘construction has played its part to portray the ideal body image for both men and women. The ‘media and its socially-constructed norms have negatively affected men’s and women’s body ‘mage and behavior because oftheir perspective of the ideal image. Society today needs to stop ‘expecting these socially-constructed body images before everyone becomes effected. Spd Uy AN jumteZ VLol Vs i gy a We T. voy jel i ab Bie! 5 (La a ar fd wl! ME Us) WY Ahi‘Thai 7 Works Cited Collins, Patricia Hill. "Hegemonie Masculinity and Black Gender Ideology." By Rachel Groner and John F. O'Hara. Composing Gender: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. Print. js, Jeanie. "Breast Implants: Psychological Affects and Self-Esteem.” WebMD. WebMD, 12 May 2008. Web. 02 Nov. 2015. Devor, Aaron, "Becoming Members of Society" By Rachel Groner and John F. O'Hara. Rpt. of "The Social Meanings of Gender." Composing Gender: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. St Martin's: Bedford, 2013, Mann, Denise. "Toning Shoes: Can Shoes Tone Your Butt and Legs?" WebMD. WebMD, 9 Sept. 2011. Web. 02 Nov. 2015. Noveek, Jocelyn. "Experts: Men Have Body Image Worries Too." Washington Post. The ‘Washington Post, 06 Oct. 2006. Web. 02 Nov. 2015,