Personal Experience My Distorted Body Image Essay examples

I am fake†¦ ugly†¦worthless. I conceal my face with layers of makeup hoping that half a bottle of BB cream will be enough to make me as flawless as Kylie Jenner look on the cover of Seventeen magazine. I use innumerous acne medications, aspiring to be as unblemished as the girls in the Clean and Clear commercials. I reject bags of MMs and fudge brownies thinking that my sacrifices will make me â€Å"love my body† as much as the emaciated Victoria Secret models love theirs (see appendix A). I routinely shave my legs and armpits and pluck my eyebrows with fear of becoming the hairy woman the media deems horrendous. I do everything, yet feel like I am nothing. Nothing compared to the beautiful women pictured on television, magazines, and†¦show more content†¦On the contrary, they are encouraged by the â€Å"drop two-sizes† and the â€Å"7-day detox plan† headlines on the fashion magazines that intrude every grocery store check-out lane. We no long er think it is unorthodox that in 2012 alone, teenagers underwent over 236,000 cosmetic surgeries (American Society of Plastic Surgeons). Instead, teenage girls who wear brassieres size 30A or do not have protruding cheekbones are seen as defective beings, and if they do not spend their first paycheck—or their parents’ savings— attempting to replicate the so-called-perfect-image, will remain physically—and socially—inferior to the women the media considers beautiful. Mass media falsely claims to be an advocate for self-acceptance and the idea that every woman is naturally beautiful, while it simultaneously uses Photoshop to erase all trace of that natural beauty—imagine how much they would Photoshop women if they did not extol real, non-enhanced, beauty! The women in these digitally improved photos look, quite frankly, as real as Barbie and her friends, and few women actually believe that the women in the pictures look that flawless in perso n. However, these pictures have the power to make any woman, including those in the pictures, feel inadequate because she is not as â€Å"attractive† as a Photoshopped image, the power to make a woman detest herselfShow MoreRelatedComparison Essay of â€Å"An Insatiable emptiness† and â€Å"Distorted Image†1188 Words   |  5 PagesInsatiable emptiness† and â€Å"Distorted Image† Body- image anxiety is an issue that many people struggle with nowadays. There are many factors that contribute to one’s anxiety of body image, for example it could stem from media, social and personal view. â€Å"An Insatiable Emptiness,† by Evelyn Lau, focuses on her own personal struggles with bulimia, and her strained relationships with her mother. â€Å"Distorted Image,† by Susan McCelland focuses on the social dynamics of body image and provide reports ofRead MoreEssay on Model for Perception1674 Words   |  7 Pagesminor ways. For example, a perception discrepancy can be found when comparing how people suffering from anorexia nervosa see their bodies and how other people see the anorexics bodies. Even though this distortion is an extreme perception difference that can actually be documented (most perception differences can not even be verbalized), analyzing the distorted body phenomenon can be useful. It can help explain the concept of perception by answering three key questions: 1) what does a different perceptionRead MoreEating Disorders Can Be Generally Characterized By Any Range Of Abnormal Or Disturbed Eating Habits897 Words   |  4 Pageseating disorders; Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, to three categories; now including Binge Eating Disorder. As defined in the DSM IV, Anorexia Nervosa is predominately found in adolescent girls and young women. The disorder is defined as distorted body image and excessive dieting that leads to severe weight loss with an obsessive fear of becoming fat. Bulimia nervosa is defined by recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by inappropriate behav ¬iors such as self-induced vomiting to avoid weightRead MoreChanges Over Time : Male Ideals1488 Words   |  6 Pagesversus current era. Modern men have a distorted body image in our society to fit the idea of the â€Å"perfect† male body image going as far as augmenting their bodies with plastic surgery, constantly visiting the gym, and grooming. The article, â€Å"Scrawn to Brawn: Men Get Muscles or Pray for Them† was an exciting piece by the New York Times that really made me think about just how men are held to the same pressures now as women. The article parallels the male body of Woodstock which was lean torsos, narrowRead MoreThe High Importance of Women’s Physical Attractiveness Essay1511 Words   |  7 Pagespeople in today’s society have a distorted understanding of reality. In particular, contemporary American society holds a misconception about the connection between women’s physical attractiveness and personality. Our culture views beauty in a distorted way due to the mistaken belief that outer appearances reflect the type of person a woman is. Dating back to the Renaissance era during the early 15th century, the ideal â€Å"beautiful† woman would have a voluptuous body with a pale ivory skin tone andRead MoreMy Experience As A Professional Counsellor938 Words   |  4 PagesEnhancements. My experience as a professional Counsellor as well as a passionate Model, reveals the message of the concern, the need as well as the racing urge in all of us to secure our looks, and the magnitude of the attraction which also drives us become competitive among each other. In my opinion, the generation of these negative energy stems from the conceptual knowledge of the â€Å"SELF†. According to a theory known as social identity theory, self-concept is composed of two key parts: personal identityRead MoreOthello And The Western Canonical Presentation Of His Race Essay1505 Words   |  7 Pagesrelationship between Othello’s racial identity and the harm viewing race as a form of entertainment can have culturally in a globalised world. Othello is presented as a story devised by Desdemona in Morrison’s play. He claims ‘[w]hat excited you was my strange story†¦ fantastic adventures, stories of freaks and miracles’ (Morrison and TraoreÃŒ  51) and that she ‘fancied the idea’ (50) where he is reduced to a tale she has devised. He becomes a concept which belongs to Desdemona and like a story, hisRead MoreMedia Influence on Body Image Essay1295 Words   |  6 Pageson Body Image Media Influence on Body Image Everyone has a different view of what is beautiful. Why then can we not transfer that to how we view ourselves? Why can we not be happy with how we look? The simple answer is the media. They show images to millions of people of what they think beauty is. Those images affect society and they view themselves about how they look. Most of these images are unrealistic, and send unhealthy expectations to women on how they should look. This causes body imagesRead MoreHow Cosmetics Affect Confidence, Body Esteem, And Self Worth1338 Words   |  6 PagesHow Cosmetics Affect Confidence, Body-Esteem, and Self-Worth Makeup, cosmetics, beauty products, these are seen everywhere in daily life. Cosmetics are used to improve facial features and aesthetic appeal. Cosmetics predate written history. In the name of beauty, extreme lengths have been taken, in order to fulfill societal expectations. How does the cultural focus on physical appearance affect women today? Cosmetics like facial foundation, mascara and eye shadow, and eyeliner, in addition toRead MoreAustralian Theater Ruby Moon and Stolen1413 Words   |  6 Pagestransformational acting and more. The use of these techniques explores the social and personal issues of suburban paranoia, identity and grief/loss. Cameron uses many elements to portray the ‘fairytale image’. â€Å"Ruby Moon is about a little girl who sets off to visit her grandma, just like a fairytale, but never arrives†. Through this, it shows that Cameron has used elements of other fairytales, but in a distorted manner which challenges the audienceâ€⠄¢s perception of ‘the perfect story’.   Cameron also